Explain the process of digestion in ruminants. Why do ruminants digest their food in two steps?
Answers
Answer:
They are unable to digest plant material directly, because they lack enzymes to break down cellulose in the cell walls. Digestion in ruminants occurs sequentially in a four-chambered stomach. Plant material is initially taken into the Rumen, where it is processed mechanically and exposed to bacteria than can break down cellulose (foregut fermentation). The Reticulum allows the animal to regurgitate & reprocess particulate matter ("chew its cud"). More finely-divided food is then passed to the Omasum, for further mechanical processing. The mass is finally passed to the true stomach, the Abomasum, where the digestive enzyme lysozyme breaks down the bacteria so as to release nutrients.
Answer:
Ruminants (grass eating animals like cow, goat, bison etc.) are unable to digest the plant material directly because they do not have the enzymes to break down cellulose in the cell walls.
These animals have four chambered stomach and the process of digestion is as follows:
The food is chewed and swallowed quickly and passed into the first stomach called Rumen. The microorganisms help in breaking down the food. The partially digested food is called cud.
After some time the cud stored in the rumen is sent back in small amounts into the mouth to be chewed further. This process is called rumination.
When the food is completely chewed, it directly reaches the third chamber-omasum where water present in the food is partially absorbed and the food is pushed into the fourth chamber -abomasum.
Digestion continues here with the help of gastric juices. Digestion is completed in the small intestine. The digested food is absorbed, and the undigested food is passed on to the large intestine and eventually egested. Ruminants can digest cellulose present in grass and leaves, with the help of bacteria in their digestive systems. This is done with the help of a four-chambered stomach and two steps of digestion- partial chewing followed by complete digestion, together called rumination.
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