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Lactitol increases reduced glutathione and decreases nitric oxide in Sprague Dawley rats

Abstract:

Sugar alcohols such as lactitol are increasingly being used in the food industry. Tissue oxidative stress is an important contributor to the genesis of inflammatory bowel disease and cancer. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of lactitol on malondialdehyde (MDA), reduced glutathione (GSH), nitric oxide (NO), dehydroascorbic and ascorbic acid as redox markers. Eighty Sprague Dawley rats were divided into four groups; three experimental groups which received lactitol through an oral catheter at doses of 0.3; 1.0; 5 g/kg/day and an experimental group to which saline solution was administered during 12 weeks. Lactitol at doses of 0.3; 1.0; 5 g/kg/day produced a significant increase (P<0.05) on GSH (326.5 ± 13.0 μg/ml; 328.5 ± 9.2 μg/ml y 398.29 ± 11.8 μg/ml respectively) when compared with their respective basal values (285.8 ± 4.0 μg/ml; 280.0 ± 6.2 μg/ml y 279.5 ± 9.1 μg/ml). Lactitol dose of 5g/kg/day produced the highest increase on GSH levels and at the same time elicited a significant decrease on NO levels (33.0 ± 1.2 mu;M) when compared with basal values (46.2 ± 2.8 μM). No significant changes were observed on the remaining redox markers. Although lactitol is a sugar alcohol that is not absorbed in the small bowel, it is possible that its metabolisms end products, under intestinal bacterial effects, alter the redox balance in favor of antioxidants.