title: Fermentation of wheat bran and gum arabic in rats fed on an elemental diet.
abstract: 1. Gum arabic and wheat bran were added to an elemental diet (100 g/kg) in order to study their metabolism in the caeca of adult male albino Wistar rats. 2. Dry stool weight (g/d) over 12 weeks was 0.70 (SE 0.05) on the elemental control diet. Wheat bran increased mean dry stool weight to 1.09 (SE 0.08), an increase of 56%. There was no significant difference between faecal weights (0.65 (SE 0.08)) of the gum-arabic-supplemented group and the unsupplemented group. 3. Wet caecal-sac weight, dry caecal-contents weight, and faecal and caecal bacterial mass (measured by 2,6-diaminopimelic acid) all increased significantly with the gum-arabic-supplemented diet but not with the wheat-bran-supplemented diet. 4. Total short-chain fatty acids (mostly acetate) increased in the caecum and faeces with the gum-arabic-supplemented diet but not with the wheat-bran-supplemented diet. 5. Breath hydrogen and methane production decreased to negligible amounts over the 12 weeks of the experiment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Walter
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Eastwood
authors.forename: W G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Brydon
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Elton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002432:Cecum / Q000378:metabolism*; D003106:Colon / Q000378:metabolism; D003960:Diaminopimelic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000378:metabolism*; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile / Q000378:metabolism; D005243:Feces / Q000032:analysis; D005526:Food, Formulated; D006170:Gum Arabic / Q000378:metabolism*; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D008697:Methane / Q000096:biosynthesis; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D014908:Triticum; D015430:Weight Gain
chemical_list: D004043:Dietary Fiber; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile; D011134:Polysaccharides; D003960:Diaminopimelic Acid; D006859:Hydrogen; D006170:Gum Arabic; D008697:Methane