Cherry tomato supplementation increases the area of the intestinal mucosa and the number of muscle layers in rats

Dahyun Hwang, Jong Ho Koh, Jiyun Lee, Youngshik Kim, Young Hee Lim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Tomatoes act as prebiotics in the gut. The effects of cherry tomatoes on gastrointestinal health have not yet been studied. Four cherry tomato supplementation diets (CTSDs) were prepared from the juice and cake of fresh and processed (heat-treated) cherry tomatoes. The contents of the gut and histological changes in the cecum and intestine were analyzed at 4. weeks in rats fed CTSDs. The lactic acid bacteria level in fecal contents of rats fed CTSDs increased compared with the control. The gut length was longer in rats fed CTSDs than that in control animals. In addition, the cecal propionate level significantly increased (p<. 0.05), and acetate and butyrate levels decreased compared with control animals, however, regardless of the type of CTSD, the total concentration of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in all rats fed different CTSDs was similar with the control. The thicknesses of the mucosa and muscle of the cecum and colon increased in rats fed CTSDs compared with the control. CTSDs increased the area of the mucosa and the number of muscle layers in the intestine and cecum of rats, which strengthened the barrier function and promoted gastrointestinal health.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)298-304
Number of pages7
JournalFood Research International
Volume64
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014 Oct

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was carried out with the support of the Region-Specific Agriculture Development Project (Project No. PJ0078822013 ) of the Rural Development Administration (RDA), Republic of Korea. We would like to thank Professor In-Hwan Kim and Ms. Ting Ting Zhao for their technical assistance in the GC analysis. The authors' responsibilities were as follows: Y.H.L. and J.H.K. designed the research; J.H.K. and Y.K. prepared the tested compounds; D.H.H., J.H.K., J.L. and Y.H.L. performed the experiments; and D.H.H., J.H.K. and Y.H.L. analyzed the data and wrote the paper. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. There are no conflicts of interest.

Copyright:
Copyright 2014 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • Gut histomorphology
  • Lactic acid bacteria
  • Propionic acid
  • Short chain fatty acids

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Food Science

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