Background: Impaired iron handling in riboflavin deficiency is thought to be partially a result of significant morphological and cytokinetic changes within the small intestine.
Aims: The aim of the study was to find out if the responses of the rat small intestine to riboflavin deficiency induced at weaning could be reversed upon repletion.
Subjects: 48 female weanling Wistar rats were used for the purpose of the study.
Methods: Rats were fed a riboflavin deficient diet or a complete control diet for a period of five weeks followed by a repletion period of up to three weeks. Rats were killed on day 0, 2, 7, or 21 of repletion. The duodenum was removed and fixed for subsequent analysis.
Results: Five weeks of riboflavin deficiency significantly changed the morphology and cytokinetics of the duodenum; the changes were not reversed within the 21 day repletion period despite biochemical evidence for a correction of the deficiency.
Conclusions: The results show that the small intestine cannot readily recover from a period of riboflavin deficiency induced at weaning, supporting the notion that the weaning period is a critical time for gastrointestinal development and highlighting the importance of adequate nutrition during infancy.