Effect of mixing dietary fibre (purified lignocellulose or purified pectin) and a corn meal on glucose and insulin responses in healthy horses.

The research paper examines whether adding purified soluble fiber (pectin) or insoluble fiber (lignocellulose) to a corn meal influences glucose and insulin responses in healthy horses. The findings suggest that these types of fiber additives do not make a significant difference to the horses’ post-meal glucose and insulin responses.

Introduction

• In this study, the researchers investigated the impact of introducing a purified soluble dietary fibre (pectin) and an insoluble dietary fibre (lignocellulose) to a starch-based meal on the glucose and insulin reactions post-meal in healthy horses.

Methodology

• The study involved four horses which were fed in a randomized order three distinct diets: cracked corn, cracked corn combined with purified lignocellulose, and cracked corn mixed with purified pectin.
• Each diet was adjusted to a starch intake of 2 g per kg of body weight and a lignocellulose intake aligned to 0.2 g per kg of body weight. Pectin was given in a dosage of 0.1 g/kg body weight.
• The horses underwent a 10-day acclimatization period for each diet, during which they were fed 1.2 kg of hay per 100 kg of body weight daily.
• After each acclimatization phase, blood was drawn from the horses both before and after the test meals were given, without any hay

Results

• The study found that the increase in plasma glucose and insulin, peak values and area under the curves were similar for all diets, indicating that the addition of purified soluble or insoluble fibre did not influence post-prandial glucose and insulin responses in healthy horses.

Implications and Recommendations

• The research suggests that for horses with high energy requirements feeding strategies should include a reduction of starch per meal rather than the addition of purified fibre.