Understanding the fermentation rate and degree to which a fibre source will be degraded is important for determining the physiological effect and location of that effect in the gut. The complexity of dietary fibre, the microbiome and the flow of information during fermentation are staggering.


Fibre fermentation is dynamic Deciphering the complexity of dietary fibre requires another critical dietary component to be taken into account: time. Nu- tritional studies in humans and animals have convincingly re- vealed that when to eat is equally as important as what to eat. Since most life processes are controlled by oscillating events of which eating time is a major cue to synchronise bio- chemical activities, it is not a stretch to visualise fermentation rates, which are extensions of eating time, modifying nutrient delivery rates and influencing things such as growth rate, en- ergy partitioning, reproduction and general well-being of the animal. The goal is to match the nutrient requirements of the microbial species that are oscillating through the daily cycle and to ensure the appropriate nutrients are delivered at the proper moment in the cycle. To apply this nutritional concept, a linear model must be developed that can accommodate a dynamic component while maintaining additivity.


Deciphering the dietary fibre message When kinetics of dietary fibre are incorporated into the un- derstanding of analytical data of ingredients, it can begin to reveal not only what response, but also where and when die- tary fibre will elicit a response in the gut. That new informa- tion helps enable the diet to maintain, and even boost vitality of farm animals and pets. In young animals, for example, utili- sation of dietary fibre kinetics accomplishes three goals. The


first goal is to use rapidly fermentable dietary fibre to help the young animal transition smoothly from mother’s milk, which also contains rapidly fermentable dietary fibre in the form of oligosaccharides and other carbohydrates. This rapid fermentation stimulates bifidogenic microbiota growth, competing with and reducing the proliferation of pathogenic bacteria. The second goal is to provide slowly fer- mentable dietary fibre to the young animal to maintain car- bohydrate fermentation throughout the large intestine. The final goal is to optimise intestinal motility, laxation, osmotic balance and stool quality through the utilisation of dietary fibre that is resistant to fermentation. The animal [host] re- ceives little nourishment from resistant fibre, but without it, the intestinal tract would strain to move digesta. Dietary fibre and its fermentation rates and physical characteristics need to be in balance (synchronised via kinetics) to optimise the health of the animal.


Dietary fibre: Code cracked Dietary fibre plays a primary role in two key, yet understudied areas in animals: microbial populations and nutrient synchro- nisation. The mystery of the role of dietary fibre in the health of our animals begins to unravel when we add a new dimen- sion to linear diet formulation: time. Incorporation of time into ingredient characterisation enables a nutritionist to focus diet formulation on synchronisation of nutrient digestion, en- hanced microbial populations and improved animal perfor- mance. Cracking the dietary fibre code improves general ani- mal health and performance, which has the potential to result in improved economic gains.


References available on request. ▶PIG PROGRESS | Volume 36, No. 2, 2020 25


The goal is to provide slowly fermentable die- tary fibre to young animals.


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