Can diarrhea induced by lactulose be reduced by prolonged ingestion of lactulose?

Abstract

Twelve healthy volunteers were studied for two test periods, at the beginning of which they ingested a diarrheogenic load (60 g) of lactulose in 350 mL water with 10 g polyethylene glycol 4000 (PEG); the two periods were separated by a lactulose feeding period of 8 d, during which a nondiarrheogenic load (20 g) of lactulose was taken twice daily. The transit time and flow rates of water and lactulose in the distal ileum of four subjects were not different before and after the lactulose feeding period. In the other eight subjects, stool weight and frequency, fecal pH, and fecal outputs of carbohydrates and osmotic moieties after the ingestion of 60 g lactulose dropped significantly (P < 0.05) after the lactulose feeding period, whereas the orofecal transit time and fecal concentrations of β-galactosidase and lactic acid increased (P < 0.05). We conclude that changes in colonic function induced by prolonged exposure to a nondiarrheogenic amount of lactulose mitigate the severity of the diarrhea because of the larger dose of lactulose.