Objective: To explore the relationship between enteral nutrition and the change in intestinal mucosal blood flow during intestinal ischemia/reperfusion injury.
Methods: Thirty-six Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into alanine (12 rats), glucose (14 rats) and mannitol control (10 rats) groups. Jejunal sac was prepared with the filling of either 10 mM alanine, glucose or mannitol in the three groups. The laser doppler probe and intestinal mucosal tonometry were placed at the both ends of the sac. The superior mesenteric artery was occluded by arterial clamp for 60 mins and released thereafter for another 60 mins. Intestinal mucosal blood flow and regional pressure of CO(2) (PrCO(2)) were determined every 30 mins.
Results: During the process of ischemia/reperfusion, the intestinal mucosal blood flow in glucose group increased evidently and the PrCO(2) in glucose group decreased obviously (P < 0.01) when comparcd with those in mannitol group.
Conclusion: During the process of ischemia/reperfusion, enteral feeding of glucose could increase intestinal mucosal blood flow, which provided guarding effects on the intestine suffering from ischemic/reperfusion injury.