Abstract
Effects of cellulose on fat absorption in chicks were investigated by the balance study with dietary fat intake and total fat excretion and by the injection of 131I-la-beled triolein. White Leghorn male chicks were force-fed on purified diet containing 7% tallow for 14 days from the 14th day of age and 7 days' balance study was performed. Addition of cellulose at the level of 4 or 8% in the diet did not affect over-all fat absorb- ability, though food passage time through the digestive tract was reduced by feeding cellulose. Therefore, it was proved that the depression of liver lipid accumulation by feeding cellulose reported in our previous reports was not attributable to the depressed fat absorption. Chicks fasted for 12 hours were injected directly into crop with the purified diet containing 131I-triolein and radioactivity of blood plasma, liver and skeletal muscle were determined at 25, 50, 120 and 240 minutes after dose. Plasma 131I in cellulose-fed chicks was slightly lower, though not significantly, than that in chicks fed fiber-free diet at each time after dose. Liver 131I was significantly depressed by feeding cellulose at 120 and 240 minutes after dose.
