The horse has a rich and complex microbial community within its gastrointestinal tract that plays a central role in both health and disease. The horse receives much of its dietary energy through microbial hydrolysis and fermentation of fiber predominantly in the large intestine/hindgut. The presence of a possible core bacterial community in the equine large intestine was investigated in this st...

Production of methane in the hindgut of the cockroach Periplaneta americana was found to vary, depending on the feeding regimen. Methane production was positively correlated with the numbers of the ciliate Nyctotherus ovalis living in the cockroach hindgut. Defaunation of the cockroaches by means of low concentrations of metronidazole (Flagyl) resulted in a quick drop of methane production. Add...

Anaerobic gut fungi represent a distinct early-branching fungal phylum (Neocallimastigomycota) and reside in the rumen, hindgut, and feces of ruminant and nonruminant herbivores. The genome of an anaerobic fungal isolate, Orpinomyces sp. strain C1A, was sequenced using a combination of Illumina and PacBio single-molecule real-time (SMRT) technologies. The large genome (100.95 Mb, 16,347 genes) ...

A feeding trial involving four Thoroughbred race horses was undertaken to establish whether inclusion of grape seed extract (GSE) in the diet of horses undergoing mild exercise had any effects on their general health, intake and digestion. Supplementation with GSE had no effect on either feed or water intake of the horses and the supplement was readily palatable to the horses at all levels of i...

Faecal nitrogen (FN) concentration is used as a marker for habitat quality and digestive efficiency in free-ranging herbivores. In herbivores, FN can be separated into undigested plant N (analysed as the N concentration of the neutral detergent residue) and metabolic faecal N (MFN). It has been suggested that by differential analysis of the faecal fibre-bound N, the MFN fraction can be further ...

We determined the effects of lignosulfonate (LS) on nutrient digestibility and on hindgut fermentation characteristics using 80 adult male Sprague-Dawley rats fed a control diet or a diet containing 3% (dry matter basis) of seven selected LS fractions. Lignosulfonate fractions were divided into three categories: two fractionated whole calcium spent sulfite liquors (CaSSL) and one low-molecular-...

Fermentation metabolites of Diamond V Original XPC™ (XPC), a biological product derived from yeast fermentation, were evaluated for their ability to reduce the Salmonella Typhimurium population using an in vitro mixed anaerobic culture system containing cecal microbiota to simulate chicken hindgut conditions. Four different samples were prepared: anaerobic mixed culture containing (1) feed only...

The present study assessed the effect of dietary supplementation of pomegranate peel (methanolic) extract (PPE) on the nutrient digestibility, faecal fermentative metabolites and antioxidant status of dogs. Six medium-sized dogs of mixed breeds were allocated to two groups in a replicated cross-over design and fed a basal diet with and without supplementation of PPE at 50 mg/kg body weight. Eac...

The accumulation of skatole in boars to concentrations resulting in carcass taint has been associated with elevated concentrations of steroid hormones in plasma. Studying boar taint in vivo has been challenging because steroid hormones are highly variable between individual boars. However, a peak in steroid hormones occurs between 2 and 4 wk postpartum; therefore, skatole production was investi...

Extensive use of corn coproducts in swine diets increases the concentration of dietary fiber, raising concerns on energy and nutrient digestibility and, ultimately, pig performance. A digestion trial was conducted to determine the effect of increasing levels of insoluble-low fermentable fiber from corn in the diet, using corn bran with solubles (CBS) from the corn-ethanol distillation industry,...