A major challenge in affluent societies is the increase in disorders related to gut and metabolic health. Chronic over nutrition by unhealthy foods high in energy, fat, and sugar, and low in dietary fibre is a key environmental factor responsible for this development, which may cause local and systemic inflammation. A low intake of dietary fibre is a limiting factor for maintaining a viable and diverse microbiota and production of short-chain fatty acids in the gut. A suppressed production of butyrate is crucial, as this short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) can play a key role not only in colonic health and function but also at the systemic level. At both sites, the mode of action is through mediation of signalling pathways involving nuclear NF-κB and inhibition of histone deacetylase. The intake and composition of dietary fibre modulate production of butyrate in the large intestine. While butyrate production is easily adjustable it is more variable how it influences gut barrier function and inflammatory markers in the gut and periphery. The effect of butyrate seems generally to be more consistent and positive on inflammatory markers related to the gut than on inflammatory markers in the peripheral tissue. This discrepancy may be explained by differences in butyrate concentrations in the gut compared with the much lower concentration at more remote sites.

The effects of increased colonic fermentation of dietary fibres (DF) on the net portal flux (NPF) of carbohydrate-derived metabolites (glucose, SCFA and, especially, butyrate), hormones (insulin, C-peptide, glucagon-like peptide 1 and glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide) and NEFA were studied in a healthy catheterised pig model. A total of six pigs weighing 59 (sem1·6) kg were fitted with catheters in the mesenteric artery and in the portal and hepatic veins, and a flow probe around the portal vein, and included in a double 3 × 3 cross-over design with three daily feedings (at 09.00, 14.00 and 19.00 hours). Fasting and 5 h postprandial blood samples were collected after 7 d adaptation to each diet. The pigs were fed a low-DF Western-style control diet (WSD) and two high-DF diets (an arabinoxylan-enriched diet (AXD) and a resistant starch-enriched diet (RSD)). The NPF of insulin was lower (P= 0·04) in AXD-fed pigs (4·6 nmol/h) than in RSD-fed pigs (10·5 nmol/h), despite the lowest NPF of glucose being observed in RSD-fed pigs (203 mmol/h,P= 0·02). The NPF of total SCFA, acetate, propionate and butyrate were high, intermediate and low (P< 0·01) in AXD-, RSD- and WSD-fed pigs, respectively, with the largest relative increase being observed for butyrate in response to arabinoxylan supplementation. In conclusion, the RSD and AXD had different effects on the NPF of insulin and glucose, suggesting different impacts of arabinoxylan and resistant starch on human health.

The dietary carbohydrates are a diverse group of substances with a range of chemical, physical, and physiological properties. The primary chemical classification of carbohydrates is by molecular size (degree of polymerization [DP]), the type of linkage (α or β), and composition of individual monomers. This approach divides carbohydrates into 3 main groups, sugars (DP1–2), oligosaccharides (DP3–9), and polysaccharides (DP ≥ 10), the latter being further divided into starch (α-1:4,1,6-D-glucans) and nonstarch polysaccharides (NSP). Dietary fiber (DF) recently has been defined as carbohydrate polymers with 3 and more monomeric units plus lignin, which are not hydrolyzed by the endogenous enzymes in the small intestine of humans. This physiologically based definition is broader than what classically has been considered fiber in animal nutrition and delimitates carbohydrates according to their potential for digestion by endogenous enzymes. Carbohydrates are the principal substrates for energy metabolism but also exert a number of other effects throughout the gastrointestinal tract. The starch structure as well as type and levels of DF influence, to a varying degree, the rate of starch digestion in the small intestine. Some types of soluble NSP are found to interact with intestinal mucus and produce a layer that significantly delays the transport of lipid digestion products. Potentially, the same may be the case for proteinous compounds. The delay in the transport of the nutrients to the gut epithelium can potentially influence gastric emptying and the satiating effect of the feed mediated through gastrointestinal hormones. Dietary fiber compounds that reach the large intestine undigested can, by a targeted approach, be used to modulate the gastrointestinal environment and the production of fermentation products. For instance, resistant starch and some NSP have been found to stimulate butyrate-producing microorganisms and increase the production, luminal concentration, and absorption of short-chain fatty acids and butyrate. Resistant starch in diets further provoked major changes in colonic gene expression, which represents induction of oxidative metabolic pathways and suppression of immune response and cell division pathways. Copyright © 2016. American Society of Animal Science .

Increased dietary fiber (DF) fermentation and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production may stimulate peptide tyrosine-tyrosine (PYY) secretion. In this study, the effects of hindgut SCFA production on postprandial PYY plasma levels were assessed using different experimental diets in a porto-arterial catheterized pig model. The pigs were fed experimental diets varying in source and levels of DF for one week in 3×3 Latin square designs. The DF sources were whole-wheat grain, wheat aleurone, rye aleurone-rich flour, rye flakes, and resistant starch. Postprandial blood samples were collected from the catheters and analyzed for PYY levels and net portal appearance (NPA) of PYY was correlated to NPA of SCFA. No significant effects of diets on NPA of PYY were observed (P > 0.05), however, resistant starch supplementation increased postprandial NPA of PYY levels by 37 to 54% compared with rye-based and Western-style control diets (P = 0.19). This increase was caused by higher mesenteric artery and portal vein PYY plasma levels (P < 0.001) and was independent of SCFA absorption (P > 0.05). The PYY levels were higher in response to the second daily meal compared with the first daily meal (P < 0.001), but similar among diets (P > 0.10). In conclusion, the increased postprandial PYY responses in pigs fed with different levels and sources of DF are not caused by an increased SCFA absorption and suggest that other mechanisms such as neural reflexes and possibly an increased flow of digesta in the small intestine may be involved. The content of DF and SCFA production did not affect PYY levels.