An in vitro method for studying digestion in the pig. 1. Stimulating digestion in the different compartments of the intestine.

1. An in vitro method, using duodenal and ileal digesta and faeces from pigs as inocula for the preparation of three incubation media for simulating the digestive processes in the pig, was proposed. The kinetics of degradation in these three media of three feed samples (pig-grower diet, sugar-beet pulp and wheat bran) with crude protein (nitrogen x 6.25) contents varying from 111 to 196 g/kg, starch contents from 10 to 446 g/kg and dietary fibre contents from 168 to 686 g/kg, were studied. 2. The method was investigated by incubating the feeds in the three media for up to 96 h, and determining the rate and extent of disappearance of feed components. 3. For each feed the 96 h dry matter disappearance was almost equal for all media, although the rate of disappearance varied considerably, with ileal digesta the most potent, particularly for the high-fibre feeds, and duodenal digesta the least. The patterns of disappearance of individual components were similar in all media, with the exception of crude protein which was apparently less degraded in ileal and especially faecal media. 4. Results suggest that a combination of a short (6-12 h) and a long (48-72 h) in vitro incubation could be employed to simulate digestion in the small and large intestine respectively of the pig.