ハムスターの実験齲蝕に及ぼす食物繊維の影響に関する研究

抄録

In dietary fiber (DF), there are water-soluble fibers (SDF) and water-insoluble fibers (IDF). They have different properties. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of different types of DF on plaque formation and dental caries occurrence. Three-week-old male golden hamsters were fed a cariogenic diet (powder), AIN-76 purified diet modified for hamsters, containing 5 types of DF for 59 days. Each diet contained 10-20% of DF. For a control group, diet containing 20% of α-starch was given.
The results were as follows:
1) In the hamsters fed a diet containing pectin (SDF), more plaque formation and tooth destruction by caries were observed compared to the control group. The higher the content of pectin, the more plaque accumulation and the more tooth destruction by caries were observed.
2) Tooth destruction by caries was higher in the group fed hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) 60 SH-4000 (SDF of high viscosity) compared to the HPMC60SH-50 (SDF of low viscosity) diet group.
To investigate the reason why the diet containing pectin was more cariogenic, Streptococcus mutans NCTC 10449 was administered to cultures containing 7 types of DF and pH values were measured after 24 hours incubation at 37°C. Only the cultures with pectin showed pH values about 5.5. S. mutans NCTC 10449 fermented pectin and produced acid.
From these results, it was concluded that the diet containing pectin had a high level of cariogenicity.