2015 Volume 64 Issue 3 Pages 215-221
Constipation is a serious problem to decrease the quality of life following socioeconomic loss. Milk whey culture with Propionibacterium freudenreichii ET-3 (milk whey culture) has been reported to improve the constipation by enhancing the growth of Bifidobacterium in clinical study. However, the effect of milk whey culture on the colonic motility has not been clarified. Therefore, this study aimed to clarify this point using the rat colon in vitro. To clarify the regional specificity, longitudinal specimens of the proximal, middle and distal colon were used. After obtaining the constant spontaneous contraction, milk whey culture was added in a concentration-dependent manner. The contractile frequency and force were used as end-point. Milk whey culture significantly enhanced the contractile frequency of the distal colon in a concentration-dependent manner, but not the contractile force. On the contrary, in the proximal and middle colon, milk whey culture did not show any significant effect in both contractile frequency and force. Milk whey culture contains 1,4-dihydroxy-2-naphthoic acid (DHNA) enhancing the growth of Bifidobacterim. DHNA did not influence the contractile frequency and force. Also propionic acid and acetic acid contained in milk whey culture did not show any significant effect. Above results show that milk whey culture may relief the constipation by exclusively enhancing the spontaneous contraction of the distal colon, which plays an important role for defecation, although active substance was not clarified. No effect on the contractile force may be a merit, because the enhancement of contractile force may lead to the abdominal pain.
