Adaptation of Rate of Organic Acid Production of Hindgut Bacteria to Chronic Intake of Galactooligosaccharide in the Rat.

We studied the adaptational effect of galactooligosaccha-ride (GOS) on the concentration of organic acids in cecal content, fecal water content and organic acid production from GOS in cultures with the cecal inocula of rats fed GOS for 1, 2, 7 or 21 d. The fecal water content of rats fed GOS for 1 d was higher than that of the controls. The concentration of each organic acid in the cecal contents was affected by diet, not by the time of adaptation. In in vitro fermentation, lactic acid was produced rapidly and remained in the cultures with homogenates of rats fed GOS for 1 d. Acetic acid in the cultures of the GOS-diet rats' cecal homogenates was produced more rapidly than that of the controls on days 2, 7 and 21 of adaptation. Propionic acid was produced more rapidly in the GOS homogenate cultures than in that of the controls on day 2. Butyric acid in the cultures from the GOS-fed rats was produced more rapidly than that of the controls on days 2 and 21. These results suggest that the time period of GOS feeding influenced the production rate of each organic acid, and the changes varied among acids.