Any regular coffee drinks will know the effect that the drink has on their bowels, and now a study has revealed why the beverage has you running to the toilet.
While previous studies have suggested that the effect is linked to the caffeine in coffee, researchers from the University of Texas claim that this isn’t actually the case.
In the study, the researchers fed coffee to rats, and found that the drink increased muscle motility and suppressed bacteria - regardless of the caffeine content.
Dr Xuan-Zheng Shi, who led the study, said: “When rats were treated with coffee for three days, the ability of the muscles in the small intestine to contract appeared to increase.
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”Interestingly, these effects are caffeine-independent, because caffeine-free coffee had similar effects as regular coffee.”
To understand the effect of coffee on the bowels, the researchers exposed poo to coffee in a petri dish, and studied the composition of rats’ poo after feeding them different concentrations of coffee over three days.
The researchers also analysed changes to smooth muscles in the rats’ intestines and colons, and the response of those muscles when exposed directly to coffee.
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The results revealed that the growth of bacteria in the petri dish was suppressed when exposed to both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee.
Meanwhile, the amount of bacteria in the rats’ poo also decreased after the animals consumed coffee, and their muscles showed an increased ability to contract.
Based on the findings, the researchers suggest that coffee could be used as a treatment for constipation - although they highlight that further research is needed.
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