Assessment of intestinal damage in rotavirus infected neonatal mice by a D-xylose absorption test

A D-xylose absorption test has been standardized for use in newborn mice. It was used to measure small intestine dysfunction in neonate mice following infection with various isolates of rotaviruses. A xylose dose of 1 mg/g body weight was required to produce a maximum level of 100 micrograms/100 microliters of plasma 2 h after administration of D-xylose. The mice inoculated with rotavirus absorbed significantly less D-xylose compared with uninoculated control mice. A micromethod is described which proved to be suitable to quantitate D-xylose for determination of absorptive function of the small intestine in small animals such as newborn mice.