Absorption of Volatile Fatty Acids From the Reticulo-Rumen and Abomasum of Sheep

Abstract

Ten acute experiments were performed on sheep to study the relative rates of absorption of volatile fatty acids in acid solution from the reticulo-rumen and abomasum. When the solutions in the two organs were approximately the same in initial tonicity, pH, and volatile fatty acid concentration, the total volatile fatty acid was absorbed at about equal rates from both the reticulo-rumen and the abomasum. The individual volatile fatty acids were absorbed from the abomasum at different rates; the rate was faster the greater the number of carbon atoms in the molecule. Ammonia in acid solution was not absorbed from the reticulo-rumen or from the abomasum.