Acta physiologica Scandinavica
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Acta Physiol. Scand. · Oct 2004
Evaluation of a triple sugar test of colonic permeability in humans.
Conventional dual sugar tests of intestinal permeability assess only the stomach and small intestine. A novel triple sugar method of assessing colonic permeability has recently been described in animals. This utilizes the non-fermented sweetener sucralose, in addition to conventional sugars. It has been postulated that this test enables the simultaneous assessment of small-intestinal and colonic barrier function in humans. The aim of this study was to evaluate the triple sugar test using healthy volunteers and ileostomists. ⋯ Both sucralose and 51Cr-EDTA underwent significant colonic absorption. A significant amount of lactulose also appeared to be absorbed in the colon. This unexpected finding requires further study.