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While foregut fermentation is generally considered more efficient, and monogastric animals cannot digest cellulose as efficiently as ruminants, [5] hindgut fermentation allows animals to consume small amounts of low-quality forage all day long and thus survive in conditions where ruminants might not be able to obtain nutrition adequate for their needs.
Monogastrics cannot digest the fiber molecule cellulose as efficiently as ruminants, though the ability to digest cellulose varies amongst species. [2] A monogastric digestive system works as soon as the food enters the mouth. Saliva moistens the food and begins the digestive process.
Some animals, particularly ruminants and termites, can digest cellulose with the help of symbiotic micro-organisms that live in their guts, such as Trichonympha. In human nutrition, cellulose is a non-digestible constituent of insoluble dietary fiber, acting as a hydrophilic bulking agent for feces and potentially aiding in defecation.
This second process is where the absorbed food reaches the cells via the liver. Most foods are composed of largely indigestible components depending on the enzymes and effectiveness of an animal's digestive tract. The most well-known of these indigestible compounds is cellulose; the basic chemical polymer in the
Ruminants can extract food energy from the respiration of cellulose because of bacteria in their rumens that decompose it into digestible carbohydrates. Other minor components of the human diet that contribute to its energy content are organic acids such as citric and tartaric , and polyols such as glycerol , xylitol , inositol , and sorbitol .
Exoenzymes also aid digestion in the guts of ruminants, [6] termites, [7] humans and herbivores. By hydrolyzing plant cell wall polymers, microbes release energy that has the potential to be used by humans as biofuel. [8] Other human uses include waste water treatment, [9] composting [10] and bioethanol production. [11]
The cellulose used as a food additive is usually made from wood pulp or cotton lint, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an independent food and health watchdog group.
Thus, ruminants completely depend on the microbial flora, present in the rumen or hindgut, to digest cellulose. Digestion of food in the rumen is primarily carried out by the rumen microflora, which contains dense populations of several species of bacteria, protozoa, sometimes yeasts and other fungi – 1 ml of rumen is estimated to contain 10 ...