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Large bowel fermentation in rats eating processed potatoes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

J. C. Mathers and
Lindsay D. Dawson
J. C. Mathers
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Biochemistry and Nutrition, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU
Lindsay D. Dawson
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Biochemistry and Nutrition, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU
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Abstract

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Four diets were prepared in which cooked potatoes provided approximately 0.8 of the dry matter (DM) and all the polysaccharides. The potatoes were either boiled conventionally (unprocessed) or prepared by rehydrating a commercial ‘instant’ potato product with boiling water. The diets were fed to rats (six per diet) immediately after preparation or after storage at 4° for 48 h and observations made on site and extent of digestion and large bowel (LB) fermentation. All diets were equally well digested (overall means 0.95 and 0.96 for DM and organic matter (OM) respectively) with a significant proportion of this digestion occurring in the LB. More OM flowed to the LB with the ‘instant’ (0.18 of intake) than with the unprocessed potato diets (0.13 of intake) and was associated with markedly different fermentation patterns. When compared with rats fed on the unprocessed potato diets, those given ‘instant’ potatoes had smaller caecums with much shorter transit times, lower caecal pH, higher total volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentrations and a greater molar proportion of butyrate in these VFA. Storage of the diets for 48 h at 4° had relatively smaller effects on these variables. Possible mechanisms for the observed effects and implications for tissue metabolism and health are discussed. In addition, a simple and apparently novel method for quantifying coprophagy is proposed.

Keywords

Large bowel fermentationPotato processingStarch digestion

Information

Type
Metabolic and Physiological Effects of Fermentation
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 66 , Issue 2 , September 1991, pp. 313 - 329
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 1991

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