Abstract
Biochemical changes in colon mucosa were studied in rats fed diets containing soluble dietary fiber (pullulan, polydextrose or pectin), and compared with those in rats fed a 5% cellulose diet (control). Cell size in the colon mucosa seemed to be reduced in the groups fed the pullulan and pectin diets, since the protein content was decreased and the DNA content was increased. In the rats fed polydextrose, the colon mucosal cells seemed to be enlarged, as suggested by an increase in their protein and DNA contents, similar to that in the control. From scanning electron micrographs, the haustra coli appeared broader in rats fed the pullulan diet and were more rounded and larger in rats fed the polydextrose diet than in the control rats. In rats fed the pectin diet, the colon showed an irregular surface structure. The above changes in the haustra coli were more marked in the 10% than in the 1% dietary fiber group.
