Effect of dietary fiber concentration on apparent digestibility and digesta passage in non-human primates. II. Hindgut- and foregut-fermenting folivores

Two test diets with different acid detergent fiber (ADF) concentrations (15% ADF, 30% ADF) were fed to seven adult hindgut- and seven adult foregut-fermenting primates. Apparent digestibilities (%) of dietary dry matter (DM), gross energy (GE), and fiber components (neutral detergent fiber [NDF], ADF, hemicellulose [HC], and cellulose [C]) were measured. Rates of digesta transit (TT1) and retention (RGIT) times were assessed using acetate beads, Co-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, and Cr-mordanted fiber as markers. Apparent digestibilities (%) of components of the 15ADF and 30ADF diets, respectively, by hindgut versus foregut fermenters were 69.3 and 61.7 versus 81.2 and 76.7 for DM, 68.5 and 61.5 versus 80.9 and 75.6 for GE, and 44.8 and 47.4 versus 77.1 and 74.7 for NDF. No significant differences in TT1 or RGIT between dietary treatments or markers were detected. The role of plant fiber in maintaining the health and normal function of the gastrointestinal tract in captive leaf-eating primates is discussed. Zoo Biol 18:537–549, 1999. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.