PROTECTIVE EFFECTS OF DIETARY FIBER IN RATS FED TOXIC DOSES OF SODIUM CYCLAMATE AND POLYOXYETHYLENE SORBITAN MONOSTEARATE (TWEEN 60)

1 Final Report on the Safety Assessment of Polysorbates 20, 21, 40, 60, 61, 65, 80, 81, and 85

The Polysorbates are a series of polyoxyethylenated sorbitan esters that are used as hydrophilic, nonionic surfactants in a variety of cosmetic products. Polysorbates are hydrolyzed by pancreatic and blood lipases; the fatty acid moiety is released to be absorbed and metabolized, whereas the polyoxyethylene sorbitan moiety is very poorly absorbed and is excreted unchanged. Acute and long-term oral toxicity in animals indicates a low order of toxicity with oral ingestion of the Polysorbates.

Polysorbate 80 was shown to be nonmutagenic in the Ames and micronucleus tests. The Polysorbates were noncarcinogenic in laboratory animals. Multiple studies have shown that the Polysorbates enhance the activity of known chemical carcinogens while not actually being carcinogenic themselves.

Extensive clinical skin testing showed Polysorbates to have little potential for human skin irritation or evidence of skin sensitization or phototoxicity. The available data indicate that these ingredients are used in numerous preparations without clinical reports of significant adverse effects. It is concluded that they are safe for use in cosmetics at present concentrations of use.

A tube-fed liquid formula diet containing dietary fiber increased stool weight in bed-ridden elderly patients

OBJECTIVE

The number of bedridden elderly patients who need a liquid diet has been increasing. We evaluated the usefulness of a tube-fed liquid diet containing cellulose and oligosaccharide for elderly bedridden patients.

METHODS

Twenty-two elderly bedridden patients were given a liquid diet containing cellulose and lafinose for 4 wk. Parameters associated with blood and stool weight were measured during this period.

RESULTS

Stool weight increased by 32.0 g in men and 8.8 g in women at 2 wk and remained at these weights up to 4 wk (P < 0.05 before and after 2 wk, 3 wk, and 4 wk in men, and P < 0.05 before and after 3 wk in women). Body weight increased in men (0.5 kg) and women (0.7 kg) 15 d after starting the diet and then remained at these values up to 29 d thereafter, and statistically significant differences were not seen. There were no changes in nutritional parameters such as total protein.

CONCLUSION

No significant changes were observed in the general condition of elderly patients, with the exception of a positive increase in fecal weight, by 30-d supplementation of a liquid diet containing cellulose and lafinose.

Nutritional effects of supplementing liquid-formula diet with dietary fiber on elderly bed-ridden patients

In the past few decades, the number of bed-ridden elderly patients has been increasing. This group of patients is frequently fed with a liquid formula diet. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of a liquid formula diet containing dietary fiber (DF) for elderly bed-ridden patients. Eighteen elderly, bed-ridden patients were given L-3 Fiber, a DF-containing liquid formula diet (DF-LFD), for 4 weeks, while a number of parameters were monitored, including serum levels of total cholesterol, triglyceride, total protein, creatinine, uric acid, glucose, sodium, potassium, and calcium, urine protein/sugar, and defecation frequency. Total protein, albumin and total cholesterol significantly increased following the administration of the DF-LFD, associated with an average increase in body weight of 1.94 kg (5.0%). Defecation frequency significantly increased one week after DF-LFD administration was started, but this effect was transient. Although a few patients complained of nausea, vomiting or abdominal pain, no severe side effects were seen. In conclusion, DF-LFD supplementation appears to be beneficial for elderly bed-ridden patients, and can increase nutritional-related parameters, such as body weight, total protein, albumin and total cholesterol, without severe side effects.

Toxicological aspects of cyclamate and cyclohexylamine

In the late 1960s the artificial sweetener cyclamate was implicated as a bladder carcinogen in rats. This finding and other concerns about its safety ultimately led to a ban on cyclamate in the U.S. and restrictions on its use in many other countries. Since that time, the carcinogenic potential of cyclamate and cyclohexylamine, its principal metabolite, has been reevaluated in a group of well-controlled, well-designed bioassays that have failed to substantiate the earlier findings. This review of the published and unpublished literature on cyclamate attempts to evaluate the carcinogenicity question and other important aspects of the toxicity of cyclamate and cyclohexylamine, including their effects on various organ systems, their genotoxic potential, and their effects on reproduction. In addition, the physiological disposition of cyclamate is reviewed, with particular attention directed toward the site and extent of its conversion to cyclohexylamine.