Effect of feeding Bacillus subtilis on rumen fermentation, blood metabolites, nutrient digestibility, and energy and nitrogen balances in non‐lactating crossbred cows

Abstract

The utilization of probiotics in livestock diets is increasing because it can result in improved productivity. Bacillus spp. are gram-positive spore-forming bacteria that are resistant to heat, cold, acid, and digestive enzymes (Carlin, 2011;Casula & Cutting, 2002). Although they cannot colonize the intestinal tracts of animals, they can have beneficial effects on productivity. Various studies have been conducted to clarify the effects of Bacillus spp. supplements. When supplied in pig feed, Bacillus subtilis LS 1-2 suppressed the levels of Clostridium spp. and Coliforms in the pigs' intestines and improved their growth performance (Lee et al. 2014). Broiler productivity was also improved by the addition of Bacillus subtilis UBT-MO 2 to their feed (Zhang et al. 2013). Sun et al. (2011) reported that the supplementation of Bacillus subtilis natto improved calf growth and development of the rumen. In lactating cows, supplementation with B. subtilis natto increased milk yields and the concentrations of propionic acid in the rumen (Sun et al. 2013). Supplementation with B. subtilis DSM15544 (B. subtilis C-3102) increased not only milk yields, but also milk protein levels, total solids, and milk energy secretion (Souza et al. 2017).These effects of B. subtilis supplementation in dairy cows were examined using Holstein-Friesians, which are farmed in cool temperate regions and are characterized as high-yielding and high feed intake cows. These characteristics lead to high heat production, accounting for 30% of the energy intake (Coppock, 1985). However, this high heat production makes the animals vulnerable to heat stress (Galán et al. 2018). On the other hand, in tropical regions such as Southeast Asia, crossbreeds between Holstein-Friesians and Bos indicus are mainly used in dairy production, even though they are less productive. These crossbreeds are suitable for tropical regions because B. indicus has a lower metabolic rate and is more resistant

Using probiotics to improve the utilization of chopped dried date palm leaves as a feed in diets of growing Farafra lambs

“…Sallam et al ( 18 ) observed improved N balance by 22% when animals were fed a diet supplemented with probiotics. Moreover, Kawauchi et al ( 58 ) observed that feeding cows on a diet supplemented with B. subtilis did not affect the amounts of N loss in the feces or urine or retained N. Increased N retention in body tissues may explain the increased daily gain in animals fed additives. Lack of differences in ruminal ammonia-N, blood urea-N concentrations and N excreted revealed an improved utilization of nutrients ( 59 ).…”

“…Probiotics did not impact ammonia N, indicating minimal effects on dietary protein breakdown and digestion, and the uptake of ammonia by bacteria ( 58 ). However, BAC increased CP digestibility indicating increased uptake of ammonia by bacteria and increased microbial protein in the rumen.…”

“…The rumen microflora starts to convert a part of ammonia-N into microbial proteins, which represent an essential source of N for the growing animal, and another part is recycled as urea (63). Similarly, Kawauchi et al (58) observed minor effects on ruminal ammonia-N concentration when feeding B. subtilis to cows.…”

Beneficial Implementation of Probiotics in Farm Animals and Poultry Husbandry

“…Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus subtilis, Prevotella bryantii [41] Increase in growth performance, improving weight gain, feed conversion efficiency in weaning calves Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Enterococcus [42] In Egypt, some trials were performed to explore the beneficial effects of probiotics additives on ruminant performance, productivity and health; Hassan et al, (2020) [43] investigated the mixing of two different forms (powder or liquid) of Ruminococcus flavefaciens with concentrate feed that presented to group of Barki lambs for75 days. They mentioned that the addition of examined probiotics resulted in a significant increase in nearly all of the dry matter digestibility coefficients, average daily gain and nutrient digestibility compared to the control group.…”