Healthy Wistar rats were supplemented
during 20 weeks with commercial
inulin (I) and Agave tequilana fructans
(CAT), experimental fructans from A. tequilana (EAT) and A. salmiana (AS) mature
stems, rice starch 10% (RS), and standard feed for rodents (C). Feed
intake was kept steady, but with I, body weight and abdominal adipose
tissue (6.01 g) decreased at the end. Glucose (mg/dL) (C, 120.52;
I, 110.69; CAT, 105.75; EAT, 115.48; AS, 101.63; and RS, 121.82),
total cholesterol (C, 89.89; I, 64.48; CAT, 68.04; EAT, 68.74; AS,
68.04; and RS, 82), and triglycerides (C, 84.03; I, 59.52; CAT, 68.56;
EAT, 59.08; AS, 75.27; and RS, 81.8) kept being normal and without
differences between fructans. At the end, there was a significant
increase in lactic acid bacteria when the I and AS groups were compared
to the C group (C, 9.18; I, 10.64; CAT, 10.34; EAT, 10.36; AS, 10.49;
and RS, 9.62 log 10 CFU/g of feces). In addition, with fructans, there
was an accelerated process in feces emptiness, Lieberkühn crypts
kept their morphology, and there was an increment of goblet cells.