Dietary galacto-oligosaccharides mixture can suppress serum phenol and p-cresol levels in rats fed tyrosine diet.

Phenols (phenol and p-cresol) are amino acid metabolites produced by intestinal bacteria. Some reports have demonstrated that the accumulation of phenols in the serum has toxic effects in renal failure patients. In this study, we found that phenols accumulated in the serum of rats given a tyrosine diet, and that dietary intake of a galacto-oligosaccharide mixture (GOS) suppressed the accumulation of phenols in serum. Rats were fed a basal diet, tyrosine diet (basal diet with 2.5% tyrosine) or GOS diet (tyrosine diet with 5% GOS) for 2 wk. The concentrations of phenols in the feces, cecal contents, serum and urine were determined. Concentrations of phenols in the serum, cecal contents and feces from rats fed the tyrosine diet were significantly higher than those in rats fed the basal diet. The concentrations of phenols in feces, cecal contents and serum, and urinary excretion in the GOS diet group were significantly lower than those in the tyrosine diet group. The pH of cecal contents was decreased by GOS intake. Furthermore, the serum concentrations of phenols were closely correlated with cecal concentrations. This finding suggested that concentrations of phenols in the serum reflected phenol production in the cecum contents. These results showed that dietary intake of GOS could modify the intestinal environment, and suppress the production of phenols in the intestinal tract and the accumulation of phenols in the serum. Thus, GOS may help improve the quality of life (QOL) of patients with renal failure.