Increasing dietary oat fibre decreases the permeability of intestinal mucus

Highlights • Comparison was made between an enhanced β-glucan diet versus a control diet in pigs. • In vitro digestion showed that 90% of the β-glucan was solubilised in the proximal small intestine. • The permeability of the intestinal mucus of the pigs on the enhanced diet was decreased. • The results have implications for type two diabetes risk factors in humans.
This study investigates the influence of the dietary fibre β-glucan on nutrient composition and mucus permeability. Pigs were fed a standard diet or a diet containing twice the β-glucan content for 3 days (n = 5 per group), followed by the collection of small intestinal mucus and tissue samples. Samples of the consumed diets were subjected to in vitro digestion to determine β-glucan release, nutrient profile and assessment of mucus permeability. In vitro digestion of the diets indicated that 90% of the β-glucan was released in the proximal small intestine. Measurements of intestinal mucus showed a reduction in permeability to 100 nm latex beads and also lipid from the digested enhanced β-glucan diet. The data from this study show for the first time that reducing mass transfer of bile and lipid through the intestinal mucus layer may be one way in which this decrease in bile reabsorption by soluble fibre is enabled.