Effect of re-feeding after starvation on biomechanical properties in rat small intestine

Luminal nutrients are essential for maintaining the structural and function al integrity of the gut. Starvation induces pronounced structural and biome chanical remodelling in the rat small intestine. The present work was done to study the recovery process after resumption of food intake. Twenty-five Wistar rats were allocated to five groups. Four groups fasted for 7 days bu t had free access to water. One of these groups served as fasted controls a nd was killed at the end of the fast. The other three groups were re-fed fo r 2, 4 and 7 days before they were euthanised. The fifth group had free acc ess to food during the whole study (fed controls). The intestinal no-load s tate, zero-stress state and the stress-strain relationship during distensio n were studied. The intestinal segments were cut transversely into a series of short ring-shaped segments to obtain the no-load state. Each ring was c ut in the radial direction to obtain the zero-stress state. The rats regain ed the lost body weight (22%) by the 7th day of re-feeding. The lost duoden al mass (40%) and jejunal mass (25%) were regained by the 2nd day whereas t he lost mass from ileum (18%) was regained by the 4th day. The fasting-indu ced morphometric changes were normalised by re-feeding on the 2nd day in th e duodenum and jejunum, and on the 4th day in the ileum. The longitudinal s tress-strain curves shifted to the right after fasting and shifted back wit hin two days following re-feeding (P < 0.05). The circumferential stress-st rain curves in the fasted or re-fed rats changed in a similar though less p ronounced way. Normal values were reached within 4-7 days for the circumfer ential direction. In conclusion, fasting-induced biomechanical and structur al remodelling were normalised by re-feeding in a time- and location-depend ent way. (C) 2001 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reser ved.