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Updated: Oct 13, 2026

Ex Vivo Intestinal Sacs to Assess Mucosal Permeability in Models of Gastrointestinal Disease
Published on: February 9, 2016
Increasing dietary oat fibre decreases the permeability of intestinal mucus
Alan Mackie1, Neil Rigby2, Pascale Harvey3
1School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds, Leeds LS29JT, UK.
Abstract:
This study investigates the influence of the dietary fibre β-glucan on nutrient composition and mucus permeability. Pigs were fed a standard diet or a diet containing twice the β-glucan content for 3 days (n = 5 per group), followed by the collection of small intestinal mucus and tissue samples. Samples of the consumed diets were subjected to in vitro digestion to determine β-glucan release, nutrient profile and assessment of mucus permeability. In vitro digestion of the diets indicated that 90% of the β-glucan was released in the proximal small intestine. Measurements of intestinal mucus showed a reduction in permeability to 100 nm latex beads and also lipid from the digested enhanced β-glucan diet. The data from this study show for the first time that reducing mass transfer of bile and lipid through the intestinal mucus layer may be one way in which this decrease in bile reabsorption by soluble fibre is enabled.
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