EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -In herbivores like rabbit, the symbiotic bacteria and protozoans present in the caecum, help in digestion of cellulose into glucose. So, the digestion of cellulose takes place in caecum by the process of decomposition.

Detailed explanation-2: -In herbivores, the caecum is enlarged and houses bacteria that produce cellulase an enzyme that breaks down cellulose into sugars. In this way herbivores are actually able to digest cellulose. This function no longer occurs in the human cecum, so in humans it simply forms a part of the large intestine (colon).

Detailed explanation-3: -Cellulose is digested with the aid of symbiotic bacteria. The microbial fermentation occurs in the digestive organs that follow the small intestine: the large intestine and caecum.

Detailed explanation-4: -All herbivores eat grasses and other plant material. Plants contain cellulose, which is very hard to digest. So, when a herbivore swallows some grass, the chewed grass first enters the compartment of the stomach called the rumen. The rumen contains a salty solution and bacteria that helps to break down the cellulose.

Detailed explanation-5: -Therefore, rabbits have a special mechanism for digesting cellulose. After the cellulose passes through the small intestine, it enters a chamber called the cecum. The cecum contains microorganisms that are able to cleave the ( 1 − 4 1-4 1−4 ) glycosidic bond and break down the cellulose through hindgut fermentation.