Lactulose 10g/15ml oral solution 15ml sachets sugar free

Lactulose is a synthetic disaccharide derivative of lactose that consists of one molecule of galactose and one molecule of fructose.[FDA Label,L6199,L6202] Saccharolytic bacteria present in the large intestine subsequently break the substance down into organic acids like lactic acid and small amounts of formic and acetic acids.[FDA Label,L6199,L6202] Such resultant volatile fatty acid metabolites, in combination with hydrogen and methane that is also generated consequently enhance intraluminal gas formation, peristaltic gut motility, and elicit an osmotic effect that facilitates an increase in the water content of stool as well as associated stool softening.[FDA Label,L6199,L6202] All of these actions ultimately assist in facilitating and increasing the frequency of bowel movements in patients experiencing constipation, although it may take 24 to 48 hours after using the medication for this laxative effect to become evident.[FDA Label,L6199,L6202]

At the same time, the formation of such acids via the metabolism of lactulose by colonic bacteria also acidifies the contents of the colon, thereby contributing to the treatment of portal-systemic encephalopathy (PSE).[FDA Label,L6199,L6202] As one of the principal features of PSE involves the accumulation of nitrogenous waste products like ammonia in the systemic circulation, a state in which the colonic contents become more acidic than blood allows ammonia in the circulation to diffuse into the colon.[FDA Label,L6199,L6202]. Furthermore, ammonia that diffuses into the acidic colon is ionized to ammonium ions that are incapable of being absorbed back into the blood.[FDA Label,L6199,L6202] These effects, combined with the laxative action of lactulose facilitates the excretion of excess ammonia.[FDA Label,L6199,L6202] And finally, it is also believed that an acidic colonic environment results in the elimination of urease-producing bacteria that contribute to the formation of ammonia while surviving colonic bacteria use up any trapped ammonia in the colon as a source of nitrogen for protein synthesis.[L6202]