Dairynutrient 414 Ruminant Nutrition Dairynutrient 414 Ruminant Nutrition Glossary

A pungent gas. Ammonia is extensively used to manufacture fertilizers and nitrogen containing compounds. Also, ammonia is the end-product of protein degradation by ruminal bacteria.

(see minerals)

Any of a group of chemical compounds, including sugars, starches, and cellulose, containing only carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, with a ratio of hydrogen to oxygen of 2:1.

A polymer - long chain- of glucose units. Cellulose is the most abundant organic matter in the world. It is a major component of plant cell wall. Ruminant can use cellulose as an energy source because of fermentation by bacteria in the rumen.

Glumes, husk, or other seed coverings, together with the plant parts, separated from seeds in threshing or processing.

To crush or grind (food) in the mouth by continued action of the teeth with the help of the tongue (syn to masticate).

Pathologically excessive evacuation of watery feces. Diarrhea may be due to an infectious agent (bacterial infection) or a dietary imbalance.

Membranous tissue, usually in a single layer, composed of closely arranged cells separated by very little intercellular substance. The epithelium forms the lining of the respiratory, intestinal, and urinary tracts and the outer surface of the body.

The transformation of carbohydrates in absence of oxygen by rumen micro flora that produces volatile fatty acids such as acetic acid, propionic acid and butyric acid, and gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4).

Hemicellulose and cellulose that can be quantify by the neutral detergent fiber procedure.

A sweet sugar occurring in many fruits and honey.

A six carbon sugar which is the building block of starch and cellulose. Glucose is rapidly fermented into volatile fatty acids by ruminal bacteria.

A sun-dried forage. A method of preserving forage by cutting the plant and letting it dry in the sun.

A period of 9 to 24 hours preceding the ovulation during which cows are receptive to bulls and exhibit a typical behavior of mounting other cows or standing when mounted by other cows (or a bull).

A young female cow that has not yet given birth to a calf.

A type of carbohydrate similar to cellulose except that it contain not only glucose but also other 6 carbon sugars and also 5 carbon sugars.

An iron rich protein found in the red blood cells which function as a carrier of oxygen and carbon dioxide.

Outer covering of grain or other seed, especially when dry (syn: husk).

A strong desire for food.

Outer envelop, usually green, of fruits and seeds, as around an ear of corn (syn hull).

Strong acid secreted by the abomasum that breaks down chemical bounds and thus contributes to the digestion of feeds.

Decomposition of a chemical compound by reaction with water.

Carbohydrates that are not part of the neutral detergent fiber, but generally accumulate in the plant as energy reserve (e.g., starch). These carbohydrates usually are more rapidly and more completely digested than the fibrous carbohydrates (syn Non-structural carbohydrate).

(see non-fiber carbohydrate).

A measure of acidity or alkalinity of a solution. Values range from 0 (most acid) to 14 (most basic), with neutrality at pH 7.

Organic substance in which the carbon atoms are linked together in a ring structure (also called aromatic structure). Lignin is an example of phenolic compound.

The process by which the chlorophyll of plants converts carbon dioxide and water into simple sugars with the simultaneous release of oxygen.

To free from coarseness; to refine.

A type of bacteria that live in association with the roots of legume plants and make the nitrogen of the air available to the plants.

A root-like usually horizontal stem growing under or along the ground that sends out roots from its lower surfaces and leaves or shoots from its upper surface.

A ring-like muscle that maintains constriction of a bodily passage or orifice and opens upon relaxation.

Carbohydrate found chiefly in seeds, fruits, tubers, roots, an stem pith of plants notably in corn, potatoes, wheat and rice. Warm season grasses (C4 plants) store starch in chloroplasts in leaf tissue. C4 grasses such as Bermuda Paspalum or Rhodes grasses grown under heat stress may contain considerable starch in leafy tissue. Nutritionally, it is referred to as non-structural carbohydrate as opposed to the carbohydrate found in the neutral detergent fiber of the plant.

(see Fibrous carbohydrate).

A two-lobed gland located in the throat and secreting the hormone thyroxin, which regulates the iodine metabolism in the body.

A nitrogen-containing organic compound found in urine and other body fluids. Urea is synthesized from ammonia and carbon dioxide. Urea can be used as fertilizer or as a source of nitrogen in the ration of ruminants.

The liquid fraction that remains after the separation of curd in cheese making. Its main food use is in the preparation of whey cheese, whey drinks and fermented whey drinks. The main industrial uses are in the manufacture of lactose, whey paste and dried whey.