Nitrogen partitioning along the equine digestive tract.
Twelve adult horses were fed a corn-oats-timothy hay diet containing 2.87% nitrogen (N) for 4 wk and were then killed. Fresh digesta samples were immediately harvested from the stomach, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, cecum, large colon, small colon, rectum and feces. Total N content of the digesta (on a dry matter basis) increased from the stomach (2.74%) to the duodenum (5.58%; P less than .01), decreased in the cecum (3.10%, P less than .01), remained constant through the large intestine and decreased in the feces (2.10%; P less than .01). High-speed centrifugation of wet digesta and low-speed centrifugation following tungstic acid treatment of wet digesta were comparable in their effectiveness in separating water soluble N-containing compounds (S-N) from insoluble N-containing compounds (P-N). The P-N was further partitioned into neutral detergent soluble (NDS-N) and neutral detergent insoluble (NDF-N) fractions. The NDF-N constituted from 6 to 17% of the total digesta N at any location along the digestive tract. The S-N constituted about 20% of the total digesta N in the stomach, increased to about 80% at mid-jejunum (P less than .01), decreased to 30% in the cecum (P less than .01) and increased throughout the large intestine. The calculation of cumulative apparent digestibilities indicated that total digesta N underwent net disappearance along the entire tract, except in the duodenum. Dietary NDF-N underwent net disappearance throughout the digestive tract. The NDS-N portion of the P-N disappeared in the duodenum, jejunum and small colon, but underwent net appearance in the ileum, cecum and large colon. There was a net appearance of S-N in the duodenum and net disappearances in the ileum and cecum. The shifts in N partitioning along the lower digestive tract and the decreases in N concentrations suggest that the jejunum, ileum, cecum and small colon are major sites of the net absorption of N and that much of the N absorbed in the small colon was supplied by the conversion of NDS-N to S-N.
D000818:Animals; D002432:Cecum / Q000378:metabolism; D003106:Colon / Q000378:metabolism; D004032:Diet; D004063:Digestion; D004064:Digestive System / Q000378:metabolism*; D005243:Feces / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism; D006736:Horses / Q000378:metabolism*; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D012007:Rectum / Q000378:metabolism
D009584:Nitrogen