Digestibility trials with poultry. X. The effect of war-time changes in milling practice on the composition and nutritive value of fine and coarse wheat bran

Extract

Digestibility tests with poultry, and one with rabbits, on brans produced under war-time conditions led to the following conclusions:

1. Changes in war-time milling practice, brought about by the implementation of Government policy directed towards maximum production of flour for human use, at first led to the production of a fine bran, somewhat better in food value than prewar bran, and a coarse bran, of poorer quality than pre-war bran. Later, owing to dilution of the grist with barley, the quality of the fine bran deteriorated and became worse than that of prewar bran.

2. The changes noted were largely caused by the extremely efficient removal of the starch by the millers, and reflect the ability shown by the milling industry in diverting to human food supplies the maximum possible edible food material present in the wheat berry.

3. The superior efficiency of the rabbit's digestive system for dealing with fibrous foods, as compared with the fowl's, is emphasized by the differences in the amounts of digestible nutrients extracted from a given sample of coarse bran by these two classes of animals. 1 kg. of coarse bran yielded 2522 kg. cal. of metabolizable energy in the rabbit as compared with 1637 kg. cal. in the fowl.