Effect of dietary cellulose on the metabolic activity of the rat caecal microflora

✍ Scribed by Anthony K. Mallett; Alan Wise; Ian R. Rowland

• Publisher: Springer-Verlag
• Year: 1983
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 380 KB
• Volume: 52
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0340-5761
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00316499

✦ Synopsis

Alpha-cellulose, added to a purified diet at six levels [0%, 2.5%, 5%, 10%, 20%, and 40% (w/w)] and fed to weanling rats for 3 weeks, had no effect on body weight, but it increased the weight of caecal contents and decreased the numbers of bacteria per total caecal contents. Caecal microbial azoreductase, nitroreductase, beta-glucosidase and nitrate reductase activities per total caecal contents were also significantly decreased by 10% dietary cellulose and above, yet beta-glucuronidase activity was only affected significantly by 40% dietary cellulose. Azoreductase and nitroreductase activities were highly correlated with one another and showed a similar response to cellulose.