Significance to the host of changes in fermentation activity

A large part of the inefficiency traditionally associated with the production of meat or milk by the ruminant animal is now known to result from the microbial fermentation of dietary energy and protein in the rumen.I n this paper, the relationship between digestion and metabolism in the ruminant is considered and the nutritional implications of alterations in the extent and pattern of fermentation are discussed.No attempt is made to provide a comprehensive coverage of the literature since many of the topics dealt with have been recently reviewed (see Phillipson, sources in the fasting and fattening sheep.I t was concluded (Blaxter, 1962) that the