STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATIONS OF THE STOMACH OF JUVENILE RATS AFTER REGULAR ADMINISTRATION OF AN ENERGY DRINK

Abstract

Nowadays energy drinks are very popular, especially among young people. Their adverse effect on the central nervous system, cardiovascular system and on some organs of the digestive system is well studied. Of great practi- cal interest is the study of the complex effect of energy drinks on the gastrointestinal tract and, in particular, on the stomach during regular, long-term consumption of energy drinks, as well as when they are consumed together with physical activity, due to the popularity of energy drink consumption during sports activities. The aim of the study was to establish the peculiarities of structural changes in the stomach tissues of rats when energy drinks are consumed with and without additional physical exertion. The experiment was performed on 54 two-month-old male Wistar rats. Animals of the experimental groups daily for 10, 30 and 60 days received intragastrically with 10 ml/kg energy drink. Some of these animals were additionally subjected to physical load simulated on a treadmill. The control group of animals received distilled water in the same volume. Histological descriptive analysis revealed no significant structural changes in the gastric mucosa in the group of rats administered the energy drink for 10 days compared with the control group. Administration of the energy drink for 30 and 60 days leads to the appearance of degenerative-necrotic and inflammatory changes in the stomach, as well as an increase in its acid-producing and mucus-forming function. In the group of animals with simulated physical loadtogether with energy drink consumption, the changes are similar in their direction and expression to those found in the group of rats without additional physical load.