Feeding high fibre diets changes luminal environment and morphology in the intestine of sows

Abstract

Abstract Sows were fed three diets varying in type and level of dietary fibre (DF). The low fibre diet (LF; 17% DF) was based on wheat and barley. In the two high DF diets (HF1, high in soluble DF and HF2, high in insoluble DF; ∼ 44% DF), the cereal part of the diet was substituted with different co-products (sugar beet pulp, potato pulp, pectin residue, pea hull, brewer's spent grain, and seed residue). The diets were fed for a four-week period to 12 sows (4 for each diet). Sows were stunned 4 h post-feeding, and digesta and tissue samples were collected from various parts of the small and large intestines. The carbohydrate load to the large intestine was 538–539 g/d when feeding the high DF diets and 190 g/d when feeding diet LF. Feeding sows the high DF diet containing large proportion of soluble DF resulted in a lower dry matter content of digesta (23 contra 28%), a higher tissue weight (2.9 contra 2.0 kg), and a higher crypt depth (492 contra 330 μm) and area (23,201 contra 15,751 μm 2 ) in the colon compared with the low DF diet. In conclusion, increasing the amount of DF in the diet for sows resulted in an increased amount of digesta entering the large intestine which influences the functional properties of digesta. Furthermore, a high DF diet with a high proportion of soluble DF increases tissue weight, crypt depth and crypt area in the midcolon compared to a low fibre diet.