Abstract：Objective To investigate the quality of water stored in a tunnel and the impact on the gastrointestinal function of rats.Methods The quality of daily drinking water and water stored in tunnel for one week, three weeks, six weeks was examined before forty SD rats were equally divided into four groups and fed with boiled normal drinking water, water stored in a tunnel for one week, three weeks and six weeks respectively for two weeks. The PH value of gastric juice, fecal cocci/bacillus ratio, amount of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), proportion of cells in S phase and apoptotic cells in the gastric mucosa were compared between the four groups.Results No changes were observed in sensory property indexes, general chemical indexes or toxicological indexes over time, but the total bacterial count tended to gradually increase. However, significant changes in the PH value of gastric juice, in the proportion of cells in S phase and in apoptotic cells in the gastric mucosa were found in rats that had drunk water stored in a tunnel for three weeks and six weeks. The level of PGE2 in the gastric mucosa significantly decreased in rats which were administered with water stored for six weeks, but there was no statistically significant significance in the fecal cocci/bacillus ratio between these groups.Conclusions Drinking water stored in tunnels is a potential risk factor that impairs the gastric mucosa so that effective measures should be taken.
2018, Vol. 29 
