Oral ornithine a-ketoglutarate accelerates healing of thesmall intestine and reduces bacterial translocation after abdominal radiation

The effect of dietary ornithine a-ketoglutarate (OKG) on intestinal mucosal integrity and bacterial translocation was studied in rats following administration of a single dose of abdominal radiation (1100 cGy). Following the radiation injury the rats were randomized to receive a nutritionally incomplete diet which contained only water and OKG or a control diet with water and the non-essential amino-acid glycine. Four days after radiation, rats were anaesthetized and a laparotomy was performed. Cultures from mesenteric lymph nodes were taken and two tissue samples from the terminal ileum were also taken for light microscopy, protein and DNA determination. We examined the following parameters: number of villi per cm (V/cm), villus height (Vh), number of mitoses per crypt (M/c) and we measured the mucosal protein and DNA content. Nine of 16 rats who received the OKG-free diet had positive cultures but only 3 of 18 rats who received the OKG-enriched diet (P= 0.002). The group on the OKG-enriched diethad a better intestinal mucosal architecture than the group on the OKG-free diet and the studied parameters of the gut mucosa were significantly better: (V/cm: 130 ± 8.1 vs 99 ± 7.9, P = 0.001. Vh(mm): 0.40 ± 0.03 vs 0.24 ± 0.05, P= 0.002. M/c: 1.71 ± 0.03 vs 0.34 ± 0.2, P= 0.001, Protein (mg/cm): 2.300 ± 0.033 vs 1.207 ± 0.014, P = 0.002. DNA (μg/cm): 203 ± 6.41 vs 130 ± 4.94, P = 0.001. We conclude that OKG-enriched diet prevents the deleterious effects of radiation on intestinal mucosal morphology and integrity, abolishing thus, the increased bacterial translocation observed after abdominal radiation.