Forage and grain legume silages as a valuable source of proteins for dairy cows

In order to improve the supply of home-grown proteins in dairy farms, legume silage management is considered. The factors that affects fermentative quality and protein degradation during ensiling of tannin containing (sulla, sainfoin) and non tannin-containing (lucerne, field pea) legumes are discussed. The main considered factors are: wilting management, DM content, stage of growth and use of additives (lactic acid bacteria (LAB) inoculants and chestnut tannin)

Effects of Stage of Growth and Inoculation on Fermentation Quality of Field Pea Silage

Field peas (Pisum sativum L.) are a short-term catch crop with a high crude protein content, which provides a high forage yield in a short growing period. Since field peas are a succulent crop and are difficult to field cure, it is preferable to directly ensile them to prevent weather damage and excessive grain losses. The onset of lodging is delayed in field pea varieties, since the crop is supported by the tendrils in a more erect manner, and this allows easy harvesting without soil contamination even at advanced stages of maturity (Koivisto et al., 2003). To our knowledge, no information is available on the ensiling of peas in Southern Europe. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of the stage of maturity and inoculant application on the quality of silage produced from directly-cut field peas in the Po Valley, NW Italy

Effects of the Stage of Growth and Inoculation on Proteolysis in Field Pea Silage

Ensiling legumes is a good way of providing home-grown protein in dairy farms but severe protein degradation can occur when conserving legumes. Peas (Pisum sativum L.) are legumes with a high crude protein and starch content, that provide a high forage yield in a short growing period. Very little information is available on the protein value of field pea silage. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of stage of maturity and inoculant application on proteolysis in field pea silage in the Po Valley, NW Italy

Donkey milk fermentation by lactococcus lactis subsp. Cremoris and lactobacillus rhamnosus affects the antiviral and antibacterial milk properties

Background: Milk is considered an important source of bioactive peptides, which can be produced by endogenous or starter bacteria, such as lactic acid bacteria, that are considered effective and safe producers of food-grade bioactive peptides. Among the various types of milk, donkey milk has been gaining more and more attention for its nutraceutical properties. Methods: Lactobacillus rhamnosus 17D10 and Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris 40FEL3 were selected for their ability to produce peptides from donkey milk. The endogenous peptides and those obtained after bacterial fermentation were assayed for their antioxidant, antibacterial, and antiviral activities. The peptide mixtures were characterized by means of LC-MS/MS and then analyzed in silico using the Milk Bioactive Peptide DataBase. Results: The peptides produced by the two selected bacteria enhanced the antioxidant activity and reduced E. coli growth. Only the peptides produced by L. rhamnosus 17D10 were able to reduce S. aureus growth. All the peptide mixtures were able to inhibit the replication of HSV-1 by more than 50%. Seventeen peptides were found to have 60% sequence similarity with already known bioactive peptides. Conclusions: A lactic acid bacterium fermentation process is able to enhance the value of donkey milk through bioactivities that are important for human health

Comparison of in vivo and in vitro digestibility in donkeys

We compared in vivo and in vitro dry matter (DM) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) digestibility in donkeys using feces as microbial inoculum. Four donkeys were used in a 4 × 4 Latin square design with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments. The animals were fed two types of hay, with or without flaked barley. For the in vivo procedure, total feces were collected for 6 days from each donkey; digestibility was calculated as the difference between ingested and excreted DM and NDF. For the in vitro procedure, donkey feces were buffered and used as microbial inoculum in an Ankom DaisyII Incubator; digestibility was estimated after 60 h of incubation. In vivo results showed that the addition of barley to hays did not change the digestibility values. In vivo estimates were higher than in vitro ones. The equations used to predict in vivo estimates from in vitro data were not reliable (R2 = 0.47 and 0.21; P = 0.003 and 0.078 for NDF and DM digestibility, respectively). Further studies need to evaluate different sample size and digestion times