Influence of a diet rich in resistant starch on the degradation of non-starch polysaccharides in the large intestine of pigs

To investigate the effect of resistant starch to the degradation of other non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs) in the large intestine of pigs, two groups of pigs were fed either a diet containing digestible starch (DS) or a diet containing resistant starch (RS). Both diets contained NSPs from wheat and barley. Digesta from different parts of the large intestine were collected and analysed for sugar composition and carbohydrate-degrading-enzyme activities. Resistant starch, as well as β-glucans and soluble arabinoxylan, was utilised mainly in the caecum. The utilisation of β-glucans and soluble arabinoxylan in the caecum was higher in DS-fed pigs than in RS-fed pigs. Analyses on carbohydrate-degrading-enzyme activities demonstrated that microbial enzyme production was stimulated according to the diet composition, and the enzyme profile throughout the large intestine of RS-fed pigs indicated that the presence of resistant starch shifted the utilisation of NSPs to more distal parts of the colon.