Animal fibre: The forgotten nutrient in strict carnivores? First insights in the cheetah

As wild felids are obligate carnivores, it is likely that poorly enzymatically digestible animal tissues determine hindgut fermentation, instead of plant fibre. Therefore, faecal concentrations of short‐chain fatty acids (SCFA, including branched‐chain fatty acids, BCFA), indole and phenol were eval...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of animal physiology and animal nutrition 2013-02, Vol.97 (1), p.146-154
Main Authors: Depauw, S, Hesta, M, Whitehouse‐Tedd, K, Vanhaecke, L, Verbrugghe, A, Janssens, G. P. J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
acetic acid
Acinonyx - blood
Acinonyx - metabolism
Acinonyx jubatus
Animal Feed - analysis
animal fibers
Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena
Animals
Animals, Zoo
beef
carnivores
cartilage
Cattle
diet
Diet - veterinary
Dietary Fiber - administration & dosage
Dietary Fiber - classification
Fatty acids
Female
Fermentation
Indican - blood
intestinal health
Male
Meat - analysis
phenol
plant fibers
propionic acid
Rabbits
whole prey
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Summary:As wild felids are obligate carnivores, it is likely that poorly enzymatically digestible animal tissues determine hindgut fermentation, instead of plant fibre. Therefore, faecal concentrations of short‐chain fatty acids (SCFA, including branched‐chain fatty acids, BCFA), indole and phenol were evaluated in 14 captive cheetahs, fed two different diets differing in proportion of poorly enzymatically digestible animal tissue. Using a cross‐over design, the cheetahs were fed exclusively whole rabbit or supplemented beef for 1 month each. Feeding whole rabbit decreased faecal propionic (p 
ISSN:0931-2439
1439-0396
DOI:10.1111/j.1439-0396.2011.01252.x