Sugars and Colitis
Comments by J. C. Spencer

Over the last few years here at The Endowment for Medical Research, we have conducted Nutritional Pilot Surveys using different sugars and have had two papers published showing improved brain function in Alzheimer�s patients.

A new study shows encouraging results in induced colitis in rats when using several plant-derived polysaccharides.

The Abstract is below and the complete paper may be downloaded from Digestive Diseases and Sciences or from our Download Store at www.endowmentmed.org at no charge.

Open Access: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.

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Dig Dis Sci. 2009 Jun 10. [Epub ahead of print]
Plant-Derived Polysaccharide Supplements Inhibit Dextran Sulfate Sodium- Induced Colitis in the Rat.

Koetzner L, Grover G, Boulet J, Jacoby HI.

Eurofins Product Safety Laboratories, Dayton, NJ, USA.

Several plant-derived polysaccharides have been shown to have anti-inflammatory activity in animal models. Ambrotose complex and Advanced Ambrotose are dietary supplements that include aloe vera gel, arabinogalactan, fucoidan, and rice starch, all of which have shown such activity. This study was designed to evaluate these formulations against dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in rats and to confirm their short-term safety after 14 days of daily dosing. Rats were dosed daily orally with vehicle, Ambrotose or Advanced Ambrotose. On day six groups of rats received tap water or 5% Dextran Sulfate sodium. Ambrotose and Advanced Ambrotose significantly lowered the disease scores and partially prevented the shortening of colon length. An increase in monocyte count was induced by dextran sulfate sodium and inhibited by Ambrotose and Advanced Ambrotose. There were no observable adverse effects after 14-day daily doses. The mechanism of action of the formulations against DSS-induced colitis may be related to its effect on monocyte count.

Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.

Full Text: May be downloaded here: (link to pdf file)

www.endowmentmed.org