Mannitol lowers fat digestibility and body fat accumulation in both normal and cecectomized rats

Mannitol is a six-carbon sugar alcohol that is widely distributed in plants. Sugar alcohols are widely used in various food products because of their numerous beneficial health effects. The present study investigated the effects of mannitol consumption on digestion, large gut fermentation and nutrient metabolism in normal and cecectomized male Wistar rats. After 28 d of feeding with three kinds of diet containing 0, 4 or 8% mannitol, mannitol consumption dose-dependently lowered the digestibilities of crude fat and crude protein, the ratio of body fat accumulation to energy absorbed and the hepatic and serum triglyceride levels in normal rats. After 24 d of feeding with three kinds of diet comprising a control diet, a 5% mannitol-containing diet and a 5% fructooligosaccharides (FOS)-containing diet, mannitol lowered the digestibility of fat and the ratio of body fat accumulation to energy consumed and absorbed in cecectomized rats. On the other hand, FOS consumption had no effect on the accumulation of body fat, but lowered the digestibility of fat. FOS consumption greatly improved the accumulation of body ash in cecectomized rats. These results suggest that mannitol has a lowering effect on body fat accumulation, and further indicate that the cecum is not essential for the appearance of effects of mannitol on digestion, absorption and metabolism.