Direct estimation of the extent of contamination of food residues by microbial matter after incubation within synthetic fibre bags in the rumen

Abstract
The artificial fibre bag technique has been widely used in studies of forage dry-matter digestibility (Van Keuren & Heinemann, 1962) and of the release of a range of plant constituents during fermentation in the rumen (Playne, McLeod & Dekker, 1972). More recently, the technique has been promoted as a simple means of estimating the rate and extent of food protein degradability in the rumen (θrskov & Mehrez, 1977; Mathers, Horton & Miller, 1977).