Action of guar gums on the viscosity of digestive contents and on the gastrointestinal motor function in pigs.

The apparent viscosity of three test meals containing 6% of different guar gums was measured in the gastric, duodenal and jejunal contents and related with the gastrointestinal myoelectric activity and transit time in pigs. The motility index (mV/min) and the spike burst frequency (number of spike bursts/min) were closely related to the digesta viscosity: they were significantly increased by most viscous contents in stomach and small intestine. This effect was associated with an increase in the orocecal transit time of liquids and solids.