Dietary fibre in pig nutrition
1998
Kaert, O. | Leming, R. (Estonian Agricultural Univ., Tartu (Estonia))
Dietary fibre is now defined either from a physiological point of view, as the dietary components resistant to hydrolysis by digestive enzymes, or as a chemical entity, the sum of non-starch polysaccharides and lignin. At a practical level, fibre is defined by the analytical method used for its measurement. A wide range of methods are available but comparisons between them show major differences. The digestive process of fibreous material in pigs was described. During the course of microbial fermentation fibreous polysaccharides are broken down to short chain fatty acids and various gases. Small amounts of hemicelluloses and pectic substances might be fermented in the stomach. Starch, a storage carbohydrate, can be hydrolysed by pancreatic alpha-amylase and may, therefore, be digested in the small intestine of pigs and absorbed as glucose. In contrast to strach no enzymes are present in the small intestine which can cleave the bondings in non-starch polysaccharides. To a greater or lesser extent, depending on the fibre source, these structural polysaccharides can be fermented by the microflora in the gastrointestinal tract. This fermentation occurs largely in the caecum and the colon. However, a significant degradation of some dietary fibres can occur prior to the ileum and have a important implications for nutrient assimilation
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