Key words

• Amino Acids: Building blocks of proteins. There are 20 common amino acids in animal

  proteins.
• Abomasum: The true stomach in ruminants where protein digestion occurs.
• Carbohydrates: Organic compounds made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen that provide

  energy for bodily functions.
• Carnivore: An animal that primarily eats meat (e.g., lion, tiger).
• Cecum: A pouch connected to the junction of the small and large intestines, important in

  hindgut fermenters for breaking down fibrous plant material
• Cellulose: A complex carbohydrate found in plant cell walls, broken down by microbial

  fermentation in ruminants and hindgut fermenters.
• Coprophagy: The practice of re-ingesting soft faeces to maximize nutrient absorption, seen

  in some hindgut fermenters like rabbits.
• Disaccharides: Carbohydrates composed of two sugar units (e.g., lactose, maltose
• Digestibility: The extent to which food can be broken down and absorbed by the digestive

  system
• Essential Nutrients: Nutrients that cannot be synthesized by the body and must be obtained

  from food (e.g., taurine in cats, vitamin C in guinea pigs
• Fat-Soluble Vitamins: Vitamins that are stored in body fat and absorbed with dietary fats

  (e.g., Vitamins A, D, E, K).
• Frugivore: An animal that primarily eats fruit (e.g., fruit bat, parrot).
• Herbivore: An animal that primarily eats plants (e.g., horse, cow
• Hindgut Fermenters: Animals with a specialized digestive system that breaks down fibrous

  plant material in the large intestine and cecum (e.g., horses, rabbits).
• Lipids: Organic molecules made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, including fats and oils,

  that provide energy and support cell structure.
• Macro Minerals: Minerals needed in larger quantities (e.g., calcium, phosphorus, sodium).
• Micro Minerals (Trace Minerals): Minerals needed in smaller amounts but still critical (e.g.,

  iron, zinc, selenium
• Monogastric: Animals with a single-chambered stomach (e.g., pigs, dogs, humans).
• Monosaccharides: Single sugar units (e.g., glucose, fructose, galactose
• Nutrients: Chemical substances in food required for body functioning, growth, and repair.
• Omnivore: An animal that eats both plants and animals (e.g., human, pig).
• Palatability: The acceptability of a feed or food to an animal, influenced by taste, smell,

  texture, and appearance.
• Polysaccharides: Carbohydrates composed of more than 10 sugar units (e.g., starch,

  cellulose)
• Piscivore: An animal that primarily eats fish (e.g., dolphin, penguin).
• Peptide: A short chain of 2 amino acids linked by a peptide bond.
• Protein: Large, complex molecules made up of amino acids, essential for growth, repair, and

  overall health.
• Reticulum: The second chamber in the ruminant stomach that captures foreign objects and

  directs digesta
• Rumen: The first chamber in the ruminant stomach where microbial fermentation breaks

  down fibre and cellulose
• Saturated Fats: Fats with no double bonds between carbon atoms, solid at room

  temperature (e.g., butter, lard)
• Small Intestine: The main site for nutrient digestion and absorption in the digestive system.
• Unsaturated Fats: Fats with one or more double bonds, liquid at room temperature (e.g.,

  olive oil, fish oil).
• Vitamins: Organic compounds required in small amounts for normal physiological functions,

  growth, and overall health.
• Volatile Fatty Acids (VFAs): Short-chain fatty acids produced by microbial fermentation in

  the rumen and hindgut, used as an energy source by animals.
• Water-Soluble Vitamins: Vitamins that dissolve in water and are not stored in the body,

  requiring regular consumption (e.g., Vitamin C, B-complex vitamins)