title: [Influence of caecotrophy (coprophagia) on the production, absorption and utilization of organic acids in the rabbit].
abstract: The influence of caecotrophy on organic acid production and behaviour was studied for 4 days in rabbits with and without a collar preventing caecotrophy. Volatile fatty acids (VFA) and lactate were measured in the digestive material and the corresponding venous blood. Blood was removed from the gastric, intestinal, caecocolonic, portal and hepatic veins and the inferior vena cava of anaesthetized rabbits. Arterial blood was also collected. A comparison of the data obtained from rabbits with and without a collar showed significant differences. When caecotrophy was prevented, lactic fermentation in the stomach ceased and the lactate level dropped in venous and arterial blood. Meanwhile, VFA production in the foregut (stomach and intestine) stopped, whereas it augmented in the hindgut; VFA enrichment of the caecocolonic and portal blood was greater when the rabbits were subjected to a stercoral fast. The liver removed about 15% of the lactate reaching it, while acetate, propionate and butyrate uptakes were 21, 59 and 76%, respectively, in rabbits with caecotrophy. The corresponding values for those without caecotrophy were: 20% lactate, 43% acetate, 70% propionate and 84% butyrate. The plasma venous-arterial difference in acetate was negative in the peripheral blood: uptake was about 16% for the controls and 27% for rabbits without caecotrophy; the other VFA were not involved. The variations of the levels of VFA in the arterial blood were not significant; only lactate concentration diminished by about 30%. Preventing caecotrophy augmented digestive production, and the absorption of VFA in the rabbit hindgut and their metabolism in the liver and extra-hepatic tissues also increased.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003303:Coprophagia / Q000378:metabolism*; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000378:metabolism*; D007408:Intestinal Absorption; D007773:Lactates / Q000378:metabolism*; D011817:Rabbits
chemical_list: D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile; D007773:Lactates
vernacular_title: Influence de la caecotrophie sur la production, l'absorption et l'utilisation des acides organiques chez le lapin.