This study evaluated the effect of lactic acid bacteria (LAB, a mixture of Enterococcus faecium and Lactobacillus plantarum) supplementation, the storage temperature, and storage period on the fermentation characteristics and in vitro ruminal digestibility of a total mixed ration (TMR). The TMR was prepared into two groups, namely, CON (control TMR without the LAB) and ML (supplementing a mixture of E. faecium and L. plantarum in the ratio of 1% and 2% (v/w), respectively). Both groups were divided and stored at 4°C or 25°C for 3, 7, and 14 d fermentation periods. Supplementing LAB to the TMR did not affect the chemical composition of TMR except for the lactate and acetate concentration. Storage temperatures affected (p<0.05) the chemical composition of the TMR, including pH, lactate, and acetate contents. The chemical composition of TMR was also affected (p<0.05) by the storage period. During in vitro rumen fermentation study, the ML treatment showed lower (p<0.05) dry matter digestibility at 24 h incubation with a higher pH compared to the CON. There was no difference in the in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) of TMR between the CON and ML treatment however, at 24 h, ML treatment showed lower (p<0.05) IVDMD with a higher pH compared to the CON. The effects of storage temperature and period on IVDMD were not apparent at 24 h incubation. In an in vivo study using Holstein steers, supplementing LAB to the basal TMR for 60 d did not differ in the final body weight and average daily gain. Likewise, the fecal microbiota did not differ between CON and ML. However, the TMR used for the present study did include a commercial yeast in CON, whereas ML did not; therefore, results were, to some extent, compromised in examining the effect of LAB. In conclusion, storage temperature and period significantly affected the TMR quality, increasing acetate and lactate concentration. However, the actual effects of LAB supplementation were equivocal.

The present study was conducted to examine the effect of soybean silage as a crude protein supplement for corn silage in the diet of Hanwoo steers. The first experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of replacing corn silage with soybean silage at different levels on rumen fermentation characteristics in vitro. Commercially-purchased corn silage was replaced with 0, 4, 8, or 12% of soybean silage. Half gram of the substrate was added to 50 mL of buffer and rumen fluid from Hanwoo cows, and then incubated at 39°C for 0, 3, 6, 12, 24, and 48 h. At 24 h, the pH of the control (corn silage only) was lower (p<0.05) than that of soybeansupplemented silages, and the pH numerically increased along with increasing proportions of soybean silage. Other rumen parameters, including gas production, ammonia nitrogen, and total volatile fatty acids, were variable. However, they tended to increase with increasing proportions of soybean silage. In the second experiment, 60 Hanwoo steers were allocated to one of three dietary treatments, namely, CON (concentrate with Italian ryegrass), CS (concentrate with corn silage), CS4% (concentrate with corn silage and 4% of soybean silage). Animals were offered experimental diets for 110 days during the growing period and then finished with typified beef diets that were commercially available to evaluate the effect of soybean silage on animal performance and meat quality. With the soybean silage, the weight gain and feed efficiency of the animal were more significant than those of the other treatments during the growing period (p<0.05). However, the dietary treatments had little effect on meat quality except for meat color. In conclusion, corn silage mixed with soybean silage even at a lower level provided a greater ruminal environment and animal performances, particularly with increased carcass weight and feed efficiency during growing period.

A laboratory-scale experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of supplementing commonly used effective microorganisms on the chemical properties of swine liquid manure. Effective microorganisms used in this study were Bacillus subtilis (1.3×109 colony-forming unit (CFU)/ml), Enterococcus faecium (1.9×1010 CFU/ml), Aspergillus oryzae (2.0×109 CFU/ml), Saccharomyces cerevisiae (6.4×109 CFU/ml), Rhodobacter sphaeroides (1.2×108 CFU/ml), and Streptomyces griseus (6.2×108 CFU/ml). Swine liquid manure collected and decanted from a swine farm was used in this study. Treatments included control (distilled water supplementation), Treatment 1 (T1) (mixed microbes, 109 CFU/ml), and Treatment 2 (T2) (mixed microbes, 107 CFU/ml). Microbial mix was supplemented every 3.5 days and aerated six times (15 min each) a day to facilitate compositing. Ten ml of sample was collected at 2-, 4-, 6-, and 7-week intervals for the measurement of pH, ammonia-N, volatile fatty acid (VFA), total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and total potassium. At seven weeks, samples were further collected to analyze biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD). Ammonia-N was significantly (p<0.05) decreased in T1 and T2 by 36% and 30%, respectively, compared with control (23%). VFAs including butyrate, iso-butyrate, valerate, iso-valerate, and caproate were not detected in T1 from the four-week aerated sample. The BOD and COD were significantly (p<0.05) decreased in T1 by 96% and 58%, respectively. In conclusion, ammonia-N, VFA, BOD, and COD, known as odor indicators, were decreased in T1 and T2 compared with control, suggesting that effective microorganisms are useful for compositing swine liquid manure

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of rumen origin lactate-utilizing bacteria (LUB) as one of the potential treatments on subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA) during in vitro challenge compared to buffering agents (NaHCO3, sea minerals, MgO) and direct-fed microorganism (yeast). We hypothesized that rumen LUB (RLUB) could be a potential treatment to treat ruminal acidosis. The supplementation level of other treatments was determined by referring to previous studies in the literature. The 108 CFU/g freeze-dried RLUB isolated from Hanwoo cattle were compared with 0.1% NaHCO3, 0.8% of MgO, 0.5% sea mineral and 0.4% yeast during in vitro SARA challenge. Rumen fluid collected from one cannulated Holstein and one Hanwoo steer fed by maize silage was mixed with 0.5g feed consisted of 0.05g forage and 0.45g concentrate. These mixtures were incubated in triplication for 3, 6, 12 and 24h. After 6h of incubation, along with MgO and sea minerals, RLUB treatment showed higher (p<0.05) ㏗ values than control with no significant differences in total volatile fatty acid concentration. However, in the same period, the propionate concentration and A:P ratio were higher in RLUB than in the other treatment (p<0.05), which might alter the fermentation pattern. On the other hand, the RLUB treatment produced a higher (p<0.05) ammonia-N concentration. Based on these results, we can conclude that RLUB might have the potential to alleviate SARA. Nonetheless, further study on its mechanism in SARA is required, especially with live animals.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) inoculation to domestically-cultivated Italian ryegrass (IRG) on silage fermentation and in vitro ruminal fermentation. There were six treatments based on the LAB inoculants: 1) no addition of LAB (negative control: NC), additions of 2) commercially-available LAB (positive control: PC), 3) Lactobacillus plantarum (LPL), 4) L. paracasei (LPA), 5) L. acidophilus (LA), and 6) L. pentosus (LPT). All treatments were inoculated at a concentration of 106 CFU/g and ensiled for 3, 7, 21, and 42 days in triplicate and analyzed for nutritive values when ensiling was terminated. Day 42 silage from all treatments were also examined for in vitro ruminal fermentation. After 42 days, LAB-inoculated silages had higher (P<0.05) lactic acid concentration compared to the NC. In terms of nutritive values, the silages treated with LPA, LA, and LPT showed higher (P<0.05) crude protein and lower (P<0.05) neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber content compared to the rest of the treatment. In vitro ruminal dry matter degradability was not affected by LAB addition. However, LAB-treated IRG had shown higher (P<0.05) ammonia-N compared with that of the NC. LPA had shown the highest (P<0.05) volatile fatty acid concentration among the LAB examined. In conclusion, the addition of a single strain of LAB appeared to produce a quality IRG silage compared with the NC and the PC. Among the strains examined, LPA seemed to be superior to the others.

This study was conducted to examine the effect of corn (Zea mays L.) - soybean (Glycine max L.) silage prepared by intercropping method on the nutritive value of the silage, in vitro rumen fermentation characteristics, dry matter degradability, as well as milk yield and milk composition of dairy cows. In a couple of experiments intercropped corn-soybean silage (CSBS) was compared with corn silage (CS) and/or Italian ryegrass hay (IRG). Numerically, CSBS had higher crude protein, ether extract, and lactic acid contents compared to CS. In vitro rumen fermentation analysis demonstrated that up to a 24-h incubation period, both CS and CSBS showed higher total gas production, ammonia N concentration, and dry matter degradability compared to IRG (p<0.05). The investigation on animals was conducted in a commercial dairy farm located in Gyeongju, South Korea, employing 42 Holstein cows that were divided into 2 group treatments: CS and CSBS in a completely randomized design. Although no significant difference was observed in milk yield, animals fed on CSBS showed significantly higher milk protein (p<0.05) and milk fat content (p<0.01), compared to animals fed on CS. Taken together, our findings indicate that corn-soybean silage that is cultivated, harvested, and prepared through intercropping can improve the protein content of the silage, and can also enhance in vitro rumen fermentation, dry matter degradability, and performance of dairy cattle.

This study was conducted to investigate the antibacterial, antioxidant, and in vitro greenhouse gas mitigation activities of fermented Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi extract. Seven starter cultures were used, comprising four of lactic acid bacteria and three of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Ten grams of S. baicalensis Georgi powder was diluted in 90 mL autoclaved MRS broth. Each seed culture was inoculated with 3-10% (v/v) S. baicalensis Georgi MRS broth and incubated at 30℃ for 48 h. Among the starter cultures used, only Lactobacillus plantarum EJ43 could withstand the fermentation conditions. This fermentation broth was dried and extracted with ethanol to assess its antibacterial, antioxidant, and in vitro methane mitigation activities. The extract of S. baicalensis Georgi fermented by L. plantarum EJ43 (SBLp) showed higher antibacterial activity (bigger clear zone) compared to the unfermented S. baicalensis Georgi extract (SB0). SBLp also presented 1.2 folds higher antioxidant activity than SB0. During in vitro rumen fermentation, SBLp showed reduction in methane production compared to SB0 or the control. In conclusion, fermentation by L. plantarum EJ43 may enhance antibacterial and antioxidant activities of S. baicalensis Georgi and decrease enteric methane production.