QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Takahashi, T. Articles by Sakata, T. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Takahashi, T. Articles by Sakata, T.

---

Nutritional Methodology

Large Particles Increase Viscosity and Yield Stress of Pig Cecal Contents without Changing Basic Viscoelastic Properties^{1 ,2}

Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Faculty of Agriculture, Okayama University, Tsushimanaka 1–1-1, Okayama, 700-8530 Japan and ^* Department of Basic Sciences, Ishinomaki Senshu University, Ishinomaki, 986-8580 Japan

³To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: takashi_sakata{at}nifty.com.

The viscosity of gut contents should influence digestion and absorption. Earlier investigators measured the viscosity of intestinal contents after the removal of solid particles. However, we previously found that removal of solid particles from pig cecal contents dramatically lowered the viscosity of the contents. Accordingly, we examined the contribution of large solid particles to viscoelastic parameters of gut contents in the present study. We removed large particles from pig cecal contents by filtration through surgical gauze. Then, we reconstructed the cecal contents by returning all, one half or none of the original amount of the large particles to the filtrate. We measured the viscosity, shear stress and shear rate of these reconstructed cecal contents using a tube-flow viscometer. The coefficient of viscosity was larger when the large-particle content was higher (P < 0.01). Cecal contents behaved as a non-Newtonian fluid and showed an apparent Bingham plastic nature irrespective of large-particle content. We calculated the yield stress of these fluids assuming that the fluids behave as Bingham plastic. The yield stress of the cecal contents was greater (P < 0.05) when the large-particle content was higher. The above results indicated that large particles elevated the viscosity and yield stress of gut contents without changing their basic viscoelastic character. Integrating the present and our previous results, we conclude that it is likely that finer particles such as bacteria should provide non-Newtonian and apparent Bingham plastic characteristics to pig cecal contents.

KEY WORDS: • viscosity • cecum • large particles • pigs • yield stress

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. L. Dikeman, M. R. Murphy, and G. C. Fahey Jr. Dietary Fibers Affect Viscosity of Solutions and Simulated Human Gastric and Small Intestinal Digesta J. Nutr., April 1, 2006; 136(4): 913 - 919. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Takahashi, S. Karita, N. Ogawa, and M. Goto Crystalline Cellulose Reduces Plasma Glucose Concentrations and Stimulates Water Absorption by Increasing the Digesta Viscosity in Rats J. Nutr., October 1, 2005; 135(10): 2405 - 2410. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]