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Application of Fermentation Technology in Animal Nutrition

A special issue of Fermentation (ISSN 2311-5637). This special issue belongs to the section "Industrial Fermentation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 October 2024 | Viewed by 10390

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Wansup Kwak

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Guest Editor

Animal Science, School of Life Resource and Environmental Sciences, Konkuk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Interests: animal; cattle; silage

Dr. Siran Wang

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Guest Editor

Institute of Animal Science, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Science, Nanjing 210014, China
Interests: silage; ensiling; function potential; microbial community; metabolites
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fermentation technology in animal nutrition has been used by human beings across the globe for a long time. Its technology has been focused primarily on animal feed aspects. Its main purpose was to store feedstuffs for a long-term period. Harvested forages, putrefiable agro-industrial or food processing by-products and the total mixed rations with these ingredients are often ensiled in order to make them palatable, stable, and sanitary over seasons. Additionally, another purpose was to improve the feed’s nutritional values or safety of under-utilized feed resources with fermentation technology; otherwise, their usage as feed may be limited due to low digestion or potential toxicity. To fulfil these goals, various physical, chemical and microbiological techniques have been developed.

More specifically, many factors affect fermentation of feedstuffs such as temperature, moisture, air, nutrients, microbes, acidic condition, and environmental situation, among others. Various types of additives have been developed to improve the quality of ferments and aerobic stability such as nutrients, microbes, enzymes, organic acids, and others. With these scientific research efforts, fermentation technology has been much developed and utilized in animal industry. However, we still do not a complete understanding of the most effective fermentation factors under various conditions, the mechanisms of fermentation products and metabolites’ utilization inside the animal body, and its effect on ruminal fermentation, gastro-intestinal microflora and health, animal productivity and health, and final animal products, among others.

In conclusion, this valuable Special Issue on fermentation in animal nutrition is expected to provide promising and scientific answers to these interesting questions.

Prof. Dr. Wansup Kwak
Dr. Siran Wang
Guest Editors

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Keywords

fermentation
silage
forage
by-product
feed
nutrition
animal

Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 1690 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Lactobacillus plantarum and Cellulase on Mixed Silages of Amaranthus hypochondriacus and Cornmeal: Fermentation Characteristics, Nutritional Value, and Aerobic Stability

by Xinxin Li, Yitong Jin, Fuhou Li, Meng Yu, Jiarui Du, Qixuan Yi, Tianyue Zhao, Bao Yuan and Peng Wang

Fermentation 2024, 10(8), 378; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation10080378 - 24 Jul 2024

Viewed by 358

Abstract

In order to develop new feed resources, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of moisture content, additives, and their interactions on the fermentation quality, aerobic stability, and in vitro digestibility of mixed silage of amaranth and cornmeal. The mass ratios of amaranth and cornmeal were 69:31, 76:24, and 84:16 for adjusting the moisture content of silage to 60% (W1), 65% (W2), and 70% (W3), respectively. The silage treatments included no additives (U), the addition of Lactobacillus plantarum (L), the addition of cellulase (E), and the addition of Lactobacillus plantarum + cellulase (M) mixed reagents. The results revealed that the pH and ammonia nitrogen (NH₃-N/TN) ratios were significantly lower in W1 than in W2 and W3 (3.66,19.3 g kg⁻¹ TN vs. 3.70, 3.70, 20.0 kg⁻¹ TN, 25.1 kg⁻¹ TN, p < 0.05). Moreover, dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), in vitro dry matter digestibility (ivDMD), in vitro organic matter digestibility (ivOMD), and in vitro crude protein digestibility (ivCPD) significantly increased (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, the aerobic stability of mixed silage containing amaranth and cornmeal decreased with increasing water content. The aerobic stability of the L, E, and M treatment groups was improved by 15, 105, and 111 h, respectively, compared with that of the control group at W1. The pH and NH₃-N/TN ratios were lower with the addition of E (E and M) than with the absence of E (U and L) (3.73, 20.1 g kg⁻¹ DM vs. 3.64, 22.9 g kg⁻¹ DM, p < 0.05). NDF and ADF were significantly lower with the addition of E than without the addition of E (598 g kg⁻¹ DM, 145 g kg⁻¹ DM vs. 632 g kg⁻¹ DM, 160 g kg⁻¹ DM, p < 0.05). However, CP, ivDMD, ivOMD, and ivCPD were significantly higher (p < 0.05). AA and NH₃-N/TN were significantly lower (p < 0.05) with the addition of L (L and M) than without the addition of L (U and E). In conclusion, the best fermentation quality, in vitro digestibility, and aerobic stability of amaranth and cornmeal mixed silage treated with Lactobacillus plantarum + cellulase (M) were achieved at 60% water content. The present study confirmed the potential of amaranth as silage and its potential application for improving feed quality and animal performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Fermentation Technology in Animal Nutrition)

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10 pages, 668 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of Essential Oils and Their Blends on the Fermentative Profile, Microbial Count, and Aerobic Stability of Sorghum Silage

by Elon S. Aniceto, Tadeu S. Oliveira, José R. Meirelles, Jr., Ismael N. Silva, Elvanio J. L. Mozelli Filho, Raphael S. Gomes, Juliana P. Arévalo and Patrícia R. Moraes

Fermentation 2024, 10(7), 335; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation10070335 - 27 Jun 2024

Viewed by 503

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the effect of these essential oils and their blends on the fermentative profile, losses by gases and effluents, nutritional value, microbial count, and aerobic stability of sorghum silage. A completely randomized design was used with eight treatments and four repetitions. The evaluated treatments were the following: control (CON), without any essential oil; rosemary (Ros); tea tree (TT); citronella (Cit); Ros + TT (50% + 50%); Ros + Cit (50% + 50%); TT + Cit (50% + 50%); and Ros + TT + Cit (33% + 33% + 33%). A 1000 mg/kg dose of ensiled mass (as-fed basis) was used for each of the treatments. The addition of essential oils and their blends had a significant impact (p < 0.05) on the chemical composition of sorghum silage. Crude protein content increased (p < 0.001) with the use of essential oils and their blends. The Ros affected (p < 0.05) the fibrous fraction of sorghum silage. Neutral detergent fiber in vitro degradability was reduced (p = 0.003) when we used the blend TT + Cit compared to Ros and TT. We observed that only Ros did not reduce acetic acid concentration (p = 0.031) compared to the CON. The essential oils and their blends did not affect losses (p > 0.05). Lactic acid bacteria population increased (p = 0.039) when using the blend Ros + TT + Cit compared to the CON. However, the populations of entero-bacteria and fungi were not affected (p > 0.05) by the essential oils or their blends. For aerobic stability, we observed that Ros increased (p < 0.001) the air exposure time of the sorghum silage. Furthermore, the essential oils impacted the sorghum silage’s pH, which affected (p = 0.003) its aerobic stability. In conclusion, the essential oils did not reduce sorghum silage losses. However, the Ros improved the nutritional quality and aerobic stability of sorghum silage, while the blend Ros + TT + Cit increased the lactic acid bacteria count in the silage. More in-depth studies are needed to elucidate the action of essential oils as silage additives. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Fermentation Technology in Animal Nutrition)

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17 pages, 3960 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of Lactobacillus delbrueckii Hepatic Metabolism in Post-Weaning Piglets

by Xiaolong Wang, Longteng Ma, Zhuying Liu and Xinguo Huang

Fermentation 2024, 10(6), 286; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation10060286 - 28 May 2024

Viewed by 475

Abstract

Lactobacillus delbrueckii garners interest for its contributions to gut microecological balance, diarrheal prevention and treatment, immune modulation, growth promotion, and meat quality enhancement in livestock. However, its impact on the gut microbiota and liver metabolism in weaned piglets is less documented. This study involved 80 Duroc-Landrace-Yorkshire weaned piglets aged 28 days, randomized into two groups with four replicates each and ten piglets per replicate. Over a 28-day period, the piglets were fed either a basal diet (control group) or the same diet supplemented with 0.1% Lactobacillus delbrueckii microcapsules (≥1.0 × 10¹⁰ CFU/g) (Lactobacillus delbrueckii group). The principal findings are as follows: During the initial phase of the experiment, supplementation with Lactobacillus delbrueckii increased the levels of L-phenylalanine and L-lysine in the liver while reducing the L-alanine levels, thereby enhancing the aminoacyl–tRNA synthesis pathway in weaned piglets. In the later phase, Lactobacillus delbrueckii supplementation boosted the liver arachidonic acid content, strengthening the arachidonic acid metabolic pathway in the piglets. The gut microbiota and their metabolites likely play a role in regulating these processes. These results indicate that, compared to the control group, Lactobacillus delbrueckii reduced weaning stress-induced liver damage and metabolic disorders, increased liver glycogen content, and enhanced liver antioxidant function by improving the metabolism of lipids and carbohydrates. Consequently, the liver functioned more healthily. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Fermentation Technology in Animal Nutrition)

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12 pages, 2915 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Assessment on the Fermentation Quality and Bacterial Community of Corn Straw Silage with Pineapple Residue

by Dengte Li, Huade Xie, Fanquan Zeng, Xianqing Luo, Lijuan Peng, Xinwen Sun, Xinfeng Wang and Chengjian Yang

Fermentation 2024, 10(5), 242; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation10050242 - 30 Apr 2024

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Abstract

The effects of pineapple residue (PR) on fermentation quality, chemical composition, and bacterial community of corn straw (CS) silage were evaluated. CS was ensiled with 0% control group (CON), 15% (P1), 30% (P2), and 45% (P3) PR on a fresh matter (FM) basis for 45 days. P3 had lower dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) contents but higher ammonia-N (NH₃-N) content than the other three groups (p < 0.05). Compared with the other groups, P1 had lower a pH and higher lactic acid and acetic acid contents (p < 0.05). The lactic acid bacteria count in P1 was higher than in P2 and P3 (p < 0.05); the number of yeast in P2 was higher than in the other groups (p < 0.05). With the increasing proportion of PR addition, the relative abundance of Lactobacillus gradually increased, and the dominant genus in P3 was Acetobacter. In summary, the addition of PR can improve the quality of CS silage, and the optimum addition ratio for PR was 15% on a FM basis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Fermentation Technology in Animal Nutrition)

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16 pages, 2721 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Illumina Sequencing and Metabolomic Analysis Explored the Effects of the Mixed Silage of Rice Straw and Chinese Cabbage Waste on Fecal Microorganisms and Metabolites in Hu Sheep

by Chuang Li, Zhiqi Lu, Ruxin Qi, Zhenbin Zhang, Yue Lu, Muhammad Hammad Zafar, Kailun Yang and Mengzhi Wang

Fermentation 2024, 10(5), 233; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation10050233 - 26 Apr 2024

Viewed by 999

Abstract

Silage is the most important component of a ruminant diet and has important production and health significance in ruminant production. The aim of the research was to investigate how the mixed silage of Chinese cabbage waste and rice straw (mixed silage) impacts the fecal microorganisms and metabolites in Hu sheep using Illumina sequencing and metabolomic analysis. A total of 16 Hu sheep (8 rams and 8 ewes) weighing about 39 kg and 5.5 months old were used as experimental sheep and divided into two groups (4 rams and 4 ewes, n = 8) using the principle of randomized trials: the control group with peanut sprouts, corn husks, and sorghum husks as roughage and the silage group with the mixed silage as roughage. There were no significant differences in the average daily gain (ADG), dry matter intake (DMI), or feed conversion rate (FCR) between the control group and the mixed silage groups (p > 0.05). Microbiome results showed that 15 microorganisms such as Ruminococcaceae UCG 010, Breznakia, Erysipelothrix, Desulfovibrio, Succiniclasticum, and Shuttleworthia were significantly different between the two groups. In addition, metabolomics showed that the mixed silage modulated the concentrations and metabolic pathways of metabolites in the manure. Significantly different metabolites were mainly enriched in amino acid anabolism (“glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism”, “valine, leucine, and isoleucine biosynthesis”, “arginine biosynthesis”, etc.), nucleic acid metabolism (pyrimidine metabolism). In conclusion, the addition of mixed silage to the diet of Hu sheep can alter the structure of the hindgut microflora and regulate the metabolism of amino acids and nucleotides, which affects health performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Fermentation Technology in Animal Nutrition)

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16 pages, 1321 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Biotechnological Processing of Sugarcane Bagasse through Solid-State Fermentation with White Rot Fungi into Nutritionally Rich and Digestible Ruminant Feed

by Nazir Ahmad Khan, Mussayyab Khan, Abubakar Sufyan, Ashmal Saeed, Lin Sun, Siran Wang, Mudasir Nazar, Zhiliang Tan, Yong Liu and Shaoxun Tang

Fermentation 2024, 10(4), 181; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation10040181 - 26 Mar 2024

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Abstract

Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) bagasse (SCB) is one of the most widely produced lignocellulosic biomasses and has great potential to be recycled for sustainable food production as ruminant animal feed. However, due to severe lignification, i.e., lignin-(hemi)-cellulose complexes, ruminants can only ferment a minor fraction of the polysaccharides trapped in such recalcitrant lignocellulosic biomasses. This study was therefore designed to systematically evaluate the improvement in nutritional value, the in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD), and the rate and extent of in vitro total gas (IVGP) and methane (CH₄) production during the 72 h in vitro ruminal fermentation of SCB, bioprocessed with Agaricus bisporus, Pleurotus djamor, Calocybe indica and Pleurotus ostreatus under solid-state fermentation (SSF) for 0, 21 and 56 days. The contents of neutral detergent fiber, lignin, hemicellulose and CH₄ production (% of IVGP) decreased (p < 0.05), whereas crude protein (CP), IVDMD and total IVGP increased (p < 0.05) after the treatment of SCB for 21 and 56 days with all white-rot fungi (WRF) species. The greatest (p < 0.05) improvement in CP (104.1%), IVDMD (38.8%) and IVGP (49.24%) and the greatest (p < 0.05) reduction in lignin (49.3%) and CH₄ (23.2%) fractions in total IVGP were recorded for SCB treated with C. indica for 56 days. Notably, C. indica degraded more than (p < 0.05) lignin and caused greater (p < 0.05) improvement in IVDMD than those recorded for other WRF species after 56 days. The increase in IVGP was strongly associated with lignin degradation (R² = 0.72) and a decrease in the lignin-to-cellulose ratio (R² = 0.95) during the bioprocessing of SCB. Our results demonstrated that treatment of SCB with (selective) lignin-degrading WRF can improve the nutritional value and digestibility of SCB, and C. indica presents excellent prospects for the rapid, selective and more extensive degradation of lignin and, as such, for the improvement in nutritional value and digestibility of SCB for ruminant nutrition. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Fermentation Technology in Animal Nutrition)

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9 pages, 1522 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Prokaryote Composition and Structure of Rumen Fluid before and after In Vitro Rumen Fermentation

by Rajan Dhakal, André Luis Alves Neves, Rumakanta Sapkota, Prabhat Khanal and Hanne Helene Hansen

Fermentation 2024, 10(2), 108; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation10020108 - 14 Feb 2024

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Abstract

Background: This study aimed to investigate the impact of in vitro rumen fermentation (IVRF) on the microbiome structure and composition of rumen fluid before and after fermentation assays. Methods and Results: Six separate fermentation batches were run for 48 h using maize silage as the basal feed. Rumen fluid samples were analyzed before (RF; only rumen fluid inoculant) and after 48 h fermentation assay (MS; maize silage as the substrate) and further processed for microbiome analysis using amplicon sequencing targeting the V4 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene. Bacterial alpha diversity revealed that the Shannon index and observed index were similar between MS and RF fluid. The core microbiome was detected in 88.6% of the amplicon sequence variants in MS and RF. Taxonomic analysis at the phylum level showed similar abundances of Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Verrucomicrobiota, Spirochaetota, Patescibacteria, and Campilobacterota in MS and RF. The Bray–Curtis distance matrix showed similar bacterial community structure among MS and RF samples. Conclusion: Our results indicated that the in vitro procedure did not affect the bacterial community structure compared to the original rumen fluid inoculum. It should be noted that assessing the microbiome at a single endpoint (i.e., 48 h) may not provide a comprehensive understanding of the microbiome profile dynamics. However, the findings of this study provide a basis for future microbiome-based in vitro fermentation tests and confirm that the technique allows a high degree of species diversity that approximates the rumen function in vivo. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Fermentation Technology in Animal Nutrition)

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14 pages, 2331 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Safety of Chinese Cabbage Waste and Rice Straw Mixed Silage and Its Effect on Growth and Health Performance of Hu Sheep

by Zhiqi Lu, Chuang Li, Lie Hou, Zhenbin Zhang, Yue Lu, Chun Xue, Ruxin Qi, Muhammad Hammad Zafar, Jun Xu and Mengzhi Wang

Fermentation 2024, 10(1), 47; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation10010047 - 8 Jan 2024

Viewed by 1386

Abstract

Improper disposal of vegetable waste can cause serious environmental pollution, but because they contain huge water content and organic matter, they are not suitable for disposal by methods such as incineration and landfill. However, vegetable waste contains a large amount of nutrients and have some complementary effects with rice straw in terms of physical structure, nutrients, and moisture. In this experiment, the plant feed (corn husk, peanut shells and sorghum shells) was used as the control group (CON group), and the mixed silage of Chinese cabbage waste and rice straw (mixed silage) was used as the experiment group (TRE group), and its safety performance was evaluated by testing its toxin content, pesticide residues, vitamin contents and feeding experiment of Hu sheep. In the animal experiment, 16 healthy Hu sheep (5.5 months, 39.11 ± 4.16 kg) were randomly divided into two groups of 8 each. The results of the safety performance evaluation showed that the content of mycotoxins, heavy metals, and nitrites as well as pesticide residues in the crude feeds of both groups were within the range of Chinese feed hygiene standards. In addition, the levels of deoxynivalenol (DON) and aflatoxin (AFT) in the CON group were lower, while the content of ochratoxin (OTA) and zearalenone were higher than those in the TRE group (p < 0.05). The levels of plumbum(Pb), chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), and nitrite in the CON group were lower than the mixed silage, while the levels of As were higher than the mixed silage (p < 0.05). It is worth noticing that the content of vitamin B₂ (VB₂) and vitamin C (VC) in the TRE group was higher than the CON group (p < 0.05). The results of the feeding experiment showed that the mixed silage did not affect the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, organ index, and intestinal index of Hu sheep (p > 0.05). In addition, the mixed silage reduced the weight of omasum, the proportion of omasum to live weight before slaughter, the amount of compound stomach, and the proportion of compound stomach to live weight before slaughter, which were higher than those in the TRE group (p < 0.05). The thickness of the basal layer of the rumen abdominal sac, the red blood cell count, the content of IL-10, and TNF-α in the blood, and TNF-α content in the rumen of the Hu sheep in the TRE group were higher than the CON group (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the feed safety index content of the mixed silage did not exceed the Chinese feed hygiene and safety standards and did not cause adverse effects on the growth performance of the Hu sheep, and it improved the immune performance of the body and digestive tract of the sheep to a certain extent and promoted the healthy development of the sheep. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Fermentation Technology in Animal Nutrition)

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11 pages, 309 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Yogurt Acid Whey on the Quality of Maize Silage

by Irida Palamidi, Vasileios V. Paraskeuas, Basiliki Kotsampasi, Ioannis Hadjigeorgiou, Ioannis Politis and Konstantinos C. Mountzouris

Fermentation 2023, 9(12), 994; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9120994 - 22 Nov 2023

Viewed by 1332

Abstract

The increasing popularity of Greek yogurt generates large amounts of acid whey worldwide. The use of yogurt acid whey in animal nutrition is limited. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of a yogurt acid whey powder (YAWP) addition to maize forage prior to ensiling on the nutritional, microbial and fermentation quality of maize silage. Depending on the addition level of the YAWP to maize forage, there were the following four experimental treatments: YAWP 0, 2.5, 5 and 10% w/w. An increasing YAWP inclusion level linearly increased the maize silage dry matter, crude protein and ash concentrations, whereas it reduced the crude fiber, neutral-detergent fiber and acid-detergent fiber concentrations. The silage pH decreased quadratically with the increasing YAWP level, with the lower plateau noted for the YAWP 5% addition. Concentrations of total bacteria in the silage and Lactobacillus spp. decreased linearly with the YAWP increase. The silage acetic acid content decreased linearly, whereas propionic acid, lactic acid and the ratio of lactic to acetic acid increased linearly with the increasing YAWP level. The ammonia-N content decreased linearly with the increasing YAWP level. In conclusion, the incorporation of the 5 and 10% YAWP addition in silage preparation improved the nutritional and fermentative quality of the produced silage. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Fermentation Technology in Animal Nutrition)

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