Effects of corn processing on the glycaemic and insulinaemic responses in horses.
Abstract: This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different corn processing techniques on the glycaemic and insulinaemic responses in horses. It was hypothesized that the changes in pre-caecal starch digestibility caused by various types of corn processing would alter the post-prandial glycaemic and/or insulinaemic response. Six horses were fed in random order: untreated, finely ground, steamed, micronized, steam-flaked and popped corn. The total corn intake was adjusted to 630 g starch/horse/day (1.2-1.5 g starch/kg BW/day). During a stabilization period of 10 days, horses also received 6 kg grass hay/horse/day. At blood collection day horses were fed their test diet (exclusively corn), and blood samples were taken at defined times. Corn feeding resulted in a significant increase in mean plasma glucose and insulin concentration, but glucose and insulin peaks as well as areas under the curve (AUC) were not clearly influenced by corn processing. The glycaemic index (in which each test diet's plasma glucose AUC was expressed relative to untreated corn) varied between 91.4 +/- 9.4% (steamed corn) and 108.4 +/- 11.8% (popped corn, treatment n.s.), the insulinaemic index (in which each test diet's plasma insulin AUC was expressed relative to untreated corn) ranged between 98.2 +/- 12.6% (steamed corn) and 121.0 +/- 29.9% (micronized corn, treatment n.s.). However, the well-established improvement in pre-caecal starch digestibility was not reflected by differences in the glucose or insulin responses.
Publication Date: 2004-09-25 PubMed ID: 15387851DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0396.2004.00491.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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The research article investigates how various corn processing methods affect the glucose and insulin levels in horses. The study finds that while corn feeding does raise plasma glucose and insulin levels in equine subjects, the exact method of corn processing doesn’t significantly influence these levels.
Research Objectives and Hypothesis
- The primary goal of this research was to analyze the effects of different methods of corn processing on the glycaemic (or glucose) and insulinaemic (or insulin) responses in horses.
- The researchers hypothesized that alterations in pre-caecal starch digestibility, brought about by the different corn processing methods, would also change the glycaemic and/or insulinaemic responses post-feeding (post-prandial).
Research Methodology
- Six horses were subjected to feeding with six different types of corn: untreated, finely ground, steamed, micronized, steam-flaked, and popped corn, with the corn intake adjusted to 630 g of starch per horse per day.
- During a 10-day stabilization period, the horses were also given 6 kg of grass hay per day.
- On the blood collection day, the horses were fed the corn diet exclusively, after which blood samples were taken at fixed times.
Findings and Interpretation
- Feeding corn resulted in a notable increase in mean plasma glucose and insulin levels.
- However, the peaks and areas under the curve values for glucose and insulin were not visibly impacted by the different processing methods used for the corn.
- The glycaemic and insulinaemic indexes, which express the glucose and insulin levels related to untreated corn, showed only minor variations between the different processing methods, contrary to the hypothesis.
- Interestingly, the anticipated improvement in pre-caecal starch digestibility due to different processing methods didn’t manifest in changes in glucose or insulin responses. This suggests that the method of corn processing doesn’t significantly alter its impact on horses’ glycaemic or insulinaemic responses.
Cite This Article
APA
Vervuert I, Coenen M, Bothe C.
(2004).
Effects of corn processing on the glycaemic and insulinaemic responses in horses.
J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr (Berl), 88(9-10), 348-355.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0396.2004.00491.x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Institute of Animal Nutrition, School of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany. ingrid.vervuert@tiho-hannover.de
MeSH Terms
- Animal Feed
- Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena
- Animals
- Area Under Curve
- Blood Glucose / analysis
- Blood Glucose / metabolism
- Cross-Over Studies
- Digestion
- Female
- Food Handling / methods
- Horses / blood
- Horses / metabolism
- Insulin / analysis
- Insulin / blood
- Male
- Random Allocation
- Zea mays
Citations
This article has been cited 3 times.- Carver C, Bruemmer J, Coleman S, Landolt G, Hess T. Effects of corn supplementation on serum and muscle microRNA profiles in horses.. Food Sci Nutr 2023 Jun;11(6):2811-2822.
- Thorringer NW, Weisberg MR, Jensen RB. The effects of processing barley and maize on metabolic and digestive responses in horses.. J Anim Sci 2020 Dec 1;98(12).
- Williams CA, Kenny LB, Burk AO. Effects of grazing system, season, and forage carbohydrates on glucose and insulin dynamics of the grazing horse.. J Anim Sci 2019 May 30;97(6):2541-2554.
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