American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 31, S86-S89, Copyright © 1978 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc

ORIGINAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS

Complex carbohydrate breakdown in the human colon

JR Vercellotti, AA Salyers and TD Wilkins

Concentrations of water-soluble high- and low-molecular-weight carbohydrates were determined in the intestinal contents of four human subjects who had died accidentally. In all four subjects, concentrations of high-molecular-weight carbohydrate were lower throughout the colon than in the ileum. In some subjects, similar but less dramatic differences were also found with low-molecular-weight carbohydrate. Components of both high- and low-molecular-weight peaks included neutral sugars such as rhamnose, galactose, mannose, xylose, and arabinose, which are found in many plant polysaccharides. Components characteristic of mucins (fucose, hexosamines, and sialic acids) were also detected. These results indicate that dietary fiber and mucin are degraded in the human colon.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. E. STEVENS and I. D. HUME Contributions of Microbes in Vertebrate Gastrointestinal Tract to Production and Conservation of Nutrients Physiol Rev, April 1, 1998; 78(2): 393 - 427. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]