ANATOMY

Detailed explanation-1: -Once food has been ingested, it is briefly chewed and mixed with saliva, swallowed and then moved down the oesophagus into the rumen. The rumen is adapted for the digestion of fibre. It is the largest compartment of the adult ruminant stomach. The rumen is sometimes described as a ‘fermentation vat’.

Detailed explanation-2: -Breakdown of complex plant fibers is initiated by degradative enzymes of rumen microbes, including enzymes capable of degrading cellulose, xylan (hemicellulose), and pectin.

Detailed explanation-3: -Ruminant animals can digest fibre via microbial fermentation to obtain useful energy needed for various biological functions. In dairy cows, dietary fibre improves milk fat by increasing the amount of rumen acetate which acts as a precursor of milk fat synthesis.

Detailed explanation-4: -Abstract. Ruminant animals digest cellulose via a symbiotic relationship with ruminal microorganisms. Because feedstuffs only remain in the rumen for a short time, the rate of cellulose digestion must be very rapid. This speed is facilitated by rumination, a process that returns food to the mouth to be rechewed.

Detailed explanation-5: -Because of the reliance of cattle on microorganisms to break down fiber, the only two places in the digestive tract where any appreciable fiber digestion occurs are in the rumen and in the large intestine.