Effects of dietary lipids on recovery from mucosal injury

The present studies were conducted to determine if diets containing a large amount of fat stimulate the regeneration of damaged intestinal mucosa in the presence or absence of essential fatty acid deficiency. To simulate injury, male Sprague-Dawley rats were given methotrexate, 2.5 mg/kg body wt, subcutaneously for 3 consecutive days. Twenty-four hours after the last methotrexate injection, rats were placed on diets containing either 0%, 1%, or 10% safflower oil. Mucosal weight, protein, deoxyribonucleic acid, maltase, sucrase, lactase, alkaline phosphatase, leucine aminopeptidase, and fatty acids were all determined 3 and 12 days after methotrexate. Crypt-cell production rates were also determined. Essential fatty acid deficiency was confirmed in the 0% safflower oil group, in which triene-tetraene ratios were greater than 0.4. Mucosal weight, deoxyribonucleic acid, protein content, and villus height were all greater in the 1% safflower oil group than in the 0% group at 12 days. In the ileum, 1-h thymidine incorporation was greater in the 0% safflower oil group than in the other two groups. No differences in any of the parameters studied were observed between the 1% and 10% groups. These results suggest that diets deficient in essential fatty acids may impair the recovery of intestinal mucosa from injury.