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De Cuyper A, Winkler DE, Tütken T, Bosch G, Hummel J, Kreuzer M, Muñoz Saravia A, Janssens GPJ, Clauss M. Digestion of bamboo compared to grass and lucerne in a small hindgut fermenting herbivore, the guinea pig (Cavia porcellus). JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART 2021; 337:128-140. [PMID: 34411456 DOI: 10.1002/jez.2538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2021] [Accepted: 08/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Bamboo is an enigmatic forage, representing a niche food for pandas and bamboo lemurs. Bamboo might not represent a suitable forage for herbivores relying on fermentative digestion, potentially due to its low fermentability. To test this hypothesis, guinea pigs (n = 36) were used as model species and fed ad libitum with one of three forages (bamboo, lucerne, or timothy grass) in a fresh or dried state, with six individuals per group, for 3 weeks. The nutrient composition and in vitro fermentation profile of bamboo displayed low fermentation potential, i.e. high lignin and silica levels together with a gas production (Hohenheim gas test) at 12 h of only 36% of that of lucerne and grass. Although silica levels were more abundant in the leftovers of (almost) all groups, guinea pigs did not select against lignin on bamboo. Dry matter (DM) intake was highest and DM digestibility lowest on the bamboo forage. Total short-chain fatty acid levels in caecal content were highest for lucerne and lowest for grass and bamboo. Bamboo-fed guinea pigs had a lower body weight gain than the grass and lucerne group. The forage hydration state did not substantially affect digestion, but dry forage led to a numerically higher total wet gut fill. Although guinea pigs increased DM intake on the bamboo diet, the negative effects on fermentation of lignin and silica in bamboo seemed overriding. For herbivores that did not evolutionary adapt, bamboo as an exclusive food resource can be considered as inadequate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annelies De Cuyper
- Department of Nutrition, Genetics and Ethology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium
| | - Daniela E Winkler
- Applied and Analytical Palaeontology, Institute of Geosciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany.,Department of Natural Environmental Studies, Graduate School of 12 Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Chiba, Japan
| | - Thomas Tütken
- Applied and Analytical Palaeontology, Institute of Geosciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
| | - Guido Bosch
- Animal Nutrition Group, Department of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University, AH Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jürgen Hummel
- Department of Animal Sciences, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Michael Kreuzer
- ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Arturo Muñoz Saravia
- Department of Nutrition, Genetics and Ethology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium
| | - Geert P J Janssens
- Department of Nutrition, Genetics and Ethology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium
| | - Marcus Clauss
- Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Yayota M, Kato A, Ishida M, Ohtani S. Ingestive behavior and short-term intake rate of cattle grazing on tall grasses. Livest Sci 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.livsci.2015.07.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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