Influence of brassica sprouts on short chain fatty acids concentration in stools of rats with thyroid dysfunction

The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of kohlrabi and broccoli sprouts added to diet on the concentrations of short-chain fatty acids in faeces samples of rats with thyroid dysfunction. Two models of hypothyroidism were used. First one was based on the diet with iodine deficiency and the second by sulfadimethoxine addition to the animal drinking water. In most cases the concentrations of acetic acid, propanoic acid and butanoic acid in stool samples obtained from rats with thyroid dysfunction were insignificantly lower than found in control group. Moreover, almost in all cases the diet enriched with brassica sprouts insignificantly increased the concentration of fatty acids in investigated material. Significant positive correlation between concentrations of butanoic and acetic acids was found in different groups of rats. In conclusion, the addition of brassica or kohlrabi sprouts in rat’s diet may slightly alleviate the decline of concentrations of some fatty acids in stool of animals with thyroid dysfunction. Long term effects of this phenomenon should be evaluated in future studies.