TABLE 3.
Effects of different dietary energy levels on rumen VFA concentrations of yak.
| Parameters | Treatment groups |
SEM | P-value | ||
| YL | YM | YH | |||
| pH | 6.90a | 6.66b | 6.47c | 0.05 | <0.001 |
| Total VFA (mM) | 51.4c | 60.9b | 72.1a | 2.41 | <0.001 |
| Acetate (mM) | 37.4c | 44.9b | 51.9a | 1.71 | <0.001 |
| Propionate (mM) | 8.7c | 9.7b | 11.4a | 0.36 | 0.001 |
| Butyrate (mM) | 4.02c | 4.98b | 7.11a | 0.45 | <0.01 |
| Isobutyrate (mM) | 0.32 | 0.33 | 0.37 | 0.01 | 0.08 |
| Valerate (mM) | 0.26c | 0.31b | 0.44a | 0.02 | <0.01 |
| Isovalerate (mM) | 0.66 | 0.66 | 0.77 | 0.02 | 0.09 |
YL, low energy; YM, medium energy; YH, high energy; SEM, standard error of the mean. Values are presented as mean ± SEM. Means in a row with different small letter superscripts differ significantly (P < 0.05); those with the same letter superscripts present no difference (P > 0.05).