There was no significant difference between bacterial populations across dietary treatments. Previously, consumption
of barley-based diets have stimulated populations of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli and decreased populations of E. Coli in
the distal gastrointestinal tract when compared with wheat-based diets, and this has been attributed to the elevated concentrations of β-glucans present in barley (O’Connell et al., 2005; Garry et al., 2007a). The absence of a significant difference between experimental diets in the current study may suggest that supplementation of purified β-glucans induced comparable numbers of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli and E. Coli with a barley-based diet; an improvement in the proportions of these bacteria when aligned with previous studies. During transit throughout the distal gastrointestinal tract , carbohydrate availability progressively diminishes and fermentation may become increasingly proteolytic (Bach Knudsen et al., 1993). The current study suggests that supplementation of a wheat-based diet with β-glucans delivered a suitable substrate to prolong proliferation of more typically saccharolytic microbial populations in the colon.