To the question of management of physiological processes and the formation of a balanced microbiome in the rumen of cows and sheep by introducing feed factors with certain biological and functional properties in the diet
Authors:   Federal Research Center for Animal Husbandry named after Academy Member L. K. Ernst, Dubrovitsy, Russia, Fomichev Yuri P. , Bogolyubova Nadezhda V. ,   Federal Research Center for Animal Husbandry named after Academy Member L. K. Ernst, Dubrovitsy, Russia, Ermakov Igor Yu. ,   North Caucasus Zonal Veterinary Research Institute – branch of Federal Russian Agrarian Scientific Center, Novocherkassk, Russia
Published: June 2023

In physiological and production studies on intact and fistulated cows and sheep, the effect on enzymatic and microbiological processes in the rumen was studied when energy feed (EF) based on propylene glycol, glycerin and sugars was included in the standard diet of cows, separately and in combination with a complex of cellulolytic enzymes, consisting from cellulase, glucoaminolase, xylanase and β-gluconase (EF + CCE), and in the standard diet of sheep – micellate-Ca (M-Ca), microalgae Spirulina Platensis (Sp.Pl.), dihydroquercetin (DHQ) separately and in combination with organic iodine (DHQ+OJ). As a result of the use of these feed factors, there were changes in the indicators of digestion in the rumen of cows and sheep. In cows under the influence of EF in the rumen chyme, in relation to the control, cellulolytic activity increased by 75,4 %, and amylolytic activity decreased by 17,0 %, the content of VFA increased by 3,9 % and acetate by 2,2 %, and the content of propionate, butyrate and ammonia decreased by 5,6; 6,2 and 3,3 %, respectively. At the same time, there was an increase in the number of bacteria by 6,2 % and ciliates by 2,6 %, with a stable pH of 6,8. The inclusion of EF + CCE in the diet of cows did not affect the pH of the chyme, equal to 7,2; increased the content of VFAs by 3,6 % and reduced the content of ammonia by 3,8 % had almost no effect on the number of microorganisms, but changed its composition – the number of bacteria increased by 27,8 %, and the number of ciliates decreased by 23,5 %. In sheep, under the influence of M-Ca in the chyme, there was an increase in pH from 6,31 to 6,54, the content of VFAs by 6,6 %, amylolytic activity by 1,7 %, the number of microorganisms by 1,4 %, incl. ciliates by 0,4 %, bacteria by 2,2 % and the ammonia content decreased by 16,4 %. under the influence of Sp.Pl. there was an increase in pH from 6,31 to 6,91, amylolytic activity by 6,1 %, and a decrease in the content of VFAs by 18,2 %, ammonia by 3,4 %, the number of microorganisms by 5,4 %, incl. ciliates by 19,2 % and bacteria by 8,4 %; under the influence of DHQ, there was an increase in pH from 5,7 to 6,4, a decrease in the content of VFAs by 18,9 %, amylolytic activity by 7,3 %, ammonia by 24,1 %, an increase in the number of microorganisms by 2,2 % incl. h bacteria by 26,5 % with a decrease in the number of ciliates by 27,3 %; under the influence of DHQ + OJ, there was an increase in pH from 5,7 to 5,8, amylolytic activity by 1,1 %, ammonia content by 16.5 %, the number of microorganisms by 15,3 %, incl. ciliates by 56,1 % and bacteria by 8,7 %. All feed factors, with the exception of DHQ+OJ, shifted the redox potential of the chyme towards reduction, and under the action of DHQ+OJ, towards oxidation.