Effects of Water-Soluble Carbohydrate Concentrate from Chinese Jujube on Different Intestinal and Fecal Indices

This study was to investigate the effects of water-soluble carbohydrate concentrate (WSCC) prepared from Chinese jujube (Zizyphus jujuba) on different intestinal and fecal indices in a hamster model. WSCC contained carbohydrates (771 g kg−1 of WSCC) including glucose, fructose, pectin polysaccharide, and hemicellulose. The administration of WSCC (5.0 and 15 g kg−1 of diet) effectively (P < 0.05) shortened gastrointestinal transit time (by 34.2–57.3%), reduced cecal ammonia (by 58.1–60.3%), elevated total short-chain fatty acid concentrations in cecum (3–4-fold), increased fecal moisture (147–170%), reduced daily fecal ammonia output (by 31.9–75.8%), and decreased the activities of β-d-glucuronidase (by 73.0–73.8%), β-d-glucosidase (by 58.2–85.7%), mucinase (by 46.2–72.6%), and urease (by 31.9–48.7%) in feces. This study suggested that adequate consumption of jujube WSCC (at least 5.0 g kg−1 of diet or 40 mg day−1) might exert favorable effects on improving the gastrointestinal milieu and reducing the exposure of intestinal mucosa to toxic ammonia and other detrimental compounds.