Effect of prolonged consumption of lactose or hydrolyzed lactose in the rat. 2. Digestibility, retention and utilization of lactose components

Nutritional balances are made with groups of 12 rats Wistar receiving well-balanced diets with 40 p. 100 of sucrose (T), or 40 p. 100 of lactose (L and P), or hydrolyzed lactose (LH and PH). Whey (L) and ultrafiltration permeate (P) are used in crude state or after enzymic industrial lactase hydrolysis (LH and PH). The animals consume diets during eight months. Faeces contain neither lactose nor galactose, but glucose in small quantities. In all urines occurs about 0,5 mg/day of glucose. The lactose diets (L and P) provoke a week lactosury (0,36 p. 100 of ingestion). Galactose and galactitol are abundant in urines: with lactose diets (L and P), the urinary excretion is equal to 4 p. 100 of ingested galactose. In urines of hydrolyzed lactose diets (LH and PH) the excretion reaches 26 p. 100 of ingestion. In this case the excretion is remarkably invariable from third day of eighth month: the urinary galactose corresponds to 23 p. 100 and galactitol to 3 p. 100 of consumed galactose. The urines of lactose diets (L and P) and hydrolyzed lactose diets (LH and PH) contain 100 and 300 mg/day of non sugar reducing substances respectively, i.e. 40 p. 100 of total urinary reducing power. The apparent retention of lactose (L and P) is 95,5 p. 100 and that of the hydrolyzed lactose (LH and PH) is 86 p. 100 after 8 months of experiment but it is estimated that digestive flora consumes 40 p. 100 of dietary lactose (L and P).