RESUMEN
The high fiber content of cereal coproducts used in animal feed reduces the digestibility and nutrient availability. Therefore, the aim of this study was to elucidate the ability of two carbohydrase complexes to degrade the cell wall of wheat, maize, and rice during in vitro digestion. One complex was rich in cell-wall-degrading enzymes (NSPase 1), and the other was similar but additionally enriched with xylanases and arabinofuranosidases (NSPase 2). Degradation of arabinoxylan, the main cereal cell wall polysaccharide, was followed directly by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) and indirectly through phenolic acid liberation as quantified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The effect was additionally visualized using a unique multispectral autofluorescence approach. Wheat fractions, in particular aleurone, were susceptible to degradation as judged from the redistribution of arabinoxylan (25% reduction in insoluble arabinoxylan), whereas the highest relative liberation of ferulic acid was observed in rice bran (6%). All cereal fractions, except for maize, had a higher release of ferulic acid with NSPase 2 than NSPase 1 (38% in rice and wheat bran, 30% in wheat whole grain, and 28% in wheat aleurone). Thus, the carbohydrase complexes were able to degrade important cell wall components during in vitro digestion but apparently through different mechanisms in wheat, maize, and rice.