Effect of Cistanche deserticola on Rumen Microbiota and Rumen Function in Grazing Sheep

Abstract

For a long time, veterinary drugs and chemical additives have been widely used in livestock and poultry breeding to improve production performance. However, problems such as drug residues in food are causing serious concerns. The use of functional plants and their extracts to improve production performance is becoming increasingly popular. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of Cistanche deserticola in sheep feed on rumen flora and to analyze the causes to provide a theoretical basis for the future use of Cistanche deserticola as a functional substance to improve sheep production performance. A completely randomized experimental design was adopted using 24 six-month-old sheep males divided into four groups (six animals in each group) which were fed a basic diet composed of alfalfa and tall fescue grass. The C. deserticola feed was provided to sheep at different levels (0, 2, 4, and 6%) as experimental treatments. On the last day (Day 75), ruminal fluid was collected through a rumen tube for evaluating changes in rumen flora. The test results showed that Prevotella_1, Lactobacillus, and Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group were the dominant species at the genus level in all samples. Lactobacillus, Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group, Ruminococcaceae_NK4A214_group, Butyrivibrio_2, and Christensenellaceae_R-7_group differed significantly in relative abundance among the treatment groups. The polysaccharides in C. deserticola was the major factor influencing the alteration in rumen flora abundance, and had the functions of improving rumen fermentation environment and regulating rumen flora structure, etc. Hence, C. deserticola can be used to regulate rumen fermentation in grazing sheep to improve production efficiency.

Lycium barbarum (Wolfberry) Branches and Leaves Enhance the Growth Performance and Improve the Rumen Microbiota in Hu Sheep

“…The dominant genera of rumen bacteria composition at the genus level are consistent with previous studies [ 60 ]. Prevotella and Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group had a the highest relative abundance in the rumen at the genus level, followed by Succiniclasticum , Saccharofermentans , Treponema , and Fibrobacter .…”

Dietary supplementation of Allium mongolicum modulates rumen-hindgut microbial community structure in Simmental calves

“…FNH can regulate digestion and metabolism, productivity and health of livestock. It plays an irreplaceable role in livestock production ( Zhang et al, 2022 ). FNH comprises 16.8–26.8 and 13.5% of plant species and biomass in global terrestrial ecosystems, respectively ( Richards et al, 2015 ; Jamshidi-Kia et al, 2018 ; Hou et al, 2021 ).…”

Concentrate supplementation improves cold-season environmental fitness of grazing yaks: responsive changes in the rumen microbiota and metabolome

“…At the genus level, we detected nine bacterial genera with significant differences (proportion of sequences > 1%). The Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group is a member of the Rikenellaceae family, which is involved in the degradation of fibrous polysaccharides (Zhang et al, 2022b(Zhang et al, , 2023. Feeding of concentrate supplements led to a decrease in the concentration of fibrous polysaccharides in the rumen, which could also explain the correlation between Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group and rumen fermentation parameters.…”