Factors affecting digestibility

THORNE M J, THOMPSON L u, JENKINS D J (1983) Factors affecting starch digestibility and the glycemic response with special reference to legumes. Am J Clin Nutr. 38 481-8. 

Factors affecting the apparent digestibility of protein for swine when determined by the mobile nylon bag technique. Animal Feed Science and Technology 270-2), 137-146. 

If nutrients found in food were digested, absorbed, and made available to the human or animal body at the 100% level, the science and practice of nutrition would be indeed simplified. That nutrients vary in their bioavailability has been well established. The chemical nature of the specific form of the nutrient involved, the chemical and physical characteristics of the foods in which nutrients are contained, other constituents of the diet, the nature of the digestive and absorptive processes for the specific nutrients, and the physiological condition of the person consuming the food all may affect bioavailability. However, knowledge of specific individual and interacting factors affecting bioavailability and utilization of nutrients has not yet been fully elucidated and constitutes one of the most active areas of current nutrition research. 

Ikeda, K. Y. Matsuda A. Katsumaru M. Teranishi T. Yamamoto M. Kishida. Factors affecting protein digestibility in soybean foods. Cereal Chem. 1995, 72, 401. 

There are three main questions concerning the absorption of phenolics. First, to what extent are these compounds absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract Which factors affect their absorption What percentage of the phenolics present in a given product (fruit, vegetable, processed food, etc.) are available for absorption after digestion of the product ... 

Factors affecting the application of anaerobic digestion in waste treatment... 

A key group of molecules required for both digestion and metabolism are the enzymes, and Chapter 7 provides details of their chemistry, mode of action and the factors affecting their activity. 

Table 11.1 shows the ME values of a number of foods. It is clear that, of the energy losses so far considered, faecal losses are by far the most important. Even for highly digestibility foods such as barley, twice as much energy is lost in the faeces as in the urine and methane. The main factors affecting the ME value of a food are therefore those that influence its digestibility.These have been discussed earlier (see Chapter 10) the emphasis here is on urine and methane losses. 

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