A Novel Direct-Fed Microbial for Beef Cattle Has a Supportive Effect against Clostridium perfringens In Vitro and In Vivo

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the in vitro and in vivo effects of a novel direct-fed microbial (DFM) containing Lactobacillus animalis LA-51, Propionibacterium freudenreichii PF-24, Bacillus licheniformis CH-200, and Bacillus subtilis King (BOVAMINE DEFEND® Plus) against Clostridium perfringens pathogenic strains. In Experiment 1 (in vitro), an agar diffusion assay was performed to qualitatively evaluate the in vitro inhibitory effects of the DFM against C. perfringens types A and C. Including the DFM in the tested yielded inhibition zones with greater than three ring diameters in a 96-well plate. In Experiment 2 (in vivo), twenty 1-day-old beef calves were allocated to control (n = 10) or DFM (n = 10) for 21 days. All calves were orally challenged with 1.0 × 108 colony forming units of C. perfringens type A strain S-107 per head. The procedures such as general health scores, body weight, and fecal sample collections were performed following the C. perfringens challenge. Daily feeding of DFM significantly reduced the incidence of diarrhea while improving general impression and appearance scores of calves. Overall, these results highlight the ability of the DFM containing L. animalis LA-51, P. freudenreichii PF-24, B. licheniformis CH-200, and B. subtilis (BOVAMINE DEFEND® Plus) to inhibit C. perfringens types A and C under different experimental settings.

Influence of BOVAMINE DEFEND Plus on growth performance, carcass characteristics, estimated dry matter digestibility, rumen fermentation characteristics, and immune function in finishing beef steers

“…Bacillus licheniformis is a potent competitor of potentially harmful bacteria within the rumen, while B. subtilis is a growth inhibitor of potentially harmful bacteria within the GI tract of cattle ( Mingmongkolchai and Panbangred, 2018 ). Initial research has demonstrated that the aforementioned combination tested improved the health of newborn male beef calves inoculated with C. perfringens type A ( Guimaraes et al., 2023 ). Based on our data, BOVAMINE DEFEND Plus improves growth performance during initial periods of the finishing phase, increases overall DMI, may impact antioxidant status, and increases dressing percentage.…”

“…(2023) has demonstrated positive benefits of DFM supplementation on several production variables of finishing feedlot cattle. BOVAMINE DEFEND Plus ( Lactobacillus animalis 506, Propionibacterium freudenreichii 507, Bacillus licheniformis 809, and Bacillus subtilis 597) supplementation has been reported to inhibit Clostridium perfringens types A and C growth in vitro and reduced the proportion of newborn beef calves with abnormal diarrhea after being challenged with C. perfringens type A ( Guimaraes et al., 2023 ). We hypothesized that BOVAMINE DEFEND Plus would increase growth performance while improving carcass characteristics and immune function in finishing beef steers.…”