Elsevier

The Journal of Nutrition

Volume 134, Issue 2, February 2004, Pages 399-402
The Journal of Nutrition

Nondigestible Oligosaccharides Increase Calcium Absorption and Suppress Bone Resorption in Ovariectomized Rats1

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Nondigestible oligosaccharides (NDO) including inulin and fructooligosaccharides (FOS) have been reported to stimulate calcium absorption. Here we report the effect of a mixture of inulin and FOS (Raftilose Synergy 1, Orafti) on calcium and bone metabolism in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. OVX rats (6 mo old) were fed a semipurified diet for 3 mo in our animal care laboratory for stabilization after ovariectomy. They were then divided into two groups (n = 13/group) and fed either a control or a NDO-supplemented diet (55 g/kg) for 21 d. Catheters were placed in their jugular veins. After 2 d, a tracer (45Ca) was administered by gavage or i.v. and blood was sampled for up to 300 min. Urine and fecal samples were collected for 4 d after 45Ca administration. Femurs were measured for bone mineral density (BMD), breaking strength, and total calcium. Calcium absorption, femoral calcium content, BMD, and bone balance (Vbal) were significantly increased (P < 0.05) by NDO, whereas the bone resorption rate relative to the bone formation rate was significantly depressed by NDO. We conclude that feeding NDO at 5.5 g/100 g for 21 d has a positive effect on calcium absorption and retention in ovariectomized rats.

Key words:

calcium
kinetics
ovariectomized rats
nondigestible oligosaccharides
bone turnover

Abbreviations used:

Abs±NDO
true calcium absorption from the experimental diets
BMD
bone mineral density
BMC
bone mineral content
DXA
dual energy X-ray absorptiometry
FOS
fructooligosaccharides
NDO
nondigestible oligosaccharides
OVX
ovariectomized
Vbal
bone balance
Vf
endogenous fecal calcium excretion
VF
fecal calcium excretion
Vo+
bone formation
Vo−
bone resorption
Vu
urinary calcium excretion

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1

Presented in part at Experimental Biology 03, April 2003, San Diego, CA [Zafar, T. A. & Weaver, C. M. (2003) Inulin and calcium metabolism in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. FASEB J. 17: A721 (abs.)].