. 2025 May 2;15:15343. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-96455-z

Table 4.

Effects of high-quality pelleted feed on BUN, HCT and rumen fermentation in beef cattle.

Items	Level of pellet feed in diet (%)				SEM	Contrast
Items	0	20	40	60	SEM	Linear	Quadratic
BUN, mg/dl	12.55	12.96	12.51	12.68	0.37	0.77	1.00
HCT, %	28.11	29.00	28.78	29.67	1.09	0.31	0.91
Ruminal, pH	6.80	6.75	6.65	6.69	0.07	0.23	0.43
Ruminal temperature, ^oC	38.78	39.33	38.63	39.06	0.62	0.97	0.90
NH₃-N, mg/dl	9.15^c	11.64^b	12.53^b	14.21^a	0.49	< 0.01	0.42
Total VFA, mmol/l	107.67^b	108.91^b	109.13^b	111.41^a	0.69	0.01	0.48
	VFA profiles, mol/100mol
Acetic acid	64.47^a	59.51^b	59.54^b	56.52^b	1.16	0.01	0.42
Propionic acid	25.80^b	29.82^ab	29.07^ab	32.64^a	1.46	0.01	0.88
Butyric acid	9.73^b	10.68^ab	11.39^a	10.85^ab	0.45	0.08	0.13
CH₄ production^A, mol/100mol TVFA	25.81^a	22.85^ab	23.35^ab	20.79^b	1.04	0.01	0.85

^ab Values in the same row with different superscripts differ (P < 0.05).

SEM = standard error of the means; ^ACalculated according to Moss et al. (2000) CH₄ production = 0.45 (acetate) − 0.275 (propionate) + 0.4 (butyrate).