Summary Red clover ( Trifolium pratense L.) under New Zealand conditions may contain up to 6.6% pectin. The metabolism of this pectin by rumen micro‐organisms has been investigated. Rumen bacteria and protozoa contain pectin methylesterase and polygalacturonase. The galacturonic acid produced by these enzymes is utilised by the organisms with the formation of gas and a mixture of acids, acetic acid being the main acid formed. Gas produced by fermentation of pectin by rumen liquor seems to be due to the action of bacteria rather than of protozoa. The initial rapid gas production from pectin is probably the result of pectin esterase activity in unmasking carboxyl groups. Fermentation of clover fibre by rumen liquor produced abundant gas, the protozoa hadng a marked effect on the rate of gas release.The substances in the fibre responsible for the gas formation are not pectic substances alone, but may include the hemicellulose fraction.
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D. J. Wright (1961) studied this question.