Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T11:48:58.729Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Metabolic response to dietary fibre composition in horses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 January 2016

C. Brøkner ,
D. Austbø ,
J. A. Næsset ,
D. Blache ,
K. E. Bach Knudsen  and
A. H. Tauson
C. Brøkner*
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary Clinical and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegaardsvej 3, DK-1870 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
D. Austbø
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Aquacultural Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Box 5003, N-1432 Ås, Norway
J. A. Næsset
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Aquacultural Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Box 5003, N-1432 Ås, Norway
D. Blache
Affiliation:
School of Animal Biology, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
K. E. Bach Knudsen
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science, Aarhus University, Blichers Allé 20, DK 8830 Tjele, Denmark
A. H. Tauson
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary Clinical and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegaardsvej 3, DK-1870 Frederiksberg C, Denmark Department of Animal and Aquacultural Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Box 5003, N-1432 Ås, Norway
*
†E-mail: Christine.Broekner@sund.ku.dk
Get access

Abstract

The hypothesis for this study was that a higher dietary proportion of soluble fibre would result in stable and constant plasma metabolite and regulatory hormone concentrations. The study was a 4×4 Latin Square design with a sequence of 17 days adaptation to the ration followed by 8 sampling days. The feed rations consisted of only timothy hay (H), hay plus molassed sugar beet pulp combined with either whole oats (OB) or barley (BB) and hay plus a loose chaff-based concentrate (M). Four horses were fitted with permanent caecal cannulas and liquid caecal content was withdrawn manually and blood was drawn from the jugular vein at 0, 3 and 9 h postprandial. The horses were exercised daily at medium level for about 1 h. Samples were analysed for short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) and metabolic traits. Caecal SCFA and propionic acid concentrations increased with increased dietary starch and soluble fibre. The diet highest in soluble fibre (M) resulted in the highest plasma glucose and insulin concentrations in the morning, which then remained stable and constant throughout the day. A strong interaction (P<0.01) between time and diet was measured for plasma urea, glucose, insulin and leptin. The greatest variations in plasma glycaemic and insulinaemic responses were associated with the cereal grain diets (OB and BB). There were indications of a negative energy balance, which was reflected in a significantly higher plasma β-hydroxybutyrate concentration and a numerically higher non-esterified fatty acid concentration. In conclusion, this study found that inclusion of soluble fibre resulted in increased total caecal SCFA and propionic acid concentrations. This consequently resulted in stable and constant plasma glycaemic and insulinaemic responses. Diets with a high content of soluble fibre provided enough energy for horses at medium work level.

Keywords

caecal SCFAdietary fibrehorsemetabolitesregulatory hormones
Type
Research Article
Information
animal , Volume 10 , Issue 7 , July 2016 , pp. 1155 - 1163
Copyright
© The Animal Consortium 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Austbø, D 2004. The Scandinavian adaptation of the French UFC system. In EAAP no. 111 publication: nutrition of the performance horse (ed. V Julliand and W Martin-Rosset), pp. 69–77. Wageningen Academic Publishers, Wageningen, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
Bach Knudsen, KE, Lærke, HL and Hedemann, MS 2008. The role of fibre in piglet gut health. In Gut efficiency; the key ingredient in pig and poultry production (ed. JA Taulor-Pickard and P Spring), p. 65. Wageningen Academic Publishers, Wageningen, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
Blache, D, Tellam, RL, Chagas, LM, Blackberry, MA, Vercoe, PE and Martin, GB 2000. Level of nutrition affects leptin concentrations in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid in sheep. Journal of Endocrinology 165, 625–637.Google Scholar
Borgia, L, Valberg, S, McCue, M, Watts, K and Pagan, J 2011. Glycaemic and insulinaemic responses to feeding hay with different non-structural carbohydrate content in control and polysaccharide storage myopathy-affected horses. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition 95, 798–807.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brighenti, F 1998. Summary of the conclusion of the working group on profibre interlaboratory study on determination of short chain fatty acids in blood. In Functional properties of non-digestible carbohydrates (ed. F Guillon, R Amado, MT Amaral-Callaco, H Andersson, NG Asp, KE Bach Knudsen, M Champ, J Mathers, JA Robertson, I Rowland and J Van Loo), pp. 150–153. European Commission, DGXII, Science, Research and Development, Brussels, Belgium.Google Scholar
Brøkner, C, Austbø, D, Næsset, JA, Bach Knudsen, KE and Tauson, AH 2012a. Equine pre-caecal and total tract digestibility of individual carbohydrate fractions and their effect on caecal pH response. Archives of Animal Nutrition 66, 490–506.Google Scholar
Brøkner, C, Austbø, D, Næsset, JA, Blache, D, Bach Knudsen, KE, Hansen, HH and Tauson, AH 2015. Glycaemic and insulinaemic response to dietary fibre in horses. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 57 (suppl. 1), P2.Google Scholar
Brøkner, C, Bach Knudsen, KE, Karaman, I, Eybye, KL and Tauson, AH 2012b. Chemical and physicochemical characterisation of various horse feed ingredients. Animal Feed Science and Technology 177, 86–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cartmill, JA, Thompson, DL, Storer, WA, Gentry, LR and Huff, NK 2003. Endocrine responses in mares and geldings with high body condition scores grouped by high vs. low resting leptin concentrations. Journal of Animal Science 81, 2311–2321.Google Scholar
Gentry, LR, Thomsen, DL, Gentry, GT, Davis, KA, Godke, RA and Cartmill, JA 2002. The relationship between body condition, leptin and reproductive and hormonal characteristics of mares during the seasonal anovulatory period. Journal of Animal Science 80, 2695–2703.Google Scholar
Hallebeek, JM and Beynen, AC 2003. Influence of dietary beet pulp on the plasma level of triacylglycerols in horses. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition 87, 181–187.Google Scholar
Harano, Y, Ohtsuki, M, Ida, M, Kojima, H, Harada, M, Okanishi, T, Kashiwagi, A, Ochi, Y, Uno, S and Shigeta, Y 1985. Direct automated assay method for serum or urine levels of ketone bodies. Clinica Chimica Acta 151, 177–183.Google Scholar
Jansson, A and Lindberg, JE 2012. A forage-only diet alters the metabolic response of horses in training. Animal 6, 1939–1946.Google Scholar
Jansson, A, Saastamoinen, M and Lindberg, JE 2012. Forage feeding system. In EAAP no. 32 publication: forages and grazing in horse nutrition (ed. M Saastamoinen, MJ Santos and N Miraglia), pp. 289–303. Wageningen Academic Publishers, Wageningen, The Netherlands.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jensen, MT, Cox, RP and Jensen, BB 1995. Microbial production of skatole in the hindgut of pigs given different diets and its relation to skatole deposition in backfat. Animal Science 61, 293–304.Google Scholar
Jensen, RB, Brøkner, C, Bach Knudsen, KE and Tauson, AH 2010. A comparative study of the apparent total tract digestibility of carbohydrates in Icelandic and Danish Warmblood horses fed two different haylages and a concentrate consisting of sugar beet pulp and black oats. Archives of Animal Nutrition 64, 343–356.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jose-Cunilleras, E and Hinchcliff, KW 2004. Carbohydrate metabolism in exercising horses. Equine and Comparative Exercise and Physiology 1, 23–32.Google Scholar
Jose-Cunilleras, E, Hinchcliff, KW, Sams, RA, Devor, ST and Linderman, JK 2002. Glycemic index of a meal fed before exercise alters substrate use and glucose flux in exercising horses. Journal of Applied Physiology 92, 117–128.Google Scholar
Kienzle, E and Zeyner, A 2010. Metabolizable energy for horses: development of a simple system and flexible feed evaluation system. In EAAP no. 128 publication: the impact of nutrition on the health and welfare of horses (ed. AD Ellis, AC Longland, M Coenen and N Miraglia), pp. 37–39. Wageningen Academic Publishers, Wageningen, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
Lindberg, JE and Palmgren Karlsson, C 2001. Effect of partial replacements of oats with sugar beet pulp and maize oil on nutrient utilization in horses. Equine Veterinary Journal 33, 585–590.Google Scholar
Martin-Rosset, W, Vermorel, M, Doreau, M, Tisserand, JL and Andrieu, J 1994. The French horse feed evaluation systems and recommended allowances for energy and protein. Livestock Production Science 40, 37–56.Google Scholar
Pethick, DW, Rose, RJ, Bryden, WL and Gooden, JM 1993. Nutrient utilisation by the hindlimb of thoroughbred horses at rest. Equine Veterinary Journal 25, 41–44.Google Scholar
SAS Institute 2008. SAS/STAT user’s guide, version 9.2. SAS Institute Inc, Cary, NC, USA.Google Scholar
Schmidt, SL and Hickey, MS 2009. Regulation of insulin action by diet and exercise. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 29, 274–284.Google Scholar
Tindal, JS, Knaggs, GS, Hart, IC and Blake, LA 1978. Release of growth hormone in lactating and non-lactating goats in relation to behaviour, stages of sleep, electroencephalograms, environmental stimuli and levels of prolactin, insulin, glucose and free fatty acids in the circulation. Journal of Endocrinology 76, 333–346.Google Scholar
Van Soest, PJ 1994. Nutritional ecology of the ruminants, 2nd edition. Comstock Publishing Associates, A Division of Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, USA.Google Scholar
Vermorel, M, Martin-Rosset, W and Vernet, J 1997. Energy utilization of twelve forages or mixed diets for maintenance by sport horses. Livestock Production Science 47, 157–167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zeyner, A 2008. Energy providing nutrient sources. In EAAP no. 125 publication: nutrition of the exercising horse (ed. MT Saastamoinen and W Martin-Rosset), pp. 277–294. Wageningen Academic Publishers, Wageningen, The Netherlands.Google Scholar