The apparent digestibility of energy,nitrogen and fibre and the biological value of protein in low- and high-fibre wheat breads

Sixteen 15 kg liveweight entire-male pigs were given either a low-fibre (1.21 g/100 g Neutral detergent fibre, NDF) or a high-fibre (6.38 g 100 g, NDF) wheat bread as their sole source of dietary protein, in a conventional 21-day metabolism study. A glucose/oil supplement which was assumed to be completely absorbed was given with the bread to ensure a high ratio of dietary energy to protein, to allow measurement of biological value (BV). The apparent faecal digestibility of gross energy was significantly (p<0.001) lower (7.4% units) for pigs given the high-fibre bread as was the apparent digestibility of NDF (24% units lower). The apparent faecal digestibility of total nitrogen was also significantly (p<0.001) lower for the animals fed the high-fibre bread, but there were no significant differences between the breads for the BV of their protein. The overall mean BV for the breads was 46%. The results indicate a significantly lower digestibility of nutrients and gross energy in breads containing appreciable quantities of wheat bran fibre.