The influence of dietary fibre on secretory activities of the alimentary tract

Abstract

Increasing the fibre content of the diet from nil to 30% in adult rats was without effect upon Ca retention but reduced the N balance. Elevating the fibre intake increased phosphatase excretion in feces, the magnitude of increase being 700% on the 30% fibre diet when compared with the excretions on the fibre-free diet. The absence of detrimental effect of such increases in secretion as must have occurred and the absence of any detrimental influence on the Ca balance was thought to indicate that resorption of secreted Ca was performed with a high measure of efficiency. The possible use of the fecal phosphatase test in studies of intestinal hypersensitivity in man is suggested.