Effect of Probiotics/Prebiotics on Cattle Health and Productivity

Probiotics/prebiotics have the ability to modulate the balance and activities of the gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota, and are, thus, considered beneficial to the host animal and have been used as functional foods. Numerous factors, such as dietary and management constraints, have been shown to markedly affect the structure and activities of gut microbial communities in livestock animals. Previous studies reported the potential of probiotics and prebiotics in animal nutrition; however, their efficacies often vary and are inconsistent, possibly, in part, because the dynamics of the GI community have not been taken into consideration. Under stressed conditions, direct-fed microbials may be used to reduce the risk or severity of scours caused by disruption of the normal intestinal environment. The observable benefits of prebiotics may also be minimal in generally healthy calves, in which the microbial community is relatively stable. However, probiotic yeast strains have been administered with the aim of improving rumen fermentation efficiency by modulating microbial fermentation pathways. This review mainly focused on the benefits of probiotics/prebiotics on the GI microbial ecosystem in ruminants, which is deeply involved in nutrition and health for the animal.ArticleMICROBES AND ENVIRONMENTS. 30(2):126-132 (2015)journal articl

Effects of cellooligosaccharide or a combination of cellooligosaccharide and live Clostridium butyricum culture on performance and intestinal ecology in Holstein calves fed milk or milk replacer

The effects of oral administration of a prebiotic (cellooligosaccharide [CE]) and a combination of a probiotic (a commercial Clostridium butyricum strain) and prebiotics (referred to as symbiotics [SB]) on performance and intestinal ecology in Holstein calves fed milk replacer (MR) or whole milk were evaluated. Forty female calves (experiment 1) and 14 male and female calves (experiment 2) were used in this study. Calves were fed MR (experiment 1) or whole milk (experiment 2) necessary for daily weight gain of 0.3 kg based on birth weight in two daily feedings and weaned at 46 days. Calves were divided into a CE feeding group, SB feeding group (only in experiment 1), and control group. The CE and SB groups were fed CE at 5 g/day before weaning and 10 g/day postweaning. Only the SB group received 108 colony-forming units (CFU) of C butyricum culture per day. Commercial calf starter was offered for ad libitum intake. Health and feed intake of the animals were monitored daily, and body weight was measured weekly. Fecal samples were analyzed for determination of bacterial community composition by an RNA-based method (sequence-specific SSU rRNA cleavage method) and for organic acid profiling. In 49-day experiments, feed intake, daily gain, and occurrence of diarrhea of the calves were unaffected by either CE supplementation or SB supplementation, and all calves were healthy during each experiment. The fecal bacterial community compositions and the organic acid profiles were not different among groups in experiment 1. In experiment 2, the level of the Clostridium coccoides-Eubacterium rectale group was higher in the feces of CE group than controls at 4 weeks of age and fecal butyric acid concentration was higher (8.0 vs. 12.2 [mmol/kg feces], P <0.05) at that time. There were no differences in prebiotic bacteria (the genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium) between groups at this time point. These results suggested that CE and C. butyricum supplementation have less effect on the performance of healthy calves fed MR. However, prebiotic supplementation seems effective for modulation of the intestinal bacterial community of calves when administered with whole milk.ArticleLIVESTOCK SCIENCE. 153(1-3):88-93 (2013)journal articl

Effects of cellooligosaccharide or a combination of cellooligosaccharide and live Clostridium butyricum culture on performance and intestinal ecology in Holstein calves fed milk or milk replacer

The effects of oral administration of a prebiotic (cellooligosaccharide [CE]) and a combination of a probiotic (a commercial Clostridium butyricum strain) and prebiotics (referred to as symbiotics [SB]) on performance and intestinal ecology in Holstein calves fed milk replacer (MR) or whole milk were evaluated. Forty female calves (experiment 1) and 14 male and female calves (experiment 2) were used in this study. Calves were fed MR (experiment 1) or whole milk (experiment 2) necessary for daily weight gain of 0.3 kg based on birth weight in two daily feedings and weaned at 46 days. Calves were divided into a CE feeding group, SB feeding group (only in experiment 1), and control group. The CE and SB groups were fed CE at 5 g/day before weaning and 10 g/day postweaning. Only the SB group received 108 colony-forming units (CFU) of C butyricum culture per day. Commercial calf starter was offered for ad libitum intake. Health and feed intake of the animals were monitored daily, and body weight was measured weekly. Fecal samples were analyzed for determination of bacterial community composition by an RNA-based method (sequence-specific SSU rRNA cleavage method) and for organic acid profiling. In 49-day experiments, feed intake, daily gain, and occurrence of diarrhea of the calves were unaffected by either CE supplementation or SB supplementation, and all calves were healthy during each experiment. The fecal bacterial community compositions and the organic acid profiles were not different among groups in experiment 1. In experiment 2, the level of the Clostridium coccoides-Eubacterium rectale group was higher in the feces of CE group than controls at 4 weeks of age and fecal butyric acid concentration was higher (8.0 vs. 12.2 [mmol/kg feces], P <0.05) at that time. There were no differences in prebiotic bacteria (the genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium) between groups at this time point. These results suggested that CE and C. butyricum supplementation have less effect on the performance of healthy calves fed MR. However, prebiotic supplementation seems effective for modulation of the intestinal bacterial community of calves when administered with whole milk.ArticleLIVESTOCK SCIENCE. 153(1-3):88-93 (2013)journal articl

Generation of Dipeptidyl Peptidase-IV-Inhibiting Peptides from -Lactoglobulin Secreted by Lactococcus lactis

Previous studies showed that hydrolysates of -lactoglobulin (BLG) prepared using gastrointestinal proteases strongly inhibit dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV) activity in vitro. In this study, we developed a BLG-secreting Lactococcus lactis strain as a delivery vehicle and in situ expression system. Interestingly, trypsin-digested recombinant BLG from L. lactis inhibited DPP-IV activity, suggesting that BLG-secreting L. lactis may be useful in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus.The study was supported by a grant from the Iijima Memorial Foundation for the Promotion of Food Science and Technology to Takeshi Shimosato

Effect of Probiotics/Prebiotics on Cattle Health and Productivity

Probiotics/prebiotics have the ability to modulate the balance and activities of the gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota, and are, thus, considered beneficial to the host animal and have been used as functional foods. Numerous factors, such as dietary and management constraints, have been shown to markedly affect the structure and activities of gut microbial communities in livestock animals. Previous studies reported the potential of probiotics and prebiotics in animal nutrition; however, their efficacies often vary and are inconsistent, possibly, in part, because the dynamics of the GI community have not been taken into consideration. Under stressed conditions, direct-fed microbials may be used to reduce the risk or severity of scours caused by disruption of the normal intestinal environment. The observable benefits of prebiotics may also be minimal in generally healthy calves, in which the microbial community is relatively stable. However, probiotic yeast strains have been administered with the aim of improving rumen fermentation efficiency by modulating microbial fermentation pathways. This review mainly focused on the benefits of probiotics/prebiotics on the GI microbial ecosystem in ruminants, which is deeply involved in nutrition and health for the animal

Fermentative Quality and Animal Acceptability of Ensiled Persimmon Skin with Absorbents for Practical Use in Ruminant Feed

Persimmon skin (PS), while representing an attractive feed source, requires an appropriate preservation procedure to increase its shelf life. We assessed the fermentation quality, in vitro ruminal incubation, and intake of persimmon skin silage ensiled with different dry absorbents. We prepared the silage on a table scale (Experiment 1) and evaluated five different mixtures: PS without an additive, PS plus Lactobacillus buchneri inoculum (LB), and PS plus LB plus each of the absorbents kraft pulp, wheat bran, or beet pulp. We opened the laboratory bags, kept at 25 &deg;C, at 0, 14, 28, and 60 days for fermentation quality and chemical analysis (n = 3 for each measurement). Further, with an in vitro rumen simulated cultivation study (Experiment 2), we evaluated the fermentation pattern of PS with a mixture of two absorbents (kraft pulp and wheat bran) either raw (no fermentation) or ensiled (n = 4 for each treatment). Finally, we conducted an in vivo experiment using six dry ewes assigned based on their body weight to two experimental groups in a crossover design of two periods (Experiment 3). We fed a control group a 100% basal diet (tall fescue hay and concentrate mixture) and ensiled PS (PSS) group, a 20% dry matter substitution of tall fescue with PS silage mixed with kraft pulp as the sole absorbent. The results of Experiment 1 show, regardless of the absorbents used, the effluent volume of the lab bags was lower in absorbent-treated groups (p &lt; 0.001). In Experiment 2, the condition of the PS with absorbents (raw or ensiled) did not affect the total gas production (p &gt; 0.05), but we observed an increased propionate proportion in PSS with absorbents compared to basal diet (p = 0.019). The proportion of methane to the total gas in PSS group was considerably reduced compared with that in the other groups (p &lt; 0.001). As we did this incubation study with a single run, a more detailed evaluation in the future would verify these observations. In the animal trial (Experiment 3), dry matter intake was similar between groups (p &gt; 0.05), but ewes spent a shorter time eating in the PSS-fed group (p = 0.011). Here we present the practical use of PSS as part of ruminant feed in which dry absorbents prevented dry matter loss

Dietary Supplementation with Fermented Brassica rapa L. Stimulates Defecation Accompanying Change in Colonic Bacterial Community Structure

Our previous studies have elucidated that oral administration of Brassica rapa L. extract, known as Nozawana in Japan, alters immune responses and gut microbiota composition, increasing the numbers of butyrate-producing bacteria. Therefore, further investigation would help elucidate the mechanism attributable for the changes and health-promoting effects observed after B rapa L. extract ingestion. To reveal the modulation effects of fermented B. rapa L. on immune function and intestinal bacterial community structure, we conducted an intervention study with healthy volunteers followed by a mouse feeding study. The pilot intervention study was conducted for healthy volunteers aged 40–64 years under the hypothesis that the number of subjects exhibiting any change in gut microbiota in response to fermented B. rapa L. consumption may be limited. In total, 20 volunteers consumed 30 g of fermented B. rapa L. per day for 4 weeks. The fecal bacterial community composition of the volunteers was characterized using terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism patterning followed by clustering analysis. To evaluate the detailed changes in the immune responses and the gut bacterial composition, assessed by high-throughput sequencing, we fed healthy mice with freeze-dried, fermented B. rapa L. for 2 weeks. The fecal bacterial community composition of the volunteers before the intervention was divided into three clades. Regardless of the clade, the defecation frequency significantly increased during the intervention weeks compared with that before the intervention. However, this clustering detected a specific increase of Prevotella in one cluster (low to zero Prevotella and high occupation of Clostridium at clusters IV and XIVa) post-ingestion. The cytokine production of spleen cells significantly increased due to feeding fermented B. rapa L. to the mice. This supplementary in vivo trial provided comparable results to the volunteer study regarding the effects of ingestion of the material given the compositional change complying with that of dietary fiber, particularly in the increase of genera Prevotella, Lachnospira, and genera in the Ruminococcaceae family, and the increase in daily defecation amount during 2 weeks of administration. We conclude that feeding fermented B. rapa L. may be responsible for the observed modulation in gut microbiota to increase fiber-degrading bacteria and butyrate-producing bacteria which may be relevant to the improvement in bowel function such as defecation frequency

Evaluation of ruminal fermentation of ensiled fruit byproducts and their potential for feed use

Objective Ensiling of tannin-rich fruit byproducts (FB) involves quantitative and qualitative changes in the tannins, which would consequently change the rumen fermentation characteristics. This study aimed to evaluate whether ensiled FBs are effective in mitigating methane emission from ruminants by conducting in vitro assessments. Methods Fruit byproducts (grape pomace, wild grape pomace, and persimmon skin) were collected and subjected to four-week ensiling by Lactobacillus buchneri inoculant. A defined feed component with or without FB samples (both fresh and ensiled material) were subjected to in vitro anaerobic culturing using rumen fluid sampled from beef cattle, and the fermentation parameters and microbial populations were monitored. Results Reduced methane production and a proportional change in total volatile fatty acids (especially enhanced propionate proportion) was noted in bottles containing the FBs compared with that in the control (without FB). In addition, we found lower gene copy number of archaeal 16S rRNA and considerably higher levels of one of the major fibrolytic bacteria (Fibrobacter succinogenes) in the bottles containing FBs than in the control, particularly, when it was included in a forage-based feed. However, in the following cultivation experiment, we observed that FBs failed to exhibit a significant difference in methane production with or without polyethylene glycol, implying that tannins in the FBs may not be responsible for the mitigation of methane generation. Conclusion The results of the in vitro cultivation experiments indicated that not only the composition but also ensiling of FBs affected rumen fermentation patterns and the degree of methane generation. This is primarily because of the compositional changes in the fibrous fraction during ensiling as well as the presence of readily fermented substrates, whereas tannins in these FBs seemed to have little effect on the ruminal fermentation kinetics