Influence of NSP-degrading enzymes on pH, ammonia and volatile fatty acids concentration in the stomach and small intestine of growing pigs

Thirty-six male castrated pigs (German Landrace; body weight: 26-40 kg) received a diet consisting of (%): barley, 31; rye, 30; wheat bran, 18; soyabean meal, 15.5 and premixes 5.5, during a 3-week period. The diet contained 18.9% non-starch-polysaccharides (NSP) with 4.5% (3-glucan, 9.4%) arabinoxylan and 2.9% cellulose and was fed to another 18 pigs. This diet was supplemented with a commercially available enzyme premix (600 FXU xylanase and 56 FBG 1.4-p-glucanase per kg feed) and was fed to another 18 pigs. At the end of the feeding period the animals were killed at three different times after feeding (1,3 and 6 h postprandial). pH, ammonia concentration and volatile fatty acids (VFA) were determined in the digesta of the stomach and of the small intestine, which was divided into two sections of equal length.