Protective effects of glutamine on intestinal barrier in rats with liver cirrhosis

Objective To determine the protective effects of glutamine on intestinal barrier in rats with liver cirrhosis.Methods Following establishment of the liver cirrhosis model induced by carbon tetrachloride and alcohol,30 Wistar rats were randomly assigned to normal control,liver cirrhosis model control and glutamine treatment group,respectively.The amelioration in liver cirrhosis and intestinal barrier dysfunction following administration of glutamine was assessed by HE and VG staining and electron microscopy.The levels of plasma diamine oxidase and endotoxin were employed to evaluate the efficacy in respective group.Results It has been evidenced by VG staining that glutamine treatment group was characterized of mostly attenuated liver fibrosis and by HE staining and electron microscopy that intestinal barrier dysfunction was reduced.Higher level of portal vein endotoxin and plasma DAO was noted in cirrhosis model group normal,but not in control group(P0.05).Conclusion Glutamine plays a protective role on the intestinal barrier in rats with liver cirrhosis.Furthermore,the two indicators in treatment group were lower than those in cirrhosis model group at the same period(P0.05).