Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study was to clarify whether semisolid nutritional preparations, which are useful as measures against complications of tube feeding, maintain their physical properties in the stomach.
Materials and Methods: Seven types of liquid nutritional preparation containing a thickening agent mainly composed of xanthan gum or nine types of commercially available semisolid nutritional preparation were added to artificial gastric juice, and the viscosity of these mixtures was measured with a B-type viscometer.
Results: Water addition resulted in a decrease in the viscosity of semisolid nutritional preparations, and the rate of viscosity decrease was higher in agarosethan in xanthan gum-containing semisolid nutritional preparations. The physical property changes of semisolid nutritional preparations in artificial gastric juice were variable: when the isoelectric point of the constituent proteins was lower or higher than the pH of a nutritional preparation, its viscosity tended to increase and decrease, respectively. In addition, nutritional preparations containing dietary fibers showed a marked increase in viscosity.
Conclusions: When administering nutritional preparations, we need to understand their characteristics and recognize that their physical properties are not always maintained.
