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ABSTRACT
Background: Butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) formed by the fermentation of complex carbohydrates by the bacteria in the colon, is the main source of nutrition for colonocytes. The aim of this experiment was to investigate the effect of butyrate on the healing of colonic anastomosis in a rat model. Materials and Methods: Forty male Wistar rats were fed a fibre-free diet for 2 days. They then underwent laparotomy, transection, and anastomosis of both left and right colon, with a defunctioning caecostomy. The animals were then randomly assigned to receive butyrate or saline enemas from the third postoperative day and underwent another laparotomy on the seventh postoperative day when the bursting pressures of both anastomoses were measured. Results: Out of the 40 rats, 23 were available for the final data analysis. The mechanical strength of the anastomosis was measured by the bursting wall tension (BWT), which was calculated from the bursting pressure and the anastomotic circumference. The anastomoses in the butyrate arm showed a significantly higher BWT for both the right (48.9 s 64.71 dyne10−3/cm, p value .04) and the left (51.44 vs 72.38 dyne 10−3/cm, p value .01). Conclusion: This experiment suggests that butyrate has a significant role in increasing the mechanical strength of colonic anastomoses in rats.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to acknowledge the assistance offered by Dr. Mir Shovkat and Dr. Aparna Venkatraman in the conceptualization of the animal work. They also wish to acknowledge the assistance offered by Dr. Anna Oommen and the staff of the animal lab as well as Mr. R. Balamurugan and Mr. N.S. Nandakumar of the Wellcome Research Unit.