Table 5.
Equine caecal, colon (right ventral) and faecal SCFA concentrations (mmol/l) after three weeks of adaptation to forage based diets differing in fibre composition and maturity 1,2.
| Segment | SEM |
p-Value Segment |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caecum | Colon | Faeces | |||
| Total SCFA | 60.4 a | 64.7 a | 38.3 b | 3.91 | <0.001 |
| Acetate | 41.9 a | 45.2 a | 26.7 b | 2.44 | <0.001 |
| Propionate | 11.9 a | 12.4 a | 6.9 b | 0.95 | 0.001 |
| Butyrate | 5.0 a | 5.1 a | 2.8 b | 0.43 | 0.003 |
| Valerate | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.15 | 0.134 |
| Iso-butyrate | 0.3 a | 0.6 a,b | 0.8 b | 0.11 | 0.038 |
| Iso-valerate | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.13 | 0.245 |
1 Since there were no effects of diet and no diet × segment interactions, least square means across diets (with the pooled standard error of the mean) are presented (n 5). 2 Diet C: concentrate (oats, soybean meal) and late harvested grass haylage (35:65 energy ratio), Diet G: early and late harvested grass haylage (80:20) (+small amount soybean meal), Diet L: lucerne haylage and late harvested grass haylage (80:20). a,b Mean values within a row with unlike superscript letters were significantly different (p < 0.05).