Abstract:
A comparative study of the absorption of lactic acid, volatile fatty acids (VFA), glucose, and ammonia from caecal and rumen pouches was undertaken in anaesthetised sheep. Test solutions varying in pH, osmolarity, lactic acid concentration, and with fixed concentrations of VFA, ammonia, and glucose (100, 7, and 4 mmol/L, respectively) were introduced into the clean, surgically sealed pouches. Studies were undertaken in 9 sheep, each with 2 pouches in the caecum and 1 in the rumen. Samples were taken at 10-min intervals for 50 min to determine rate of absorption. Neither L-lactic acid nor D-lactic acid was absorbed from the caecal or rumen pouch and there was a slight increase in both isomers of lactic acid (0