Related Experiment Videos
Diet and intestinal enzyme adaptation: implications for gastrointestinal disorders
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
|June 1, 1975
Summary
Dietary sugars regulate human intestinal enzymes involved in carbohydrate digestion. Fructose, a component of sucrose, significantly impacts jejunal enzyme activity, with potential implications for treating certain enzyme deficiencies and a newly identified "maladaptation syndrome."
Area of Science:
- Human physiology
- Gastroenterology
- Nutritional science
Background:
- Human intestinal enzymes crucial for carbohydrate digestion and metabolism are influenced by dietary intake.
- Peroral jejunal biopsy is a safe and effective method for obtaining mucosal tissue for enzyme analysis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the regulatory effects of dietary sugars on human jejunal enzyme activities.
- To explore the role of fructose in regulating disaccharidase activity.
- To examine the impact of dietary sugars and folic acid on glycolytic enzyme activity and identify potential maladaptation syndromes.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of jejunal mucosal enzyme activity obtained via peroral jejunal biopsy.
- Comparison of enzyme responses to different dietary sugars (sucrose, glucose, fructose, lactose).
- Assessment of the impact of oral folic acid on jejunal enzyme activities.
Main Results:
- Dietary sucrose and fructose increase jejunal sucrase and maltase activity, but not lactase.
- Jejunal glycolytic enzyme activity is highest with specific dietary carbohydrates and lowest on a carbohydrate-free diet.
- Folic acid influences jejunal glycolytic enzyme activity within 1 day, while disaccharidase activity changes occur over 2-5 days.
Conclusions:
- Dietary sugars, particularly fructose, play a significant role in regulating human jejunal enzyme activity.
- Folic acid also modulates jejunal glycolytic enzyme activity.
- A "maladaptation syndrome" characterized by a lack of adaptive enzyme response to dietary sugars may occur in patients with undiagnosed intestinal disorders.