I am preparing a talk about probiotics. In the talk I get into VFA production. I
would like to make a slide about the importance of VFA's to overal energy
supplied by the diet. What percent of the human energy requirement is supplied
by VFA's. I realize it will depend on the diet, so I'm looking for a rough
estimate. I have values for pigs and porcupines (that should wake the audience
up). I have read many papers in which VFA concentrations have been measured in
digesta and feces, and if I really had to I could probably come up with some
kind of number, assuming I knew how efficient the absorption of the individual
VFA's was in humans, which I don't. I'm hoping that someone has this sort of
number at their fingertips.
Thanks for your help.
Ted Farnworth
Agriculture Canada
Ottawa, Canada
