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The effect of carbohydrate supplementation on microbial fibre digestion was studied in vitro, by measuring the disappearance of cell wall monosaccharides, bacterial adhesion (mmol purine bases per g residue), and total (per g residue) and bacterial (per mmol purine bases) polysaccharidase activity. Straw cell walls (CW, 0.5% w/v) were cultured in medium supplemented with (0.275% w/v) or without starch, a sugar mixture, or pectin. Supplementation with these constituents did not cause a drop in pH below 6.1, and increased all parameters investigated with the exception of bacterial polysaccharidase activity, which was higher for CW cultures, suggesting a higher proportion of fibrolytic bacteria in the adherent population. By comparison with starch and sugar, pectin supplementation resulted in a lower proportion of residual sugars remaining from cell walls after 60 and 72 h (P < 0.05), which resulted in greater bacterial adhesion after 8 and 12 h (P < 0.05) and higher total cellulase activity after 8 h (P < 0.01). This was perhaps because pectin may cover particle surfaces, protecting the digestive area from external factors, or may act as a substrate for cellulolytic bacteria. The lack of differences in bacterial enzymatic activities suggests the absence of qualitative or quantitative differences in the adherent fibrolytic population.