The digestion of non-starch polysaccharides from diets containing plain sugar beet pulp by piglets, growing pigs and sows

Abstract

Recent studies have shown that piglets, growing pigs and sows can perform well on diets containing substantial proportions of plain sugar beet pulp (SBP) (Bulman et al., 1989; Low et al., 1990; Close et al., 1990). SBP contains c. 600 g non-starch polysaccharides (NSP)/kg which, unlike starch, cannot be digested by the hosts’ enzymes but must be fermented by the gut microflora to yield VFA for subsequent use as an energy source by the animal.The objective of this study was to determine the degree to which 32-day-old piglets, growing pigs of various ages, and mature sows can ferment the NSP content of diets containing varying proportions of SBP.