It was the aim of this study to evaluate the effects of different types of carbohydrates on the metabolism of L-tryptophan to skatole and possible microbial mechanism involved using an in vitro system with pig fecal bacteria. The substrates investigated were selected according to their fermentability: sugar beet pulp (SBP) belonged to the potentially easily fermentative carbohydrates, while rye grass hay (RYE) and alfalfa hay (ALF) were chosen as fermentable fibre as grass fibre and legume family respectively. Besides, fructooligosaccharides (FOS) was used as positive contrast because of its known lowering effect on skatole production in vitro. It was found that Skatole production could be changed by the shifted microbial composition, which was closely related to different sources of carbohydrate. The SBP could be used as pig feed ingredient to inhibit microbial production of skatole. The results from this study provide a useful implication that bacteria C. disporicum DSM 5521 might play a role in the production of skatole.

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