The effect of a liquid elemental diet on cell proliferation in the colon of rats

A liquid elemental diet (Vivonex) was given to rats for 6 days while control animals received a normal diet. At the end of the experiment each animal received one intraperitoneal injection of tritiated thymidine at 8 a.m. Animals from each group were killed hourly during the first 24 h after the injection and the proliferative activity was studied by autoradiography of the mucosa of the colon using the labeled mitoses-wave method. The epithelial cell proliferation was significantly decreased in the colon of the Vivonex-fed animals.