WATER METABOLISM IN RUMINANTS

i. Functions of water:
 Lubrication and support
 Hydrolytic reactions
 Transportation
 Heat regulation (osmoregulation)
 Cell rigidity and elasticity
 Respiratory function
 Solvent action
 Excretion
 As Oxygen source
 Digestion
 etc.
Factors affecting water requirements in ruminants

 Age of the animal

 Species
 Liveweight
 Physiological status
 Amount of exercise
 Climatic conditions: temperature, humidity etc.
 Type of diet
 Dry matter intake
 Level of water, minerals etc. in the diet
 Ability to conserve water
 etc.
Causes of water deprivation in ruminants

 Hot climatic condition

 Excessive exercise e.g. trecking
 Hyper-productivity rate e.g. dairy animals (with low water consumption)
 Diseases e.g. .scour/diarrhoea
 Type of feed consumed e.g. offering too much of dry feeds
 High levels of minerals, especially Sodium in the /ration or diet
 If animal has no access to water
 Excess urination/vomiting versus water intake
 etc.
Effects of water deprivation in ruminants

• Animal eats less and this may lead to anorexia

• Animal’s blood thickens
• A loss in body constituents
• Reduction in performance and productivity
• Death occurs due to dehydration
• etc.
 Carbohydrate metabolism in the rumen of a bull

* In developing countries, the major sources of carbohydrates in the diets of ruminants

are fibrous feeds containing lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose
* The breakdown of carbohydrates in the rumen involves two stages
 The first stage involves the conversion of all dietary carbohydrates, by the microbes, to glucose
 The simple sugars are obtained transiently and are rapidly converted to pyruvic and then to volatile fatty
acids (Acetic, propionic, butyric)
 In addition to digesting the higher carbohydrates, the rumen microbes synthesize essential nutrients,
specifically amino acids and B- vitamins
 The proportion of the acids formed depends on the nature of the ration, the composition of the ration , the
types of rumen microbes present e.t.c
 The following equations describe the fermentation of glucose to the principal volatile fatty acids:
1) Acetate: C6H12O6+2H2O 2CH4O2 +2CO2 +8H
2) Propionate: C6H12O6 2C3H6O2 + 2(O) (Acrylate pathway)
3) Butyrate: C6H12O6  C4H8O2 +2CO2+4H
 Excess H+ produced combine with CO 2 to form methane
 Methane is a net loss through eructation
 Roughage diets high in cellulose gives rise to acid mixtures particularly high in acetic acid
 As the proportion of concentrates in the diet increases, the proportion of acetic acid falls and that of
Carbohydrate metabolism in the rumen
PATHWAYS IN PROTEIN METABOLISM IN THE
RUMEN/RUMINANTS

 Protein given to ruminants can be in the form of NPN (Non Protein Nitrogen) or TP (True Protein) or both.
 The judicious combination of true protein and NPN has been a more effective N-combination than diets high in
NPN or predominantly true protein
 They are able to make their own amino acids by using very simple and cheaper forms of Nitrogen
 Dietary protein entering the rumen is in the form of RDP (Rumen Degradable Protein) and UDP (Undegradable
Protein) or By-Pass Protein or rumen escape protein.
 Some of the proteins the rumen will escape degradation by the microbes (UDP) and will pass along with the rest of
the digesta into the abomasum where some will be acted on by the enzymes and the rest will pass out in the faeces
without being digested.
 By-pass proteins are digested by enzymes in the abomasum as in monogastric animals
 The RDPs (Rumen Degradable Proteins) are acted upon by the rumen microbes.
 The Nitrogen compounds in the rumen are all eventually changed into NH3 (Ammonia) which is the main starting
material for the rumen microbes
 In the presence of adequate energy, the rumen microbes convert NH3 to amino acids (both essential and non-
essential) needed for their own protein requirements
 80% of the bacterial species existing in the rumen can utilize NH3 as the sole source of Nitrogen for growth
Protein metabolism in the ruminants
Protein metabolism in the ruminants
 TYPES OF LIPIDS
• Usually, the diet eaten by ruminants contains only 2 to 5% lipids.
• However, lipids are an important part of the ration of dairy cows because they contribute directly to about
50% of the fat in milk and they are the most concentrated source of energy in feed.
• Only small amounts of lipids are found in forage and seed.
• The rumen is intolerant to high levels of fat, which may upset the fermentation.
• This situation in functioning ruminant contrast with that in the newborn ruminant, which ingests milk at
about 30% or more fat in the DM, representing 50% or more of its caloric intake.
• However, some plants (cotton, soybean) have seeds referred to as oilseeds that contain more than 20%
lipids.
• Lipids are usually extracted from oilseeds which may be used unextracted in diets of ruminants.
• Lipids are substances which are water insoluble, but are soluble in organic solvents (ether, chloroform,
hexane, etc.).
• Triglycerides are found primarily in seeds (cereal grains, oilseeds) and animal fats.
• The basic structure of triglycerides consists of one unit of glycerol (a 3-carbon sugar) and three units of
fatty acids.
• Leaf lipids (galactolipids and phospholipids), form a second class of lipids found primarily in forage
(grasses and legumes).
• These compounds have a structure similar to the triglycerides except that one of the three fatty acid has
 HYDROLYSIS AND SATURATION OF LIPIDS IN THE RUMEN
•The effect of rumen microorganisms on dietary lipids includes
•i.) hydrolytic release of esterified acids
•ii) hydrogenation of unsaturated free fatty acids (FFAs) and
•iii) fermentation of free glycerol and galactose during lipolysis
•It has been established that anaerobic condition is necessary for hydrogenation and that greater activity
resulted.
• The bonds between the glycerol and the fatty acids are broken down by the enzymes produced by the
rumen microbes (mainly bacteria) to give rise to glycerol and free fatty acids.
•During hydrogenation, a fatty acid becomes saturated because a double bond is replaced by two
hydrogen atoms. For example, hydrogenation converts oleic acid into stearic acid.
•Both glycerol and galactose released from lipids in the rumen are readily fermented rapidly into volatile
fatty acids, of which propionic acid is the main product of glycerol fermentation.
•Some fatty acids are used by bacteria for the synthesis of phospholipids that are needed to build cell
membranes.
•Free fatty acids in the rumen tend to attach to feed and microbial particles and impede normal
Lipolysis of lipids in the rumen

• Shortly after esterified plant lipids are consumed, they are hydrolyzed extensively by
microbial lipases, causing the release of constituent FA’s.
• Anaerovibrio lipolytica, which is best known for its lipase activity, produces a cell bound
esterase and a lipase.
• The lipase is an extracellular enzyme packaged in membranous particles composed of protein,
lipid, and nucleic acid.
• The lipase hydrolyzes acylglycerols completely to FFA, glycerol and galactose with little
accumulation of mono- or diglycerides.
• Glycerol and galactose are fermented rapidly, yielding propionic and butyrate acid as a major
end product.
• Protozoa are not involved to any great extent in hydrolysis, except for that of phospholipids.
• Salivary lipase present in ruminants has a very low activity, whereas in monogastric animals it plays a
more important role
Biohydrogenation of lipids in the rumen
• Unsaturated FFA have relatively short half lives in ruminal contents because they are rapidly
hydrogenated by microbes to more saturated end products.
• The initial step in biohydrogenation is an isomerization reaction that converts the cis-12 double bond in
unsaturated FA’s to a trans-11 isomer.
• Biohydrogenation of lipids in the rumen results in
• i) Reduction of double bonds and
• Ii) formation of fatty acids that are more saturated with hydrogen
• The extent to which trans-11 bond is hydrogenated to C18:0 depends on conditions in the rumen
• All short chain FAs and VFAs produced from the hydrolysis and fermentation of lipids in the rumen are
largely absorbed through the rumen wall.
• Long chain FAs, which are mostly saturated, are not absorbed in the rumen but pass along with rumen
contents, more or less continuously through the omasum, into the abomasum where also the dead
bodies of million microorganisms reach and disintegrate before the digesta enters the small intestine.
 Lipolysis and Biohydrogenation

•
Esterified Plant Lipid

lipases, galactosidases, phospholipases

Unsaturated FFAs (e.g., cis-9, cis-12, c 18:2)

isomerase

cis-9, trans-11 c18:2

reductase

trans-11 c18:1

reductase

c18:0

Figure 1. Key steps in the conversion of esterified plant lipid to saturated fatty acids by lipolysis and
bio-
hydrogenation in ruminal contents.
 Estimating Degradation of Dietary Nutrients/Feed Components in the Rumen

The biological methods: These methods were created to represent and simulate a part or a series of parts of the digestive tract
and digestion process in animals. These include the conventional type of digestion trial/ Direct/ in-vivo) and the indirect/in vitro
methods. Among the biological methods are:
• a) The digestibility with in vivo trials: i.e. The Conventional type of digestion trial/ Direct /in-vivo) .
Total collection technique (conventional digestion trial) is the most reliable method of measuring a feed’s digestibility.
Unfortunately, however, it is somewhat time consuming, tedious, and costly. Basically, the feed in question is fed in known
quantities to an animal. Usually, the animal is restrained in an individual cage so that a quantitative collection of feces can be
made. Accurate records of feed intake, refusals and faecal output are kept, and a sub sample of each (usually 10% of daily
output in the case of faeces) is retained for analysis. When estimates of nitrogen balance are desired, urine output is also
measured. Three animals per feed are required as a minimum but increasing the number of animals increases the accuracy of
data. The animals are usually allowed from 7 to 21 days to adjust to the feed offered. Feed and faecal samples can now be
collected for analysis and the samples can then be dried, ground, and analyzed for the evaluation of nutrients.
Digestibility of any given nutrient can be calculated as follows:
Nutrient digestibility (%) = Nutrient intake - Nutrient in faeces X 100
 ACTIVITES

Write short note on each of the following:

• water quality
• Water losses
• Water sources for ruminants
• Importance of lipids in ruminant nutrition.

• How is the methane produced by ruminants affecting ozone layer and

causing global warming? (to be word-processed)