Summary of Ruminants Nutrient content of herbivores' food is low and high propotion of it is difficult to digest because the present of large amount of cellulose.

... Summary of Ruminants Nutrient content of herbivores' food is low and high propotion of it is difficult to digest because the present of large amount of cellulose. A powerful carbohydrase, cellulase, is needed to break down cellulose to monosaccharides. However, cellulase is extremely rare and can be only produce by micro-organisms. Ruminants mammals like cow have an enlarged stomach of 4 chambers, the rumen, the reticulum, the omasum and the abomasum. Plant food ground up by the molars passes down the oesphagus into the first chamber, the reticulum. After food is swallowed for the second time, the food passes into the rumen and mix with vasr numbers of cellulose-digesting bacteria and with copious quantities of saliva from the salivary gland. The rumen is an anaerobic fermenting chamber and break down cellulose into ethanoic, propionic and butyric acids with evolution of carbon dioxide and methane gas which are released from

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