Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 November 2017
Metabolisable energy (ME) and absorbed protein appear to be more efficiently utilised for tissue gain in ruminants fed cereal compared to forage diets but the mechanisms involved are not understood. Forage and cereal diets differ in their pattern of rumen fermentation and hence the relative proportions of absorbed nutrients such as ammonia (NH3) and VFA (Seal et al, 1991). Splanchnic bed metabolism has been demonstrated to extensively modify both the quantity and form of absorbed nutrients (Reynolds et al, 1991) and therefore is an important site for the regulation of nutrient supply to the peripheral tissues. The present study was thus designed to examine the effect of forage versus cereal diet upon splanchnic nutrient metabolism in growing cattle.