Postprandial changes in small bowel water content in healthy subjects and patients with irritable bowel syndrome.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Postprandial symptoms are common in patients with irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D) and could be diet related. We studied postprandial changes in distribution of water in the upper gastrointestinal tract of healthy volunteers (HVs) and patients with IBS-D after contrasting meals. METHODS: In study 1, 11 HVs consumed 350-mL test meals with 5% mannitol (unabsorbable) or 5% glucose (readily absorbed). In study 2, 17 HVs consumed a 331-kcal meal, with or without 15 g bran. In study 3, 26 patients with IBS-D consumed the study 2 diet with bran meal. All subjects underwent serial magnetic resonance imaging analysis. RESULTS: In study 1, subjects' small bowel water content (SBWC) increased after the mannitol but not glucose meals, reaching 381 mL (interquartile range, 343-491 mL) and 47 mL (18-78 mL), respectively, 40 minutes after eating (P < .001). In study 2, SBWC initially decreased after both meal types and then increased, plateauing at 180-405 minutes and was greater after the bran meal (P = .02). In study 3, fasting and postprandial SBWC was lower in IBS-D than in HVs (P < .05 and P < .0001, respectively). Patients with IBS-D had faster orocecal transit times (135 minutes; 90-180 minutes) compared with HVs (225 minutes; 203-293 minutes; P < .0001) and reduced terminal ileum diameter (P < .003). CONCLUSIONS: Postprandial SBWC initially decreases, because of rapid, nutrient-driven fluid absorption, and then increases after a mixed liquid/solid meal. Patients with IBS-D have reduced fasting and postprandial SBWC with faster transit, possibly indicating increased small intestinal tone.

Formulation and In Vitro Evaluation of Ofloxacin Tablets using Natural Gums as Binders.

Natural gums are economical, easily available, and useful as tablet binders. In the present investigation, an attempt was made to formulate Ofloxacin tablets using three natural binders, namely Acacia arabica, Hibiscus esculentus, and xanthan gum. Such six batches of Ofloxacin tablets were prepared by using different types and amounts of the natural binders by the wet granulation method. The tablets were analyzed for their hardness, friability, and weight variation, and in vitro release was performed in a phosphate buffer at pH 6.8. The prepared tablets were also evaluated for their various release kinetics and similarity factors f2. The physical properties of the tablets containing the natural binders showed sufficient hardness, desirable disintegration time, and low friability. Their better percentage of drug release was observed as compared to the marketed formulation showing more than 85% drug release within 45 minutes. The in vitro release data was well-fitted into zero-order and the values of release exponent 'n' were between 0.303 and 0.514. The high similarity factor f2 of 64.50 was achieved with the best batch in comparison to the marketed tablets. The results obtained indicated that the gum Acacia arabica performed as well as gelatin compared to the other binders for the Ofloxacin tablet formulation.