Abstract
Digestibility in rat was investigated for sucrose ester of stearic acid, a class of a polyalcoholicnonionic surface active agent synthesized without use of DMFA after the method of Nebraska-Snell.
The sucrose ester used was composed of 51%, 38% and 11% of mono-, di- and poly-stearate, respectively. The test diet containing the sucrose ester by 2.5, 5 or 10% was fed to rats for 3 days following one day fast. The feces and urine during the test period were collected and analyzed the content of the sucrose ester, free saccharose, free fatty acid and other major nutrients.
Rats fed on a diet containing 10% of the sucrose ester excreted a loose passage, but on diets of 5% and 2.5% a normal passage. The digestibility of the sucrose ester was found to be closely related to its degree of substitution, since the digestibilities of mono-, di- and poly-ester were approximately 80%, 30% and 20%, respectively. The dose of the sucrose ester resulted in little change of free saccharide content, but a remarkable increase of free fatty acid content in the feces. Sucrose ester of stearic acid was never found in the urine. These experimental results led to conclude that a portionof the sucrose ester fed to rat is hydrolyzed in the digestive tract of the animal.
With increasing amount of the sucrose ester in the diet, the rats consumed a slightly decreased amount of diet and inversely discharged increased amount of feces, and the digestibility of other major nutrients in the diet, i. e. protein, fat and carbohydrate, slightly decreased.
