Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T13:35:10.424Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Gastrointestinal implications in pigs of wheat and oat fractions

2. Microbial activity in the gastrointestinal tract

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

K. E. Bach Knudsen ,
B. Borg Jensen ,
J. O. Andersen  and
Inge Hansen
K. E. Bach Knudsen
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Physiology and Biochemistry, National Institute of Animal Science, Foulum P.O. Box 39, DK-8830 Tjele, Denmark
B. Borg Jensen
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Physiology and Biochemistry, National Institute of Animal Science, Foulum P.O. Box 39, DK-8830 Tjele, Denmark
J. O. Andersen
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Physiology and Biochemistry, National Institute of Animal Science, Foulum P.O. Box 39, DK-8830 Tjele, Denmark
Inge Hansen
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Physiology and Biochemistry, National Institute of Animal Science, Foulum P.O. Box 39, DK-8830 Tjele, Denmark
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The present work was undertaken to study the microbial activity in various segments of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract of pigs as influenced by the source and level of wheat and oat dietary fibre (DF). Eight experimental diets were prepared from wheat and oat fractions and studied in a series of two experiments using wheat flour as the DF-depleted control. The diets in Expt 1 were based on wheat flour and three iso-DF enriched diets comprising fractions rich in wheat aleurone, pericarp/testa or bran. In Expt 2, oat bran was added to wheat flour to achieve the same DF intake level as in Expt 1. This series included further diets based on rolled oats and rolled oats plus oat bran. The eight diets were given to thirty-two ileal-cannulated pigs, with sixteen pigs in each experiment. After a total period of 34 d (Expt 1) and 42 d (Expt 2), the pigs were slaughtered 4 h post-feeding and samples taken for adenine nucleotides (adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP); adenylate energy charge (AEC)), organic acids (lactic acid (LA); short chain fatty acids (SCFA)) and pH at twelve sites of the GI tract. The microbial activity as measured by the ATP concentration was low in the stomach and the cranial two-thirds of the small intestine, but tended to increase in the distal third. In the caecum a sharp rise in microbial activity was observed; the highest level was found for the diet providing most fermentable substrates. In all the diets but the rolled oats+oat bran diets, microbial activity showed a descending pattern as the digesta moved through the colon. In the large intestine source and level of residues had a marked influence on microbial activity. LA was the chief organic acid in the stomach and small intestine (10–40 mmol/l) while LA relative to SCFA was a minor component in the caecum and colon (10–20 mmol/l). The contribution of SCFA to total organic acids was reciprocal to LA, i. e. low in the stomach and small intestine (<20 mmol/l) and high in the caecum and colon. In the large intestine the concentration of SCFA decreased from 100–140 mmol/l in the caecum and proximal colon to 40–80 mmol/l in the distal colon. The acetic: propionic acid ratio increased from the caecum to the distal colon. With the diets based on oat alone (rolled oats; rolled oats+oat bran) the increase was less significant. DF addition and oats in particular increased the butyric acid molar ratio, from 0.06–0.08 for the wheat flour diet to 0.10–0.12 for the diet based on rolled oats+oat bran. For the same two diets the proportion of isobutyric and isovaleric acids increased more rapidly with the wheat-flour diet compared with the rolled oats+oat bran diet.

Keywords

Microbial activityAdenylate energy chargeDietary fibrePig
Type
Diet and its Effects on Gastrointestinal Function
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 65 , Issue 2 , March 1991 , pp. 233 - 248
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 1991

References

REFERENCES

Argenzio, R. A. & Southworth, M. (1974). Sites of organic acid production and absorption in the gastrointestinal tract of the pig. American Journal of Physiology 228, 454–460.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Argenzio, R. A., Southworth, M. & Stevens, C. E. (1974). Sites of organic acid production and absorption in the equine gastrointestinal tract. American Journal of Physiology 226, 1043–1050.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Argenzio, R. A. & Whipp, S. C. (1979). Inter-relationship of sodium, chloride, bicarbonate and acetate transport by the colon of the pig. Journal of Physiology 295, 365–381.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Atkinson, D. E. & Walton, G. M. (1967). Adenosine triphosphate conservation in metabolic regulation. Journal of Biological Chemistry 242, 3239–3241.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bach Knudsen, K. E. & Hansen, I. (1991). Gastrointestinal implications in pigs of wheat and oat fractions. I. Digestibility and bulking properties of polysaccharides and other major constituents. British Journal of Nutrition 65, 217–232.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bach Knudsen, K. E., Wolstrup, J. & Eggum, B. O. (1982a). The nutritive value of botanically defined mill fractions of barley. 2. The influence of endosperm and husk of Bomi and M-1508. Zeitschrift für Tierphysiologie, Tierernährung und Futtermittelkunde 48, 276–287.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bach Knudsen, K. E., Wolstrup, J. & Eggum, B. O. (1982b). The influence of dietary crude fibre and microbial activity in the digestive tract on true protein digestibility and biological value. Zeitschrift für Tierphysiologie, Tierernährung und Futtermittelkunde 49, 173–180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bach Knudsen, K. E., Wolstrup, J. & Eggum, B. O. (1984). The nutritive value of botanically defined mill fractions of barley. 4. The influence of hind-gut microflora in rats on digestibility of protein and energy of pericarp, testa, germ, aleuron and endosperm rich decortication fractions of the variety Bomi. Zeitschrift für Tierphysiologie, Tierernährung und Futtermittelkunde 52, 182–193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Borriello, S. P (1986). Microbial flora of the gastrointestinal tract. In Microbial Metabolism in the Digestive Tract, pp. 2–19 [Hill, M. J., editor]. Boca Raton: CRC.Google Scholar
Chapman, A. G., Fall, L. & Atkinson, D. E. (1971). Adenylate energy charge in Escherichia coli during growth and starvation. Journal of Bacteriology 108, 1072–1086.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chen, W. J. L., Anderson, J. W. & Jennings, D. (1984). Propionate may mediate the hypocholesterolemic effects of certain soluble plant fibers in cholesterol-fed rats. Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine 175, 215–218.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clemens, E. T., Stevens, C. E. & Southworth, M. (1975). Sites of organic acid production and pattern of digesta movement in the gastrointestinal tract of swine. Journal of Nutrition 105, 759–768.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cummings, J. H. (1982). Consequences of the metabolism of fibre in the human large intestine. In Dietary Fiber in Health and Disease, pp. 9–22 [G. Vahouny and Kritchevsky, D., editors]. New York: Plenum Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cummings, J. H. & Branch, W. J. (1982). Postulated mechanisms whereby fiber may protect against large bowel cancer. In Dietary Fiber in Health and Disease, pp. 313–325 [Vahouny, G. V. and Kritchevsky, D., editors]. New York: Plenum Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cummings, J. H. & Englyst, H. N. (1987). Fermentation in the human large intestine and the available substrates. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 45, 1243–1255.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cummings, J. H., Hill, M. J., Bone, E. S., Branch, W. J. & Jenkins, D. J. A. (1979). The effect of meat protein and dietary fibre on colonic function and metabolism. II. Bacterial metabolites in feces and urine. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 32, 2094–2101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cummings, J. H., Pomare, E. W., Branch, W. J., Naylor, C. P. & Macfarlane, G. T. (1987). Short chain fatty acids in human large intestine, portal, hepatic and venous blood. Gut 28, 1221–1227.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Decuypere, J. & Van der Heyde, H. (1972). Study of the gastro-intestinal microflora of suckling piglets and early weaned piglets reared using different feeding systems. Zentralblatt für Bakteriologie, Parasitenkunde, Infektionskrankheiten und Hygiene. Erste Abteilung Originale A221, 492–510.Google Scholar
Erfle, J. D., Mahadevan, S. & Sauer, F. D. (1979). Effect of diet quality on adenosine 5'-triphosphate concentration and adenylate energy charge of rumen microbes from fistulated cows. Journal of Dairy Science 62, 284–291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erfle, J. D., Mahadevan, S. & Sauer, F. D. (1981). Relationship between adenylate energy charge, rumen volatile fatty acid concentrations, and rates of production and dry matter digestibility in the cow. Journal of Dairy Science 64, 634–642.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Forsberg, C. W. & Lam, K. (1977). Use of adenosine 5'-triphosphate as an indicator of the microbiota biomass in rumen contents. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 33, 528–537.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fuller, R., Newland, L. G. M., Briggs, C. A. E., Braude, R. & Mitchell, K. G. (1960). The normal intestinal flora of the pig. IV. The effect of dietary supplements of penicillin, chlortetracycline or copper sulphate on the faecal flora. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 23, 195–205.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Graham, H., Hesselman, K. & Åman, P. (1986). The influence of wheat bran and sugar-beet pulp on the digestibility of dietary components in a cereal-based pig diet. Journal of Nutrition 116, 242–251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hill, H. (1969). The flow of food through the monogastric animal including the mechanism of the whole gut. In Handbuch der Tierernährung, vol. 1, pp. 207–254 [Lenkeit, W., Brierem, K. and Craseman, E., editors]. Hamburg: Paul Parey.Google Scholar
Imoto, S. & Namioka, S. (1978). VFA production in the pig large intestine. Journal of Animal Science 47, 383–395.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jensen, B. B. (1988). Effect of diet composition and virginiamycin on microbial activity in the digestive tract of pigs. In Digestive Physiology in the Pig, pp. 392–400 [Buraczewska, L., Buraczewski, S., Pastusrewska, B. and Zebrowska, T., editors]. Jablonna: Polish Academy of Sciences.Google Scholar
Keys, J. E. & DeBarthe, J. V. (1974). Site and extent of carbohydrate, dry matter, energy and protein digestion and the rate of passage of grain diets in Swine. Journal of Animal Science 39, 57–62.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Leng, R. A. (1969). Formation and production of volatile fatty acids in the rumen. In Physiology of Digestion and Metabolism in the Ruminant, pp. 406–421 [Phillipson, A. T., editor]. Cambridge: Oriel Press.Google Scholar
Lupton, J. R., Coder, D. M. & Jacobs, L. R. (1988). Long-term effects of fermentable fibers on rat colonic pH and epithelial cell cycle. Journal of Nutrition 118, 840–845.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McElroy, W. D. (1947). The energy source for bioluminescence in an isolated system. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 33, 342–345.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Macfarlane, G. T., Cummings, J. H. & Allison, C. (1986). Protein degradation by human intestinal bacteria. Journal of General Microbiology 132, 1647–1656.Google ScholarPubMed
McNeil, N. I., Cummings, J. H. & James, W. P. T. (1978). Short chain fatty acid absorption by the human large intestine. Gut 19, 819–822.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mason, V. C. & Just, A. (1976). Bacterial activity in the hind-gut of pigs. 1. Its influence on the apparent digestibility of dietary energy and fat. Zeitschrift für Tierphysiologie, Tierernährung und Futtermittelkunde 36, 301–310.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miller, T. L. & Wolin, M. J. (1979). Fermentation by saccharolytic intestinal bacteria. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 32, 164–172.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nuzback, D. E., Bartley, E. E., Dennis, S. M., Nagaraja, T. G., Galitzer, S. J. & Dayton, A. D. (1983). Relation of rumen ATP concentration to bacterial and protozoal numbers. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 46, 533–538.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roediger, W. E. W. (1980). Role of anaerobic bacteria in the metabolic welfare of the colonic mucosa in man. Gut 21, 793–798.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ryan, G. P., Dudrick, S. J., Copeland, E. M. & Johnson, L. R. (1979). Effect of various diets on colonic growth in rats. Gastroenterology 77, 658–663.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sakata, T. & Yajima, T. (1984). Influence of short chain fatty acids on the epithelial cell division of digestive tract. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Physiology 69, 639–648.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Savage, D. C. (1977). Microbial ecology of the gastrointestinal tract. Annual Review of Microbiology 31, 107–133.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Snedecor, G. W. & Cochran, W. G. (1973). Statistical Methods. Ames: Iowa State University Press.Google Scholar
Thore, A. (1979). Technical aspects of the bioluminescent firefly luciferase assay of ATP. Science Tools 26, 30–34.Google Scholar
Walker, A. R. P., Walker, B, F. & Segal, I. (1979). Faecal pH value and its modification by dietary means in South African black and white schoolchildren. South African Medical Journal 24, 495–498.Google Scholar
Wallace, R. J. & West, A. A. (1982). Adenosine 5'-triphosphate and adenylate energy charge in sheep digesta. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 98, 523–528.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolin, M. J. (1975). Interactions between the bacterial species of the rumen. In Digestion and Metabolism in the Ruminant, pp. 134–148 [E. W. Mc.Donald and Warner, A. Z. I, editors]. Armidale: University of New England Publishing Units.Google Scholar
Wolstrup, J. & Jensen, K. (1976). Adenosine triphosphate in the bovine rumen during maximum nutrient supply and starvation. Journal of Bacteriology 41, 243–250.Google Scholar