Observations On Toxicity To Mice Of Rumen Fluid From Sheep Fed Roughage Or Concentrate Diets

Raw rumen liquor derived from sheep fed a wheat grain plus limestone diet was 2.5 times more toxic when injected into mice than liquor from sheep fed lucerne chaff. Liquors from transitional diets were of intermediate toxicity. Lactic acid was apparently not the toxic factor and relatively high molecular weight substances are implicated.