Effects of young barley leaf powder on irritable bowel syndrome in rats.

抄録

In order to obtain an effective diet composition to relieve irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), an experiment using rats as a model was performed. Male 7 week-old Wistar rats were maintained for one week on five diets; (i) 0% cellulose (C-0), (ii) 3% cellulose (C-3), (iii) 5% cellulose (C-5), (iv) 3% young barley leaf powder (YBLP) plus 3% cellulose (Y-3+C-3), and (v) 10% YBLP (Y-10). The IBS of rat was produced by restraining a rat in a tight holder for four hrs. The degree of IBS was assessed by measuring fecal excretion frequency and serotonin concentration in serum and colonic mucosa. Under restraint stress, the number of feces in the groups of C-0 and C-3 were more than those in C-5 without (control). Restraint stress could have stimulated secretion of a large quantity of serotonin from colonic mucosa, resulting in abnormal intestinal movement. However, such fecal excretion increment was not observed in the group of Y-3+C-3, suggesting that YBLP inhibits stress-induced IBS.