Ruminants absorb the VFAs across the reticulorumen wall as an energy source, while the microbes eventually flow out of the rumen into the remainder of the alimentary canal, where their constituent proteins are eventually digested and absorbed.
In ruminant animals, the production of VFAs in the reticulorumen serves as a primary source of energy. The microbes that develop in this compartment eventually move into the rest of the digestive tract, where they undergo further processing and their protein components are absorbed by the animal.