Starfish meal (SM) was fed in different concentrations to 4952 piglets from 6 kg to assess the effect on animal performance when fed under commercial conditions. Performance was evaluated at low (L-SM), medium (M-SM) and high (H-SM) SM-levels compared with fishmeal (FM). The experimental period was divided into three two-week phases. Pigs received 5, 7.5 and 100 g/kg SM, and 50 g/kg FM in phase 1. In phase 2, SM and FM were halved. In phase 3, all pigs received the same diet without SM to study compensatory growth. Similar ADG and ADFI was found for pigs fed FM and L-SM in all phases. The ADG of pigs was significantly lower when feeding diets with M-SM and H-SM compared with FM and L-SM in both phase 1 and 2 (P < 0.001), and the ADFI of L-SM-fed pigs was greater than for pigs fed M-SM and H-SM in phase 1 (P = 0.015), whereas in phase 2, the ADFI of pigs receiving M-SM and H-SM was significantly lower compared with the other two treatments (P < 0.001). In phase 3, pig growth was similar on all treatments. M-SM and H-SM gave compensatory growth in phase 3. Piglets can be fed 50 g/kg SM with good results, but greater inclusion levels may cause growth reduction.

Background: In obesity, the distribution and metabolic function of adipose tissue are of vast importance for the risk of type 2 diabetes development. The homeostasis of zinc and iron is believed to be disturbed in diabetic patients. Zinc dyshomeostasis could affect the metabolic function of adipose tissue as zinc is known to facilitate the functions of insulin within adipose tissue as well as take part in cell proliferation and apoptosis. Further, altered iron levels have been shown to affect insulin sensitivity. This study investigates the intracellular zinc regulation and total zinc and iron status in adipose tissues in obesity-linked, type 2 diabetes in the Psammomys obesus model.Methods: Subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue were collected from diabetic (n=6) and non-diabetic animals (n=6). Total zinc and iron levels were analyzed by induced-coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Gene expressions of zinc transporters of the SLC30A and SLC39A family, regulating the intracellular zinc distribution, as well as several metabolic markers were investigated by RealTime-PCR.Results: Diabetic animals exhibited signs of an altered zinc homeostasis i. e. a re-distribution of total zinc within visceral adipose tissues and altered transcription of zinc regulatory proteins ZIP6, ZIP8, ZIP9, and ZnT9. Further, diabetic animals displayed an iron accumulation in visceral adipose tissue that was positively correlated with insulin degrading enzyme and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma.Conclusion: Psammomys obesus, a complex animal model of diet-induced type 2 diabetes, exhibits changes in the mineral status of zinc and iron in visceral adipose tissue. These changes might be related to the altered insulin sensitivity and metabolic function of visceral adipose tissue seen in type 2 diabetes. This study warrants further investigations into the role minerals, especially zinc and iron, play in the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes.

Supplementation of crystalline amino acids is common in diets for piglets. The purpose of the present experiment was to conduct a study on an alternative amino acid provision by means of feeding piglets spores of a B. subtilis strain known to overproduce Val when cultured in vitro. Seventeen individually penned piglets per treatment were used. One week after weaning, piglets were fed one of 3 diets: a Val deficient (Val:Lys, 0.63:1; Neg), the same diet with added 1.28×106cfu B. subtilis/g feed (+Bac), or a diet containing Val at requirement levels for piglets (Val:Lys, 0.69:1; +Val). During the 26-d feeding period, Val deficiency reduced (P<0.001) feed intake and growth rate of piglets, and supplementation of B. subtilis spores was not effective enough to compensate for the Val deficiency. Although there were some effects on mucosa, the dietary treatments did not have major effects on amino acid concentrations in digesta and mucosa of the small intestine. However, the Val concentration in plasma of the portal and jugular veins and the urea concentration in plasma of the jugular vein were higher when piglets were fed the +Val diet. The Val:Lys of 0.63:1 was clearly below the requirement of Val for piglets. The dietary supplementation of the B. subtilis strain that can overproduce Val, did not provide Val in levels high enough to compensate for a Val deficiency. Further investigations should focus on optimizing strains to greater Val overproduction in the gastrointestinal tract of pigs and establishing the optimal dose of B. subtilis supplementation.

The objectives of this experiment were to study bioavailability of trace elements in beans and wheat containing different levels of zinc and to study how the water solubility of trace elements was related to the bioavailability in pigs. Three wheat and two bean types were used: wheat of Danish origin as a control (CtrlW), two Turkish wheat types low (LZnW) and high (HZnW) in zinc, a common bean (Com), and a faba bean (Faba). Two diets were composed by combining 81 % CtrlW and 19 % Com or Faba beans. Solubility was measured as the trace element concentration in the supernatant of feedstuffs, and diets incubated in distilled water at pH 4 and 38°C for 3 h. The bioavailability of zinc and copper of the three wheat types and the two bean-containing diets were evaluated in the pigs by collection of urine and feces for 7 days. The solubility of zinc was 34–63 %, copper 18–42 %, and iron 3–11 %. The zinc apparent digestibility in pigs was similar in the three wheat groups (11–14 %), but was significantly higher in the CtrlW+Faba group (23 %) and negative in the CtrlW+Com group (−30 %). The apparent digestibility of copper was higher in the HZnW (27 %) and CtrlW+Faba (33 %) groups than in the CtrlW (17 %) and LZnW (18 %) groups. The apparent copper digestibility of the CtrlW+Com diet was negative (−7 %). The solubility and digestibility results did not reflect the concentration in feedstuffs. The in vitro results of water solubility showed no relationship to the results of trace mineral bioavailability in pigs.

The present investigation aimed to study the ileal and total tract digestibility of 3 forages (clover-grass, clover-grass silage, and field pea (Pisum sativum)-barley (Hordeum vulgare) silage) supplemented to a basal diet. A total of 24 pigs, adapted to eating forages by supplementing a basal feed with clover-grass silage from weaning, were fitted with a T-cannula at the terminal ileum at approximate 30 kg BW. For each of the 3 types of forage, 2 balance trials with a 4 wk interval were carried out. Two pigs in each test were fed the basal diet and 6 others were fed the basal diet plus forage throughout the whole experiment. The intake of forages was low and quite variable and on average accounted for only 10 to 12% of the DMI. Ileal digestibility of protein estimated by collection from the T-cannula was higher (P = 0.031) than the digestibility estimated by the slaughter technique indicating some separation of the digesta collected from the T-cannula. The forages had, as expected, a lower total tract DM and energy digestibility than the basal diet (P < 0.05). The fresh clover-grass had a higher energy digestibility than the 2 silages (60 vs. 48%; P < 0.05). Inclusion of 10% of GE in the diet as forage reduced (P < 0.05) the energy digestibility of the ration by 2.2% for clover-grass, 3.4% for clover-grass silage, and 5.0% for pea-barley silage. In organic slaughter pig production, the overall energy supply from these forages is limited, but they may play an important role in satiety and rooting behavior.

Saponin-containing feed additives have shown positive effects on pig performance. Quinoa hull has high saponin content and may be of interest as a feed additive. This study aimed to evaluate quinoa hull meal (QHM) as a feed additive in a pig diet. The effects of QHM were assessed for three dosages of South American (SA) origin (100, 300 and 500 mg/kg) and one dosage of Danish (DK) quinoa (300 mg/kg). In addition, the effect of dietary SA-QHM and SA-QHM-extract on jejunal epithelial physiology was studied ex vivo in Ussing chambers. The experiment included 400 piglets weaned at 28 ± 2 days of age and the experimental period was 4 weeks. Piglets were weighed initially and finally and feed intake registered. The ex vivo studies were performed with epithelium from 40 pigs receiving control or SA-QHM. Epithelium from each pig was placed into eight Ussing chambers, where four concentrations of SA-QHM-extract were added. Epithelial permeability, Na(+)-dependent glucose transport and serotonin (5-HT) and theophylline-induced secretion were measured. The results showed that QHM had no influence on piglet's growth (p = 0.41) or feed intake (p = 0.17). In spite of a large difference in saponin content between SA-QHM and DK-QHM (28.7% and 2.0% w/w respectively) the source did not affect pig performance. The ex vivo studies revealed no effect (p > 0.05) of adding QHM-extract into the medium. The permeability and glucose induced absorption were highest (p = 0.003 and p = 0.04 respectively) in epithelium from pigs that consumed 100 or 300 mg/kg SA-QHM. The secretory response to 5-HT was not affected (p = 0.59) by dietary treatments, but the theophylline-induced secretion decreased (p = 0.02) with increasing dietary SA-QHM. The changes in epithelial physiology measured ex vivo did not affect animal performance in vivo in this study.

Phytases are added to pig diets to render phytate phosphorus (P) available and improve P utilization. However, the efficacy of phytase may be influenced by dietary calcium (Ca). This experiment studied the interaction between phytase addition and dietary Ca. A wheat, barley and soybean meal diet without inorganic phosphate was used. Plant phytase was 650 FTU/kg DM in the not heat-treated diet. A 3 * 2 factorial design was used to evaluate the response of growing pigs to 3 levels of dietary Ca, 4, 6, 8 g Ca/kg as fed, and 2 levels of phytase, 0 and 750 FTU/kg. Ca was supplied as CaCO3. Eight litters of 6 female pigs (40 kg) were kept in metabolism crates and fed one of the 6 diets for 12 d: 5 d for adaptation and 7 d for total collection of faeces and urine. No significant interaction between phytase and Ca was seen but phytase addition significantly increased P digestibility (from 38 to 58%) whereas the P digestibility was not significantly affected by Ca. In contrast, P retention and utilization was significantly affected by the interaction (p ≤ 0.001). When no phytase was added, P retention was 38% of P intake independent of Ca level. When phytase was added, P utilization increased from 42 to 55 and 57% when Ca was 4, 6 and 8 g/kg feed. This indicates that the pigs' Ca need was not met at 4 g/kg feed. Urinary and faecal P was affected by the phytase and Ca interaction.

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that Zn2+ inhibits cAMP activated chloride secretion. The possible modes of action tested were that Zn2+ has an inhibitory effect on basolateral adenylate cyclase (AC) activity and/or Zn2+ has and inhibitory effect on cAMP dependent K+ channels. Piglets (n=24) were weaned at 28days of age and allocated at two dietary treatments (ZnO0 and ZnO2500) and at 5–6days after weaning the piglets were slaughtered and small intestinal epithelium from each piglet was mounted into 8 Ussing chambers. The effect of 23μM serosal Zn2+ on 8-Br-cAMP (8-bromoadenosine 3,5-clyclic monophosphate; cAMP analogue), 5-HT (serotonin) and forskolin (FSK; increases cAMP by activation of AC) induced secretion was studied. In addition, the effect of blocking cAMP dependent K+ channels by chromanol (293B) on FSK induced secretion was studied. Dietary zinc significantly improved piglet performance and zinc status, but did not affect the in vitro results. Serosal Zn2+ reduced 8-Br-cAMP and 5-HT induced secretion. But FSK induced secretion was only reduced by serosal Zn2+ when the K+ channel blocker was present indicating interactions between 293B and Zn2+. These data suggest that zinc inhibits cAMP activated chloride secretion. The mechanism is most likely not inhibition of AC. The interactions between serosal Zn2+ and 293B is difficult to interpret but may indicate that the mechanism of Zn2+ is different to the mechanism of the K+ channel blocker.

Benzoic acid (BA) reduces pH of urine and thereby reduces the emission of ammonia and possibly also odorous sulphur-compounds from slurry. The effect of BA on mineral metabolism in growing pigs is not clear. The objective was therefore to study the effect of BA and methionine (Met) as a sulphur (S) source in diets for pigs on urine acidification and mineral metabolism. Twenty-four 45kg pigs in a 2×2 factorial design were fed one of 4 diets, containing 0 or 2% BA and a low or high dietary S level provided through diet supplementation of 0 or 1% Met. The pigs were placed in metabolic cages for a 5d adaptation period and a 7d period with collection of faeces and urine. Benzoic acid was metabolized into hippuric acid which reduced urinary pH by 0.8 pH units (P<0.001), and dietary supplementation with 1% Met reduced urinary pH by 1.0 unit (P<0.001). The group of pigs receiving the unsupplemented diet showed the lowest apparent digestibility of phosphorus (P) (P<0.001) and calcium (Ca) (P=0.04). The urinary concentrations of Ca were increased (P=0.02) by BA supplementation, but the retained proportion of absorbed P and Ca was affected by neither BA nor Met supplementation. Sulphur apparent digestibility was not (P=0.58) affected by BA, but on the 1% Met diets, S excretion into urine was reduced (P=0.006) by BA. In conclusion, both BA and Met supplementation increased P and Ca apparent digestibility and decreased urinary pH. The increased acid load provided through dietary BA did not significantly affect the intermediary metabolism of P and Ca.

Eighteen lactating dairy cows were used to compare the effects of organic and inorganic Zn supplements on milk production and chemical composition of milk. Animals received three diets in a randomized block design: basal diet with no supplemental Zn (control, 42 mg Zn/kg), basal diet plus 500 mg Zn/kg of dry matter (DM) as zinc sulfate monohydrate (ZnS) and basal diet plus 500 mg Zn/kg of DM as zinc methionine (ZnM). Results showed that milk and fat-corrected milk yield in dairy cows were not significantly affected by Zn source although a numerical increase was observed. The percentages of protein, lactose, fat, solid nonfat, total solid, and density of milk were not significantly different between treatments. However, dairy cows that received ZnM tended to produce more milk and fat-corrected milk with a lower somatic cell count as compared to controls. The zinc concentration in milk in the ZnM and ZnS groups was higher (P < 0.05) than in milk from the control group, but there were no significant differences between ZnS and ZnM groups.

<正>本研究的目的是测定断奶和增加饲料锌含量对断奶仔猪体内锌铜水平的影响(试验1),研究高锌饲料或高铜饲料对断奶仔猪体内锌铜水平的影响(试验2)。试验1使用5头仔猪(每圈9头,共圈)。断奶前1天每圈屠宰1只仔猪。剩余48只仔猪28d断奶,分别饲喂4种不同锌含量(100、250、1000、2500ppm)的饲

The aim of the study was to determine the effect of weaning and the effect of increasing dietary zinc concentrations on the zinc and copper status of weaned piglets (study 1) and to study the effect of high concentrations of dietary zinc and/or copper on zinc and copper status of weaned piglets (study 2). Study 1 included 54 piglets (six litters of nine piglets). One piglet from every litter was killed 1 day before weaning. The remaining 48 piglets were allocated at weaning (28 days) to four dietary zinc treatments (100, 250, 1000 or 2500 ppm) and subsequently killed 1-2, 5-6 or 14-15 days after weaning. Study 2 included 48 piglets (six litters of eight piglets) allocated to four dietary treatments, consisting of low or high dietary zinc (100 or 2500 ppm) in combination with low or high dietary copper (20 or 175 ppm). All piglets in study 2 were killed 5-7 days after weaning. In both studies, the trace mineral status was assessed by zinc and copper concentrations and alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity in plasma and mucosal tissue. In study 2, lymphocyte metallothionein (MT) mRNA and intestinal mucosa MT mRNA concentrations were included as zinc status markers. The results showed that the zinc status, measured as zinc in plasma and mucosa, was not affected by weaning of the piglets. Plasma copper concentrations decreased during the first 2 weeks after weaning. High dietary copper concentrations did not affect the concentration of copper in plasma, but increased the concentration of copper in mucosa and the concentration of zinc in plasma. The dietary zinc treatments increased the zinc concentration in plasma as well as the zinc and MT mRNA concentration in mucosa. Lymphocyte MT mRNA concentrations did not reflect the differences in dietary zinc supplementation.

This study addressed the mechanisms by which dietary zinc affects diarrhoea and aimed to study possible interactions between zinc status and the presence of zinc in vitro on secretagogue-induced secretion from piglet intestinal epithelium in Ussing chambers. In addition, it was studied from which side of the epithelium zinc would perform an effect and if copper caused similar effects. Twenty-four piglets (28 days of age) were weaned and fed diets containing 100 or 2500 mg zinc/kg (as ZnO) for 5 or 6 days (12 piglets per group). Intestinal epithelium underwent the following 5 treatments: zinc at the mucosal side (M(Zn)), zinc at the serosal side (S(Zn)), zinc at both sides (MS(Zn)), copper at both sides (MS(Cu)) or water at both sides (control). Provoked secretion in terms of short circuit responses to serotonin (5-HT) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) were measured. Zinc at the serosal or both sides of the epithelium reduced the 5-HT induced secretion (P<0.001); however, due to interactions (P=0.05) the effect of zinc in vitro was only present in the ZnO(100) group. The secretion caused by VIP was not affected by the diet (P=0.33), but zinc at the serosal side or both sides reduced the response to VIP (P<0.001). Copper reduced the 5-HT and VIP induced secretion to a larger extent than zinc. However, copper also disturbed intestinal barrier function as demonstrated by increased transepithelial conductance and increased short circuit current, which was unaffected by zinc. In conclusion, zinc at the serosal side of piglet small intestinal epithelium attenuated 5-HT and VIP induced secretion in vitro. These in vitro studies indicate that in vivo there will be no positive acute effect of increasing luminal Zn concentration on secretagogue-induced chloride secretion and that zinc status at the serosal side of the epithelium has to be increased to reduce secretagogue-induced chloride secretion and thereby diarrhoea.

The objective was to study the effect of serosal zinc (Zn) on intestinal chloride (Cl−) secretion in vitro by the Ussing chamber technique. The secretagogues used to stimulate Cl− secretion were serotonin (5-HT), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) and forskolin (FSK). In addition correlations between organ and plasma Zn levels vs. the responses to 5-HT were studied. The results revealed an attenuating effect of serosal Zn on the secretory response to 5-HT, VIP and FSK. Furthermore, negative correlations between secretory responses to 5-HT vs. ADG and plasma Zn concentrations were found, whereas the responses to 5-HT did not correlate to the Zn concentration in liver or intestinal mucosa. It is suggested, that dietary Zn reduces diarrhoea directly through a regulatory role of serosal Zn on Cl− secretion and indirectly by improving the nutritional status, which may stabilize the function of the intestinal epithelium.

A series of in vitro experiments simulating liquid feeding were performed to evaluate the effect of microbial phytase addition, heat-treatment and soaking time on degradation of phytate and lower inositol phosphates when soaking compound wheat/soybean meal diets or the single feedstuffs wheat or soybean meal. The effect of phytase addition on phytate degradation was greatest in soybean meal, almost intermediate for wheat/soybean meal diets and not detectable in wheat, which might be due to a better accessibility to phytate in soybean meal compared with wheat. Heat-treatment seemed to enhance the accessibility between phytase and phytate, whereby phytate degradation was stimulated. Additionally, it was shown that wheat phytase is able to stimulate degradation of phytate in soybean meal. Independent of treatment, the amount of IP5–IP2 was extremely small in relation to phytate in both wheat and soybean meal, indicating that when one phosphate group is removed from the phytate complex, degradation of IP5–IP2 is completed. Consequently, it is anticipated that liquid feeding might result in a higher digestibility of plant P compared with dry feeding of pigs.

In a previous study, we found that secretagogue-stimulated electrolyte secretion was attenuated by dietary and serosal zinc in piglet small intestinal epithelium in Ussing chambers. Several studies show that the enteric nervous system (ENS) is involved in regulation of electrolyte and/or fluid transport in intestinal epithelium from many species. The aim of the present study is to examine the mechanisms behind the attenuating effect of zinc on electrolyte secretion and to study whether the ENS is involved in this effect of zinc in vitro. Twenty-four piglets (six litters of four piglets) were allocated randomly to on e of two dietary treatments consisting of a basic diet supplemented with 100 mg zinc/kg (Zn-100) or 2500 mg zinc/kg (Zn-2500), as ZnO. All the piglets were killed at 5-6 days after weaning and in vitro experiments with small intestinal epithelium in Ussing chambers were carried out. Furthermore, zinc, copper, alkaline phosphatase (AP) and metallothionein (MT) in mucosa, liver, and plasma were measured. These measurements showed that zinc status was increased in the Zn-2500 compared to the Zn-100 fed piglets. The in vitro studies did not confirm previous findings of attenuating effects of dietary zinc and zinc in vitro on the 5-HT induced secretion. But it showed that the addition of zinc at the serosal side attenuated the forskolin (FSK) (cAMP-dependent) induced ion secretion in epithelium from piglets fed with Zn-100 diet. Blocking the ENS with lidocaine or hexamethonium apparently slightly reduced this effect of zinc in vitro, but did not remove the effect of zinc. Consequently, it is suggested that zinc attenuates the cAMP dependent ion secretion mainly due to an effect on epithelial cells rather than affecting the mucosal neuronal pathway. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dietary zinc treatment has a preventive impact on diarrhoea in newly weaned piglets and in undernourished children. The mechanisms behind this effect of zinc are however, still not fully understood. The aim of the present study was to assess if zinc has a direct effect on porcine intestinal secretory responses to different secretagogues in vitro. The study included two Ussing chamber experiments, where the short circuit current responses to different secretagogues were measured in piglet small intestinal epithelium. Exp. 1 aimed to study the effect of increased zinc concentrations in the bathing media on the secretory responses to 5-HT and theophylline. The objective of exp. 2 was to study the effect of zinc in the bathing media on the secretory responses induced by vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), Substance P (SP), Carbachol, and theophylline. The results showed that there were significant decreasing effects of zinc on the secretion, stimulated by 5-HT, VIP and carbachol, from piglet intestinal epithelium in vitro, whereas the secretion caused by SP and theophylline was not significantly affected. The data indicate that the inhibitory mechanism of zinc ions may take place at the receptors situated at the basolateral membrane of the epithelial cells.

Two experiments were performed in order to study how weaning and post-weaning dietary zinc level affect serum IGF-I. Further, whether the growth-enhancing effect of 2500 ppm of dietary zinc (Zn2500) and/or 175 ppm of dietary copper (Cu175) in post-weaning diets is associated with elevated serum IGF-I levels in piglets was studied. Experiment 1 included 54 piglets (six litters of nine piglets). One piglet from every litter was assigned to a control group (blood sampled 1 day before weaning). At weaning the remaining eight piglets from every litter were allocated randomly to four dietary treatments with increasing zinc inclusions (Zn100, Zn250, Zn1000, Zn2500). In exp. 2, 48 piglets (six litters of eight piglets) were allocated to four dietary treatments (Zn100, Zn100Cu175, Zn2500, Zn2500Cu175). All piglets in exp. 1 were blood sampled at -1, 1-2, 5-6 or 14-15 days after weaning and in exp. 2 blood samples were taken from all pigs 5-7 days after weaning. Feed intake was recorded per pen (two piglets) and weight gain was recorded for every piglet. Just after weaning feed intake was very low, piglets lost weight and serum IGF-I decreased in exp. 1. However, the piglets fed 2500 ppm of zinc reached pre-weaning levels of serum IGF-I at 14-15 days post-weaning, whereas piglets receiving lower zinc levels showed no changes in serum IGF-I. In exp. 2, additional dietary zinc in weaning diets for piglets was found to be associated with increased feed intake, improved growth rate and increased serum IGF-I. High levels of dietary copper did not affect any of these measurements. Zinc-induced rise in serum IGF-I was partly due to increased feed intake. After correcting for differences in feed intake, zinc significantly increased serum IGF-I. However, to completely separate effects of feed intake from effects of zinc status, pair-feeding should be considered in future studies.

An in vitro trial was performed in order to study phytate degradation in fermented liquid feed comprising mainly barley or wheat. The influence of heat treatment, microbial counts, temperature of soaking, time of soaking, pH as well as phytase activity was studied. The diets were soaked and fermented with water (1:2.75) in 1-l fermentors. The temperature was held constant at 10, 20 or 38°C, respectively. Samples were taken at 0, 4, 8, 12, 24, 48 and 72h (10 and 20°C) or 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 24h (38°C). The experiment comprised of four diets based on heat-treated or non-heat-treated barley or wheat. The diets were either supplemented or not supplemented with microbial phytase. Between 17 and 79% of total phytate in the diets was degraded within the first 8h of soaking when the temperature was held at 10 or 20°C, with the greatest degradation rate at 20°C. When the temperature was held at 38°C, it took only 2h to degrade comparable amounts. The degradation was improved when endogenous phytase or microbial phytase was available. When the soaking temperature was 20°C, the endogenous phytase was degraded during the soaking period, whereas the microbial phytase remained intact over time. At 10°C, the endogenous phytase also remained intact during the soaking and fermentation period. In heat-treated cereals, natural phytase activity was reduced considerably and hence the rate of phytate degradation was slower. To check the quality of fermentation the microbial counts of lactic acid bacteria, coliform bacteria, yeast and moulds were determined. The results revealed no interactions between microbial counts and phytate degradation.