TAICHUNG, Taiwan—Results from a study of isomalto-oligosaccharide (IO) supplementation on bowel health parameters in constipated elderly subjects have been published online ahead of print in Nutrition journal. Researchers from Chung Shan Medical University investigated the long-term effects of isomalto-oligosaccharide (IO) supplementation on fecal microflora, bowel function, and biochemical indicators of nutritional status in 13 constipated elderly subjects in their early 80s. The diet-controlled study consisted of a four-week placebo period, two four-week periods of 10 g/d IO supplementation (IO1 and IO2), and a four-week post period. Researchers collected fasting blood on the last day of each period, in addition to taking stool samples the last week of each period and monitoring bowel function throughout the study.
At the end of the first supplementation period (IO1), fecal bifidobacteria, lactobacilli, and bacteroides counts (log counts/g wet feces) significantly increased and clostridia count decreased; the effects amplified during the IO2 period then returned back towards baseline after the post-period. Further, the frequency of defecation increased during the IO2 period, and wet fecal mass increased 24 percent during both supplementation periods. On secondary endpoints, IO supplementation appeared to lower plasma total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels after both four and eight weeks, compared to both control and post periods.
The researchers concluded adding IO supplementation to a low-fiber diet improved colonic microflora profile and bowel movement in a time-dependent fashion in constipated elderly subjects, with beneficial effects waning after the supplementation was discontinued.
