Utilization of 2,3-Butanediol by Sheep

Ethanol and 2,3‐butanediol production in whole‐crop rice silage

“…Intensive ethanol production has been attributed mainly to yeast activity; therefore, when air was removed by mechanical processing with a flail-type harvester, lactic acid bacteria became much more competitive and suppressed yeast growth, presumably during the initial ensiling period. Mathison et al (1981) indicated that 2,3-butanediol would be produced at a maximum of approximately 20 g kg -1 ; in the present study, a much lower content (4.0 g kg -1 ) was found in untreated rice silage. Mathison et al (1981) also indicated that adding 2,3-butanediol at 50 g kg -1 DM did not affect feed intake and digestibility in sheep.…”

“…Mathison et al . (1981) indicated that 2,3‐butanediol would be produced at a maximum of approximately 20 g kg −1 ; in the present study, a much lower content (4.0 g kg −1 ) was found in untreated rice silage.…”

“…(1981) indicated that 2,3‐butanediol would be produced at a maximum of approximately 20 g kg −1 ; in the present study, a much lower content (4.0 g kg −1 ) was found in untreated rice silage. Mathison et al . (1981) also indicated that adding 2,3‐butanediol at 50 g kg −1 DM did not affect feed intake and digestibility in sheep.…”

“…Only a small number of studies have reported 2,3butanediol production in silage. The ensiled materials were grass (Fennessy and Barry 1973;Barry 1975), whole-crop barley (Mathison et al 1981;Nia and Wittenberg 1999) and whole-crop rice (Nishino et al 2007) grown under conventional cultivation and management. The microorganisms associated with diol production have not been elucidated previously.…”

“…There is evidence that certain silage microorganisms can produce 2,3-butanediol from sugars and organic acids (McDonald et al 1991). However, only a few reports have actually determined the diol even in conventional crop silages (Fennessy and Barry 1973;Barry 1975;Mathison et al 1981;Nia and Wittenberg 1999). Production of 2,3-butanediol might be a distinctive feature of whole-crop rice silage; however, information is lacking and fermentation factors are largely unknown.…”