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The Effect of Cellulose, Hemicellulose and Lignin on the Weight of the Stool: A Contribution to the Study of Laxation in Man

Two Figures

Department of Internal Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri

1. The indigestible residues (lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose) found in ten food substances of widely varying sources were concentrated by simple procedures which would not alter the essential composition of the residue. These were added to a non-residue diet and fed to three human subjects.

2. By analysis of the feces it was found that hemicellulose disappeared in larger amounts than cellulose and that lignin disappears least.

3. When there was a high percentage of lignin in the residue, less hemicellulose and cellulose disappeared from the gut.

4. A comparison of the stool weights after feeding of these residues seemed to indicate that the amount of cellulose and hemicellulose disappearing during the passage through the human gut influenced the volume of the feces more than the amount of residue fed or the amount recovered in the feces.

5. In general, the quantity of stool volatile fatty acids was greatest when a residue disappeared most during its passage through the gastro-intestinal tract.

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