The present study was undertaken to study the metabolism of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) by the reticulo-ruminal epithelium and the portal-drained viscera (PDV) under in vivo conditions with no interference from the metabolism of the rumen microbes. The technique of temporary isolation of the reticulo-rumen was applied to wethers implanted with catheters in a mesenteric artery, the hepatic po...

A mechanistic model describing rumen digestion is presented. The model consists of 22 compartments for classical nutrients, microbes associated with either solids or fluid, and 8 amino-acid compartments. An empirical approach for volatile fatty acids production is used. Sensitivity and behavioural analysis on several parameters demonstrated the need to improve knowledge concerning certain facto...

Materials and Methods Dietary supplementation of probiotic yeast ( ) was noted to improve the animal performance by improving the digestibility of nutrients and rumen bacterial number [1]. Addition of yeast culture, as a probiotic, in animal feeds improves fibre digestion [2], the cellulolytic activity of rumen microbes [3], and reduces the lactate accumulation and oxygen concentration in rumen...

The effect of rumen microbes on six mycotoxins (aflatoxin B1, ochratoxin A, zearalenone, T-2 toxin, diacetoxyscirpenol, and deoxynivalenol ) considered to be health risks for domestic animals was investigated. The mycotoxins were incubated with intact rumen fluid or fractions of rumen protozoa and bacteria from sheep and cattle in the presence or absence of milled feed. Rumen fluid had no effec...

The present study was conducted to evaluate in vivo the role of rumen ciliate protozoa with respect to the methane-suppressing effect of coconut oil. Three sheep were subjected to a 2 x 2 factorial design comprising two types of dietary lipids (50 g x kg(-1) coconut oil vs. 50 g x kg(-1) rumen-protected fat) and defaunation treatment (with vs. without). Due to the defaunation treatment, which r...