Abstract
The digestibility of dry matter, energy, crude protein, starch, amylose and amylopectin was studied through the use of a 4 × 4 latin square design utilizing four pigs fitted with duodenal and terminal ileal cannulas and fed diets containing 70% wheat, milo, corn or barley. The rates of passage of these diets through the stomach, small intestine and large intestine were also studied. Dry matter, energy and protein were digested primarily in the small intestine while most of the starch (45 to 75%), amylose (69 to 96%) and amylopectin (40 to 70.5%) had disappeared cranial to the duodenal cannula. More sugar passed the duodenal cannula than was ingested in the wheat, milo and corn diets. Sugar was primarily (91 to 99%) digested in the small intestine. Starch digestion cranial to the ileal cannulas ranged from 79 to 95%. Milo and barley starch were less digestible (94%) than wheat or corn starch (98%). The rates of passage followed first order kinetics and were expressed as rate constants (b) derived from the equation 1nY = a + bX where Y was dye concentration and X was time. Average rate constants determined on samples from the duodenum, ileum and large intestine were -.390, -.370, -.800, respectively. This indicates that the digesta passed through the stomach and small intestine much more rapidly than through the large intestine.In general, milo and barley diets had lower rate constants than did wheat or corn diets at all sampling sites. Copyright © 1974. American Society of Animal Science. Copyright 1974 by American Society of Animal Science.