Effect of phyto additives and Saccharomyces cerevisiae on rumen ferementation and microbial profile in buffaloes

Abstract

To study the effect of plants containing plant secondary metabolites (PSM) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae on rumen ferementation and microbial profile, four fistulated adult buffaloes were fed in 4×4 Latin square design. The four groups were, control, without additive; T1, mixture of harad seed pulp and garlic bulb (2% of DMI); T2, S. cerevisiae (350g feremented feed containing S. cerevisiae 106 /g); T3, mixture of harad seed pulp, garlic bulb and S. cerevisiae. All the animals were fed on a basal diet consisting of wheat straw and concentrate mixture in 50:50 ratio. Daily DM intake was similar in all the four groups. Feeding of any of the dietary treatments did not affect rumen fluid pH, concentration of ammonia N and lactic acid. The total volatile fatty acids and its fractions except butyrate were also not influenced by supplementation of any of the additives. The activities of ruminal enzymes viz. carboxymethylcellulase, xylanase, avicelase and acetyl esterase were similar in all the four groups. The rumen microbial density of total bacteria, Ruminococcus flavefaciences, R. albus, methanogens and fungi were not changed whereas Fibrobacter succinogenes and protozoa populations were significantly reduced in T1 but were at par of control by inclusion of yeast in the diet. It is concluded that mixture of harad and garlic alone or in combination with yeast culture did not influence rumen fermentation however microbial profile (F. succinogenes and protozoa) was improved by feeding yeast as additive. The additives tested seem to have potential to alter rumen microbial ecology and can further be explored for its efficacy in improving the performance of the animals.

Keywords

• Buffalo
• Microbial profile
• Plant secondary metabolites
• Rumen fermentation