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Post-Ruminal Digestion of Cellulose in Wethers and Steers¹

University of Kentucky, Lexington 40506

Abstract

A series of experiments was conducted to determine the extent of post-ruminal cellulose digestion in wethers and steers and to study factors affecting this digestion. When purified wood cellulose was infused into the abomasum of wethers, post-ruminal digestion of the infused cellulose was 34.8 and 32.3% in experiments 1 and 2, respectively. Post-ruminal digestion of infused cellulose was not significantly influenced by feeding high-concentrate of high-roughage rations or by levels of cellulose infusion between 50 and 150 g per day. In the third experiment, cellulose was infused into the cecum of wethers and the percentage digestion averaged 32.7.

Adding 72 g per day of corn oil to the cellulose infusion slurry administered into the abomasum or adding 20, 40 or 60 g per day of corn oil to the slurry infused into the cecum of wethers had no significant effect on post-ruminal cellulose digestion. The corn oil administered into the abomasum was 56.5% digested, and the digestion of corn oil infused into the cecum was 34.5, 44.4 and 49.0% for the 20-, 40- and 60-g per day infusions, respectively, indicating that considerable lipase activity is present in the cecum or the large intestine.

Mixtures of cellulose and chromic oxide were infused into the abomasum of steers, and samples were obtained from the posterior ileum and the feces. Digestion of the cellulose administered into the abomasum of steers was 35.9, 38.6 and 23.9%, respectively, for the 100-, 200- and 300-g infusions administered twice daily (32.8% for all treatments combined). Cellulose appeared to be digested both anterior and posterior to the ileal fistula, but digestion posterior to the fistula was more important.

¹ The investigation reported in this paper (71-5-49) is in connection with a project of the Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station and is published with approval of the Director.

² Present address: Ralston Purina Company, Atlanta, Georgia.