The response of rats to feeding with diets containing grapefruit flavonoid extract

In two experiments, the response of rats to feeding with diets containing grapefruit flavonoids was examined. In the first experiment, during 8 weeks, four diets without or with 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4% extract of flavonoid from grapefruit (from 0.05 to 0.2% DM pure flavonoids) were applied. In the second experiment, during 10 days, diets with oxidised fat (100 meq O-2/kg) and without or with 0.4% extract of flavonoid were applied. The obtained results showed that the addition of 0.1-0.4% extract of flavonoid from grapefruit did not affect the diet intake and the body weight gain of rats, and slightly increased the antioxidative potential of serum (decreased the MDA content but had no significant effect on the PGx and SOD activities). The addition strongly affected functioning of the blind gut ecosystem causing an increased filling with contents, an increase in the intestinal wall mass and pH, as well as a decrease in the microbiological activity of beta-glucuronidase and an increase in the alpha-galactosidase activity. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.