title: [In vivo study of cecal fermentation activity in the rabbit. Completion and validation of a new technique for cecal cannulation].
abstract: A new technique for caecal cannulation in adult rabbit was validated in order to perform in vivo studies of caecal fermentation under a physiological status. The cannulation did not modify the digestibility of the diet, and it was possible to collect digesta (10 g fresh matter) after a few minutes without stress for animals only 10 days post-surgery. Volatile fatty acid (VFA) (60 mM/l) and ammonia (11 mM/l) concentration of caecal digesta collected in vivo was not different from that obtained from slaughtered rabbits. VFA measurements were reproducible (CV = 6.8%) and were not dependent on the daily collection frequency (1-5/day). Caecal VFA level in the starved rabbit was very low (23 mM/l) while the butyrate/propionate rate was the inverse (C4/C3 = 0.6). Five h after feeding, the in vivo VFA level reached 96 mM/l and the butyrate proportion (12%) over-reached those of propionate (3.5%). The caecal fermentations of a 7-week-old rabbit differed from those of an adult by a higher VFA level and by a greater post-feeding variation in the fermentation pattern.
authors.affiliation: INRA, laboratoire de recherches sur l'élevage du lapin, Castanet-Tolosan, France.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gidenne
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bellier
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism; D000641:Ammonia / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002087:Butyrates / Q000378:metabolism; D020148:Butyric Acid; D002404:Catheterization / Q000379:methods*; D002432:Cecum / Q000378:metabolism*; D004063:Digestion; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile / Q000378:metabolism; D005285:Fermentation; D005502:Food; D011422:Propionates / Q000378:metabolism; D011817:Rabbits; D013217:Starvation / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002087:Butyrates; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile; D011422:Propionates; D020148:Butyric Acid; D000641:Ammonia; C029658:propionic acid
vernacular_title: Etude in vivo de l'activité fermentaire caecale chez le lapin. Mise au point et validation d'une nouvelle technique de canulation caecale.