Carbohydrate enriched diets and bacterial glycosidases in rat faeces

The expression of some faecal hydrolytic enzymes in rats fed for 4 months on sucrose or starch enriched diets was compared with a standard diet. The assay reliability was confirmed for animal and experimental variability. The beta-D-glucuronidase and beta-D-glucosidase activities were always higher in rats fed on starch than on other diets. N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase and N-acetyl-beta-D-galactosaminidase showed decreased activity when passing from a standard to a sucrose, and from a sucrose to a starch diet. There was little modification in the levels of faecal alpha-D-glucosidase, sulphatase and protease with the various experimental diets.