Ruminal pH, VFA Profile, and VFA Absorption
Rumen pH did not differ between cows fed CON and
high-NFC diets (Table 3). Daily minimum (P = 0.03)
and mean rumen pH (P = 0.02) were lower for cows fed
the high-disaccharide diets than for those fed the STA
diet. Moreover, the duration that rumen pH was below
5.8 was longer (P = 0.05), and the area that rumen
pH was below 5.8 tended to be greater (P = 0.09),
for cows fed the high-disaccharide diets compared with
those fed the STA diet. However, rumen pH did not differ
between cows fed SUC and LAC diets. In addition,
acidosis index was similar across treatments.
The molar proportion of acetate was lower (P < 0.01)
but that of butyrate was higher (P < 0.01) for cows fed