Precaecal digestibility of niacin and pantothenic acid from different foods

This study was conducted to investigate the apparent precaecal digestibilit ies of niacin and pantothenic acid from human nutrient related foods includ ing wheat, coarse whole-meal bread, boiled potatoes and boiled pork and bee f. Therefore, pigs were subjected to an end-to-end ileo-rectal anastomosis, so digesta passed straight from ileum to rectum. eliminating endogenous vi tamin synthesis. Excreted chyme was collected over 5-days periods, and conc entrations of niacin. and pantothenic acid in the food and chyme samples we re determined microbiologically. The intestinal bioavailability of niacin a nd pantothenic acid was affected differently by the food administered. The digestibility values of niacin deriving from the wheat-, potato- and the nl c ut-based meals ranged from 59 to 69%. Wholemeal bread exerted a nutrition ally important negative effect on the apparent intestinal availability of d ietary niacin relative to the other foods. which averaged by 40%. Food-rela ted differences of the pantothenic acid digestibility values were greater t han that observed with niacin. The digestibility values of pantothenic acid from wheat, potatoes and the meat meals ranged between 65 and 81% and were of the order wheat diet > pork diet > potato diet > beef diet, although di fferences were not statistically significant. The digestibility of pantothe nic acid from the coarse wholemeal bread diet was lower than 30%.