title: Gut Function-Enhancing Properties and Metabolic Effects of Dietary Indigestible Sugars in Rodents and Rabbits.
abstract: Indigestible sugars (iS) have received particular interest in food and nutrition research due to their prebiotic properties and other health benefits in humans and animals. The main aim of this review article is to summarize the current knowledge regarding digestive and health-enhancing properties of iS such as sugar alcohols, oligosacharides, and polysaccharides, in rodents and rabbits. Besides ameliorating gut health, iS ingestion also elicits laxative effects and stimulate intestinal permeability and fluid secretions, thereby shortening digesta transit time and increasing stool mass and quality. In rodents and rabbits, as hindgut fermenters, consumption of iS leads to an improved nutrient digestibility, too. Cecal fermentation of iS reduces luminal pH and extends wall tissue facilitating absorption of key dietary minerals across hindgut. The microbial fermentation of iS also enhances excessive blood nitrogen (N) flowing into the cecum to be used as N source for bacterial growth, enhancing N retention in cecotrophic animals. This review also highlights the impact of iS on improving lipid metabolism, mainly by lowering cholesterol and triglycerides levels in the blood. The paper serves as an index of the current knowledge of iS effects in rodents and rabbits and also identifies gaps of knowledge that need to be addressed by future research.
authors.affiliation: Department for Farm Animals and Veterinary Public Health, Institute of Animal Nutrition and Functional Plant Compounds, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna 1210, Austria. jin.xiao@vetmeduni.ac.at.
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: University Clinic for Swine, Department for Farm Animals and Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna 1210, Austria. barbara.metzler@vetmeduni.ac.at.
authors.forename: Barbara U
authors.initials: BU
authors.lastname: Metzler-Zebeli
authors.affiliation: Department for Farm Animals and Veterinary Public Health, Institute of Animal Nutrition and Functional Plant Compounds, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna 1210, Austria. qendrim.zebeli@vetmeduni.ac.at.
authors.forename: Qendrim
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zebeli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002432:Cecum; D019422:Dietary Sucrose / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004063:Digestion; D005285:Fermentation; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome / Q000502:physiology; D005772:Gastrointestinal Transit; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007408:Intestinal Absorption; D007422:Intestines / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology*; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D009844:Oligosaccharides / Q000008:administration & dosage; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000008:administration & dosage; D056692:Prebiotics / Q000008:administration & dosage; D011817:Rabbits; D051381:Rats; D013402:Sugar Alcohols / Q000008:administration & dosage
chemical_list: D019422:Dietary Sucrose; D009844:Oligosaccharides; D011134:Polysaccharides; D056692:Prebiotics; D013402:Sugar Alcohols
keywords: cecal fermentation; indigestible sugars; mineral absorption; rabbits; rodent