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Gastrectomized rats develop anemia and osteopenia, and ingestion of fructooligosaccharides leads to an increase in iron absorption and promotes recovery from anemia in iron-deficient rats. Laparotomized (sham-operated control) rats and totally gastrectomized (Billoth II) rats, in groups of 14 each, were fed a control diet without fructooligosaccharides or a diet containing fructooligosaccharides (75 g/kg of diet) for 6 wk. All rats received an intramuscular injection of vitamin B-12 every 2 wk. Tail blood was collected every week for determination of hematocrit and hemoglobin concentration. At the end of the experiment, the rats were killed and the femur and tibia were collected for measurement of bone mineral density (BMD). The hematocrit, hemoglobin concentration, hemoglobin regeneration efficiency, and BMD of both femurs and tibias were significantly lower in gastrectomized rats fed the control diet than in the other three groups. Dietary fructooligosaccharides prevented anemia and osteopenia in totally gastrectomized rats. J. Nutr. 128: 485-490, 1998. KEY WORDS: * rats * gastrectomy * fructooligosaccharides * anemia * osteopenia

Postgastrectomy osteopenia is observed generally in humans. Fructooligosaccharides increase the absorption of calcium from the large intestine of healthy rats. Thus, we have examined whether they stimulate calcium absorption and prevent osteopenia in rats following total gastrectomy. Rats were subjected to either a sham surgical operation or Billoth II gastrectomy. Seven rats from each surgical treatment group were fed a control diet, and another seven rats of each treatment group were fed a diet containing fructooligosaccharides (75 g/kg diet) for 4 wk. For 5 d each week, feces were collected, and the calcium and phosphorus contents were measured for calculation of the absorption of these minerals. At the end of the experiment, the rats were killed and bones were collected. The net calcium absorption, calcium content and bone mineral density of the femur and tibia in gastrectomized rats fed the control diet were significantly less than those in sham-operated rats fed control diet. The net calcium absorption in rats fed the fructooligosaccharides diet was greater than that in rats fed control diet. Moreover, dietary fructooligosaccharides prevented the decrease in the calcium content and bone mineral density in gastrectomized rats. Dietary fructooligosaccharides enhanced calcium absorption and prevented the changes indicative of postgastrectomy osteopenia such as decreases in bone calcium content and bone mineral density in gastrectomized rats. KEY WORDS: rats, gastrectomy, fructooligosaccharides, calcium, bone mineral density

Study is presented to determine the effects of short-chain fructooligosaccharides (scFOS) administration on the terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RELP) profiles of murine intestinal microbiota and sort markers for the positive change in murine intestinal microbiota as a result of scFOS administration. It is concluded that the terminal restriction fragments (T-RFs) derived from Bacteroidetes are good markers of change of murine intestinal microbiota after scFOS administration.

A new quaternary oxide, BiGaTi4O11 (bismuth gallium tetratitanium undecaoxide), was prepared by heating a mixture of the binary oxides at 1373 K in air. BiGaTi4O11 melts at 1487 K and prismatic single crystals were obtained from a sample melted at 1523 K and solidified by furnace cooling. The structure of BiGaTi4O11 was analyzed using single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction to be of a new type that crystallized in the space group Cmcm. A Bi3+ site is coordinated by nine O2− anions, and three oxygen‐coordinated octahedral sites are statistically occupied by Ga3+ and Ti4+ cations. A relative dielectric constant of 46 with a temperature coefficient of 57 ppm K−1 in the temperature range 297–448 K was measured for a polycrystalline ceramic sample at 150 Hz–1 MHz with a dielectric loss tan δ of less than 0.01. Electrical resistivities measured at 1073 K by alternating‐current impedance spectroscopic and direct‐current methods were 1.16 × 10−4 and 1.14 × 10−4 S cm−1, respectively, which indicates that electrons and/or holes were conduction carriers at high temperature. The optical band gap estimated by the results of diffuse reflectance analysis was 2.9–3.0 eV, while the band gap obtained from the activation energy for electrical conduction was 3.5 eV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which compares the immunomodulatory effects of Bacteroides and Lactobacillus on Immunoglobulin A (IgA) production by Peyer's patches lymphocytes. It notes that the Bacteroides have stronger ability to induce Peyer's patches lymphocyte IgA production than Lactobacillus. Moreover, it also states that murine intestinal commensal bacteria stimulates mucosal IgA production.

A new quaternary oxide, BiGaTi4O11 (bismuth gallium tetratitanium undecaoxide), was prepared by heating a mixture of the binary oxides at 1373 K in air. BiGaTi4O11 melts at 1487 K and prismatic single crystals were obtained from a sample melted at 1523 K and solidified by furnace cooling. The structure of BiGaTi4O11 was analyzed using single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction to be of a new type that crystallized in the space group Cmcm. A Bi3+ site is coordinated by nine O2− anions, and three oxygen‐coordinated octahedral sites are statistically occupied by Ga3+ and Ti4+ cations. A relative dielectric constant of 46 with a temperature coefficient of 57 ppm K−1 in the temperature range 297–448 K was measured for a polycrystalline ceramic sample at 150 Hz–1 MHz with a dielectric loss tan δ of less than 0.01. Electrical resistivities measured at 1073 K by alternating‐current impedance spectroscopic and direct‐current methods were 1.16 × 10−4 and 1.14 × 10−4 S cm−1, respectively, which indicates that electrons and/or holes were conduction carriers at high temperature. The optical band gap estimated by the results of diffuse reflectance analysis was 2.9–3.0 eV, while the band gap obtained from the activation energy for electrical conduction was 3.5 eV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]