Influence of pH on lipolysis and biohydrogenation of soybean oil by rumen contents in vitro.

The effect of different pH values on rumen lipolysis and biohydrogenation was investigated during incubations of the rumen contents with 40 or 80 mg of soybean oil as the sole substrate. Mean pH values studied were 6.8, 6.3, 6.0, 5.6 and 5.2. Lipolysis was calculated from the decrease in fatty acids present in triacylglycerols (TAG), as well as from the accumulation of free fatty acids (FFA) during the incubation. At pH < or = 6.0 lipolysis was low, and the inhibition became greater with decreasing pH. At the same pH value, the inhibition in incubations with 80 mg of soybean oil was more pronounced than with 40 mg. Even at the lowest pH value, after incubation, no free linolenic acid could be detected because of biohydrogenation, whereas linoleic acid hydrogenation was only partially inhibited at pH 5.2. This means that lipolysis is much more sensitive to low pH values than biohydrogenation. Literature data indicate however that, besides pH, other factors must be involved in the decrease of both lipolysis and biohydrogenation in the rumen of animals fed highly concentrated diets.