And surely in (the) cattle (there) is indeed a lesson for you. We give you to drink of what is in their bellies, even between filth and blood, exclusively (pure) milk, palatable to the drinkers. 16:66
By : Mohamad Massarweh
Quran's verses mention that milk production in the ruminant animals is related with their fermented digest and blood. This fact has been discovered by the modern veterinary medicine.
Humans get their supply of milk from the cattle which are ruminant livestock including cattle, sheep, and goat.
ruminants have a unique stomach that is made up of fourseparate compartments, each with a unique function
Taking the cow as an example, it cuts the graze and chews it several times then the food is digested in the "rumen", the first compartment of the stomach.
The rumen is the largest of four compartments. It can hold up to 184 liters of food and fluid. It is the most populated vat in microorganisms having a density of more than 10 billion per milliliter of: bacteria, protozoa, and fungi.
The microbial population release digestive enzymes forbreaking down starch, sugar and proteins as a result volatile fatty acids are formed, In addition the bacteria secret proteins and nutrients such as k and B vitamins. The digestion process takes place in anaerobic environment in multi biochemical steps called "fermentation".
At this stage the complex has very unpleasant odor and taste. the rumen walls absorb the fatty acids for energy.
Afterwards the content is moved to the second part the "reticulum". Its main role is to act as a filter, trapping larger feed particles that require further digestion. The larger feed particles are regurgitated and rechewed with more saliva and then swallowed into the rumen again.
While less coarse particles undergo further digestion andformed into soft chunks called cuds. The cuds return to the cow’s mouth to be chewed and digested again 40-60 times per minute. After chewing, the cuds directly enter the third chamber the "omasum".
In the omasum water, electrolytes and short fatty acids are absorbed. moreover, omasum permits only the finedigested particles to pass to the fourth compartment the "abomasum".
The abomasum functions as a true stomach like stomachs of other animals. It has its own enzymes, not of the bacteria, as well an acidic environment that kills the bacteria coming from the rumen. The abomasum digeststhe microbial and dietary proteins.
The digested feed passes through the small intestine, where essential nutrients are absorbed to keep the cows healthy. Some of these nutrients are transported via the blood to the mammary gland, which is where these nutrients are transformed into milk
The udder is composed from four big glands that end in the teat. Every gland contains millions of blood vessels and alveoli. Alveoli contain specialized cells that utilize the nutrients from the blood for converting them to milk. They produce milk proteins (caseins) out of the aminoacids, convert glucose into lactose (milk sugar) and build up milk fat from the volatile short fatty acids. Moreover,the blood is the source of immunoglobulins, vitamins and water.
milk production requires big amounts of blood, in order to produce one liter of milk, 400 Liters of circulating blood are needed. Milk is secreted by alveolar cells and drained by millions of small ducts. The ducts get progressively larger until they reach the teat.
References:
http://extension.msstate.edu/publications/understanding-the-ruminant-animal-digestive-system
https://mysrf.org/pdf/pdf_dairy/cow_handbook/dc15.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK218174/
