Effects of exogenous enzymes, Lactobacillus acidophilus or their combination on feed performance response and carcass characteristics of rabbits fed sugarcane bagasse

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Lactobacillus acidophilus（LAC）, exogenous enzymes of ZAD（exogenous enzyme preparation） or their combination on feed conversion, and dressing of rabbits fed different treatments of sugarcane bagasse（SCB）. Five rations were allotted randomly to five groups of New-Zealand White（NZW） rabbits（n=10） with initial live body weight of（838±42.4） g and 5 weeks of age. Rabbits were fed on diets with different sources of fiber as follows,（i） a control diet composed of 100% berseem hay and 0% SCB,（ii） 50% berseem hay and 50% untreated SCB（USCB）,（iii） 50% berseem hay and 50% SCB treated with L. acidophilus（LAC）,（iv） 50% berseem hay and 50% SCB treated with ZAD（ZAD）, and（v） 50% berseem hay and 50% SCB treated with a combination of LAC＋ZAD（LZ）. Treatments of SCB with L. acidophilus, ZAD and LAC＋ZAD had the highest feed conversion ratio than both USCB and control. The dressing percentage of rabbits that fed the LAC and LZ diets was higher（P〈0.05） compared with that in the other groups. Performance index（PI） for LAC group was improved（P〈0.05） compared to that for the other groups; however, PI for USCB group was the lowest（P〈0.05）. It could be concluded that treating SCB with L. acidophilus, exogenous enzymes of ZAD or their combination improved feed conversion and performance with more positive effects with L. acidophilus than the other treatments.

Direct-fed microbes: A tool for improving the utilization of low quality roughages in ruminants

For many years, ruminant nutritionists and microbiologists have been interested in manipulating the microbial ecosystem of the rumen to improve production efficiency of different ruminant species. Removal and restriction of antibiotics subtherapeutic uses from ruminant diets has amplified interest in improving nutrient utilization and animal performance and search for more safe alternatives. Some bacterial and fungal microorganisms as a direct-fed microbial（DFM） can be the most suitable solutions. Microorganisms that are commonly used in DFM for ruminants may be classified mainly as lactic acid producing bacteria（LAB）, lactic acid utilizing bacteria（LUB）, or other microorganism＇s species like Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Enterococcus, Streptococcus, Bacillus, Propionibacterium, Megasphaera elsdenii and Prevotellabryantii, in addition to some fungal species of yeast such as Saccharomyces and Aspergillus. A definitive mode of action for bacterial or fungal DFM has not been established; although a variety of mechanisms have been suggested. Bacterial DFM potentially moderate rumen conditions, and improve weight gain and feed efficiency. Fungal DFM may reduce harmful oxygen from the rumen, prevent excess lactate production, increase feed digestibility, and alter rumen fermentation patterns. DFM may also compete with and inhibit the growth of pathogens, immune system modulation, and modulate microbial balance in the gastrointestinal tract. Improved dry matter intake, milk yield, fat corrected milk yield and milk fat content were obtained with DFM administration. However, the response to DFM is not constant; depending on dosages, feeding times and frequencies, and strains of DFM. Nonetheless, recent studies have supported the positive effects of DFM on ruminant performance.

Biological treatments as a mean to improve feed utilization in agriculture animals——An overview

As a result of agriculture practices, million tons of agriculture are produced as a secondary or by-products; however, with low nutritive values. Many methods are applied to improve the nutritive value and increase its utilization in ruminant＇s nutrition. The biological treatments are the most common with more safe-treated products. In most cases, the biological treatments are paralleled with decreased crude fiber and fiber fractions content with increased crude protein content. Direct-fed microbial and exogenous enzymes to animal are other ways of biological methods for improving nutritive value of feeds. Here in this review, we will try to cover the biological treatments of by-products from different sides view with different types of animals and different animal end-products.

Effects of cellulase and xylanase enzymes mixed with increasing doses of Salix babylonica extract on in vitro rumen gas production kinetics of a mixture of corn silage with concentrate

An in vitro gas production （GP） technique was used to investigate the effects of combining different doses of Salix babylonica extract （SB） with exogenous fibrolytic enzymes （EZ） based on xylanase （X） and cellulase （C）, or their mixture （XC; 1：1 v/v） on in vitro fermentation characteristics of a total mixed ration of corn silage and concentrate mixture （50：50, w/w） as substrate. Four levels of SB （0, 0.6, 1.2 and 1.8 mL g-1 dry matter （DM）） and four supplemental styles of EZ （1 μL g-1 DM; control （no enzymes）, X, C and XC （1：1, v/v） were used in a 4×4 factorial arrangement. In vitro GP （mL g-1 DM） were recorded at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 24, 36, 48 and 72 h of incubation. After 72 h, the incubation process was stopped and supernatant pH was determined, and then filtered to determine dry matter degradability （DMD）. Fermentation parameters, such as the 24 h gas yield （GY24）, in vitro organic matter digestibility （OMD）, metabolizable energy （ME）, short chain fatty acid concentrations （SCFA）, and microbial crude protein production （MCP） were also estimated. Results indicated that there was a SBxEZ interaction （P〈0.0001） for the asymptotic gas production （b）, the rate of gas production （c）, GP from 6 to 72 h, GP2 （P=0.0095）, and GP4 （P=0.02）. The SB and different combination of enzymes supplementation influenced （P〈0.001） in vitro GP parameters after 12 h of incubation; the highest doses of SB （i.e., 1.8 mL g-1 DM）, in the absence of any EZ, quadratically increased （P〈0.05） the initial delay before GP begins （L） and GP at different incubation times, with lowering b （quadratic effect, P〈0.0001 ） and c （quadratic effect, P〈0.0001 ; linear effect, P=0.0018）. The GP was the lowest （P〈0.05） when the highest SB level was combined with cellulose. There were SBxEZ interactions （P〈0.001） for OMD, ME, the partitioning factor at 72 h of incubation （PF72）, GY24, SCFA, MCP （P=0.0143）, and pH （P=0.0008）. The OMD, ME, GY24 and SCFA with supplementation of SB extract at 1.8 mL g-1 DM were higher （P〈0.001） than the other treatments, however,PF72 was lower （quadratic effect, P=0.0194） than the other levels. Both C and X had no effect （P〉0.05） on OMD, pH, ME, GY24, SCFA and MP. The combination of SB with EZ increased （P〈0.001） OMD, ME, SCFA, PFz2 and GP24, whereas there was no impact on pH. It could be concluded that addition of SB extract, C, and X effectively improved the in vitro rumen fermentation, and the combination of enzyme with SB extract at the level of 1.2 mL g-1 was more effective than the other treatments.

Role of live microbial feed supplements with reference to anaerobic fungi in ruminant productivity: A review

To keep the concept of a safe food supply to the consumers, animal feed industries world over are showing an increasing interest in the direct-fed microbials（DFM） for improved animal performance in terms of growth or productivity. This becomes all the more essential in a situation, where a number of the residues of antibiotics and/or other growth stimulants reach in milk and meat with a number of associated potential risks for the consumers. Hence, in the absence of growth stimulants, a positive manipulation of the rumen microbial ecosystem to enhance the feedstuff utilization for improved production efficiency by ruminants has become of much interest to the researchers and entrepreneurs. A few genera of live microbes（i.e., bacteria, fungi and yeasts in different types of formulations from paste to powder） are infrequently used as DFM for the domestic ruminants. These DFM products are live microbial feed supplements containing naturally occurring microbes in the rumen. Among different DFM possibilities, anaerobic rumen fungi（ARF） based additives have been found to improve ruminant productivity consistently during feeding trials. Administration of ARF during the few trials conducted, led to the increased weight gain, milk production, and total tract digestibility of feed components in ruminants. Anaerobic fungi in the rumen display very strong cell-wall degrading cellulolytic and xylanolytic activities through rhizoid development, resulting in the physical disruption of feed structure paving the way for bacterial action. Significant improvements in the fiber digestibility were found to coincide with increases in ARF in the rumen indicating their role. Most of the researches based on DFM have indicated a positive response in nutrient digestion and methane reducing potential during in vivo and/or in vitro supplementation of ARF as DFM. Therefore, DFM especially ARF will gain popularity but it is necessary that all the strains are thoroughly studied for their beneficial properties to have a confirmed ‘generally regarded as safe＇ status for ruminants.

The effects of fermentation and adsorption using lactic acid bacteria culture broth on the feed quality of rice straw

To improve the nutritional value and the palatability of air-dried rice straw, culture broth of the lactic acid bacteria community SFC-2 was used to examine the effects of two different treatments, fermentation and adsorption. Air-dried and chopped rice straw was treated with either fermentation for 30 d after adding 1.5 L nutrient solution（50 m L inocula L–1, 1.2×1012 CFU m L–1 inocula） kg–1 straw dry matter, or spraying a large amount of culture broth（1.5 L kg–1 straw dry matter, 1.5×1011 CFU m L–1 culture broth） on the straw and allowing it to adsorb for 30 min. The feed quality and aerobic stability of the resulting forage were examined. Both treatments improved the feed quality of rice straw, and adsorption was better than fermentation for preserving nutrients and improving digestibility, as evidenced by higher dry matter（DM） and crude protein（CP） concentrations, lower neutral detergent fiber（NDF）, acid detergent fiber（ADF） and NH3-N concentrations, as well as higher lactic acid production and in vitro digestibility of DM（IVDMD）. The aerobic stability of the adsorbed straw and the fermented straw was 392 and 480 h, respectively. After being exposed to air, chemical components and microbial community of the fermented straw were more stable than the adsorbed straw.

Effects of organic chromium supplementation to finishing lambs diet on growth performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality

The objective of this study was to evaluate supplemental organic chromium（Cr） to finishing lambs on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality. Eighteen Suffolk lambs（age（4.5±0.2） mon;（25.8±3.6） kg body weight（BW）） were randomly assigned to three levels of supplemental organic Cr（0.0, 0.2 and 0.4 mg kg^–1 dry matter（DM）） in a complete random design. Growth performance was evaluated for 70 d, and then lambs were slaughtered to study carcass characteristics and chemical composition of meat. Orthogonal contrasts were performed（contrast one-average level 0.2 ppm Cr vs. average level 0.4 ppm Cr; contrast two-level 0 vs. average levels（0.2＋0.4） ppm Cr）. Orthogonal polynomials were used to estimate the linear and quadratic effects of Cr concentrations. Growth and carcass performance were not affected by supplemental organic Cr. Muscle conformation and leg perimeter linearly increased（P〈0.05） as organic Cr level increased in the diet. Kidney fat decreased linearly（P〈0.05） as supplemental Cr increased. In Longissimus dorsi（LD）, the ash content decreased linearly, and shear force（kg cm^–2） increased（P〈0.05） as organic Cr level increased in the diet. It is concluded that organic Cr did not affect growth performance, but it improved positively the muscle conformation, reduced kidney fat, whereas in LD there was an increment in shear force in finishing carcass lambs.

In vitro Ruminal Gas Production Kinetics of Four Fodder Trees Ensiled With or Without Molasses and Urea

This study investigated if the addition of urea （U）, molasses （M） or their 1：1 （v/v） mixture during ensiling increases the nutritional value of forage from four fodder trees （Prunus persica, Leucaena esculenta, Acacia farnesiana, and Prunus domestica）. Forage samples of fodder trees were collected in triplicate （three individual samples of each species） and subjected to an in vitro gas production （GP） procedure. Fermentation at 24 h （GP 24）, short-chain volatile fatty acids （SCFA）, and microbial crude protein production （MCP）, in vitro organic matter digestibility （OMD）, metabolizable energy （ME） and dry matter degradability （DMD） were estimated. Forage samples were incubated for 72 h in an incubator at 39oC and the volume of GP was recorded at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h of incubation using the reading pressure technique. The rumen fermentation profiles were highest for P. persica, which showed the highest （P〈0.0001） DMD, ME, OMD, SCFA, GP 24 and MCP. On the other hand L. esculenta had the lowest （P〈0.0001） DMD, SCFA, MCP; P. domestica had the lowest （P〈0.0001） OMD. The addition of M to silage increased （P〈0.0001） ME and OMD, as well as GP. However, the addition of U and the mixture of U and M reduced （P〈0.0001） DMD, ME, OMD, SCFA, GY 24 and MCP. These results show that P. persica has the highest nutritive value and L. esculenta the lowest for ruminants. Additionally, the addition of M to forage from fodder trees increases rumen GP and fermentation, which may improve nutrient utilization in ruminants.

Erratum

For the paper,Effects of cellulase and xylanase enzymes mixed with increasing doses of Salix babylonica extract on in vitro rumen gas production kinetics of a mixture of corn silage with concentrate,published in Journal of Integrative Agriculture 2015,Vol.14,No.1,on page 131-139,the authors'names and affiliated units should be.

Direct-fed microbial: Animal nutrition and reproduction responses

Manipulating the gastrointestinal microbial ecosystem to enhance animal performance and reproductive responses has been one of the main goals of animal science researchers and veterinarians.Recent restrictions to the use of antimicrobials as growth promoters led researchers to seek alternative practices that can show promise both from the standpoint of efficacy as well as from the practical and economic aspects.One of the alternatives that surfaced as very promising in the last few decades is the use of direct-fed microbials （DFM） as a means to modulate the effects of the gastrointestinal microbiome on the host immune status, health and productivity.