To explore the systemic consequences of hindgut fermentation activities in humans and great apes, we evaluated their physiological levels and cellular metabolic activities of phytanic acid, a branched chain fatty acid that can bind to and/or activate PPAR-alpha and RXR transcription factors. However, seasonal changes in great ape diets and the limited dietary diversity of the humans studied will influence the interpretation of these data sets.
Although hindgut fermentation also occurs in humans, there is evidence that wild great apes derive greater amount of total daily metabolic energy from this process than do humans on Western diets. In contrast, great ape species in the wild derive a significant amount of their total daily metabolic energy needs through the fermentation of lower quality plant materials in their hindguts. The diets of hominids and/or early human populations improved, in part, due to cooking and the increased abundance of animal products obtained through scavenging, hunting, fishing, and dairy consumption. It has been proposed that gut proportions changed at some point within the human lineage in response to higher quality foods which can be digested in the small intestine. However, this could be influenced by primate gut plasticity related to diet and genetic diversity. Initial surveys have also indicated modern humans have a smaller total gut volume to body mass ratio relative to the great apes. While the large intestine represents the majority of the great ape gut volume, the majority of the modern human gut volume consists of the small intestine. Nevertheless, significant differences have been reported in their gut proportions. Humans and great apes (bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans) share a common gut anatomy, consisting of a simple stomach, small intestine, small cecum terminating in an appendix, and a hindgut consisting of the large intestine, rectum, and anal canal.
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