Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 5, 2026

High Throughput Screening of Fungal Endoglucanase Activity in Escherichia coli
Published on: August 13, 2011
Degradation of cellulose within the gastrointestinal tract in man
Abstract:
14C-labelled cellulose was administered orally to 10 subjects without gastrointestinal disease and its absorption measured by faecal 14C excretion and 14CO2 in expired air. A mean of 57.2% of oral cellulose was excreted in the faeces and up to 14% (mean 7.5 +/- 4.4 1SD) of faecal radioactivity was water soluble. Whole gut transit time did not correlate with the quantity of 14C-cellulose excreted in the faeces. A significant quantity of 14CO2 appeared in the expired air as early as 30 minutes after administration of the labelled cellulose. The cumulative excretion of 14CO2 varied from 7.6-32.2% of the administered radioactivity but did not correlate with faecal 14C excretion. The present data show that a significant quantity of oral cellulose is metabolised within the human gastrointestinal tract and appears in the expired air as 14CO2.
More Related Videos
06:51High-throughput Screening of Carbohydrate-degrading Enzymes Using Novel Insoluble Chromogenic Substrate Assay Kits
Published on: September 20, 2016
13:35Structural Biology and Analytical Chemistry Approaches for Characterizing C-Glycoside Metabolic Enzymes in Human Gut Microbiota
Published on: May 23, 2025
Related Concept Videos
Carbohydrate Digestion
Feces Formation and Defecation
The mass peristalsis then pushes the feces into the rectum, which stretches the rectal walls to activate...
Carbohydrate Absorption
After being swallowed, the partially digested carbohydrates mix with gastric secretions in the stomach. However, the acidic environment...
Physiology of the Gastrointestinal System II: Digestion and Absorption
Digestion begins in the mouth, where food undergoes mechanical breakdown by chewing and combines with saliva. Salivary amylase, an enzyme in saliva, starts the breakdown of starches into maltose. The food then travels down the esophagus to the stomach.
In the stomach, a...
Physiology of the Gastrointestinal System III: Elimination
Biodeterioration