. 2020 Jan 9;10(1):109. doi: 10.3390/ani10010109

Table 3.

Effects of dietary energy and protein levels on rumen fermentation of lambs.

Parameter	HE ²		LE ²		SEM	p-Value ³
Parameter	HP²	LP²	HP	LP	SEM	E	P	E × P
Fermentation Parameters
pH	7.05	6.94	7.28	7.26	0.08	0.115	0.695	0.786
NH₃-N, mmol/L	19.02	10.60	9.00	11.76	1.99	0.276	0.479	0.174
TVFA, mmol/L	21.63	29.21	18.80	16.10	2.71	0.163	0.657	0.356
Acetate, %	64.39 ^bc	62.70 ^c	69.22 ^ab	70.10 ^a	1.10	0.003	0.812	0.452
Propionate, %	21.78 ^ab	26.50 ^a	13.67 ^c	15.34 ^bc	1.74	0.002	0.227	0.554
Butyrate, %	4.69	4.69	5.49	4.89	0.24	0.343	0.567	0.558
Valerate, %	0.79 ^a	0.83 ^a	0.41 ^b	0.39 ^b	0.08	0.010	0.956	0.841
Isobutyrate, %	3.70 ^bc	2.56 ^c	5.84 ^a	4.79 ^ab	0.51	0.030	0.242	0.961
Isovalerate, %	4.66	2.73	5.36	4.49	0.48	0.208	0.154	0.582
Acetate/ Propionate	3.05 ^b	2.58 ^b	5.32 ^a	4.69 ^a	0.37	0.001	0.320	0.883
Rumen morphology
Rumen weight, g	639	609	499	516	30.17	0.069	0.917	0.694
Ratio to complex stomach ¹, %	69.26	68.03	64.03	66.70	0.86	0.059	0.655	0.239
Papillae Length, μm	1137	1155	947	1254	67.96	0.743	0.255	0.308
Papillae Width, μm	105.00	93.33	96.43	120.59	4.53	0.322	0.503	0.071
Mucosal thickness, μm	44.82	36.65	42.66	44.34	1.58	0.399	0.326	0.146
Base thickness, μm	20.47	17.53	22.20	20.43	0.86	0.206	0.198	0.743

^a,b,c Different superscript letters in the same variable indicate statistical differences (p < 0.05). ¹ The ratio of rumen weight to complex stomach weight; ² HE, high energy level, ME = 10.9 MJ/Kg; LE, low energy level, ME = 8.6 MJ/Kg; HP, high protein level, CP = 15.7%; LP, low protein level, CP = 11.8%; ³ E = energy effect; P = protein effect; E × P = interaction effect of energy and protein; SEM = Standard error of the mean.