The effect of raw soya bean on in vitro active and passive accumulation by rat small intestine

1. Sections of small intestine from rats given raw-soya-bean(RS) diets had a decreased capacity to actively accumulate L-methionine when compared to those taken from rats given heated soya bean (HS), and casein-fed controls. The extent of the reduction was small in comparison with pair-fed animals, but was statistically significant in comparison with rats restricted to the same weight gain as the RS groups. 2. The differences in the passive uptake of D-mannitol appear to be directly related to differences in gut thickness between the control and RS groups. 3. Values for water movement and intestinal transmural potentials further support the results found in the active accumulation studies. 4. From this study it was concluded that the degree of starvation directly affects the magnitude of the effect of RS diets when comparisons are made against adequately fed controls.