The objective of this study was to describe the effect of steam-treated bagasse on growth, the weight of internal organs namely stomach, cecum, small intestine, large intestine, liver, testis and intraperitoneal fat in CF male mice from 0 to 5 generations. In addition, histology of digestive organs were also studied. Mice were grouped into two groups, those treated by the ground and steam-treated bagasse (BG) and the control (CG). The diet given to the BG contained nine parts of commercial standard diet and one part of steam-treated bagasse. The CG was feed on the standard diet without bagasse. The results of this study showed that the growth of younger mice to 4 weeks of age was significantly lower in the BG than the CG, with the exception of 3rd generation. But the growth of older mice in the BG gained on the CG. In addition, the growth after the 3rd generation and 6 weeks of age was significantly higher in the BG than in the CG. Feed intake was higher in the BG than in the CG in every generation. Tissue parameters were significantly dif ferent between the two groups, including the weight of large intestine, and the length of small and large intestine at 10 weeks of age. Meanwhile, there were no significant difference in the weight of the stomach, cecum, liver, testis, and intraperitoneal fat between the two groups. Ratio of the tissue weights to body weight, the cecum and the large intestine were higher in the BG than in the CG through all generations. The ileum villi, mucosa cell of the colon and the cecum was well developed in the BG. The results of this study suggest that steam-treated bagasse is useful as a source of fiber for animals.

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The ability of typical strains of Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens, a butyrate-producing bacterium, to utilize representative polysaccharides was investigated in vitro. Ultimately, these findings will contribute to the optimization of B. fibrisolvens growth in the intestine, where it has been used successfully as a probiotic. Among the strains examined, we measured significant variation in the fermentation of different polysaccharides: Resistant starch was fermented by strains A38,19171, OB156, and 51255, but not by MDT-1. Pectin was fermented by all the strains tested, and hemicelluloses inulin and xylan were fermented by all strains except OB156. Relative to cultures containing only endogenous dog fecal bacteria, those supplemented with B. fibrisolvens strain MDT-1showed significantly higher levels of hemicellulose (particularly xylan) fermentation. The increase in xylan fermentation seen with addition of B.fibrisolvens MDT-1 resulted in an increase in butyrate production. Thus, when MDT-1 is used as a probiotic, dietary supplementation with xylan may promote the preferential growth of MDT-1 in the intestine, thereby enhancing butyrate production.

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