Aim: This study was aimed to compare the efficacy of dietary Cordyceps militaris spent mushroom substrate (CMS) on growth performance, immunity, metabolic profiles, and antioxidant capacity in growing pigs. Materials and Methods: Seventy-two crossbred growing pigs (Duroc×Landrace×Yorkshire) with an average initial body weight (BW) of 25.78±0.33 kg were allotted into two dietary treatments in six pens (six growing pigs each). Dietary treatments were (i) control and (ii) supplemented group with 2 g/kg CMS. Results: Growing pigs fed with 2 g/kg CMS showed improvements in final BW (p=0.034) and average daily weight gain (p=0.039). Moreover, there were positive changes in immunoglobulin A (p=0.013), immunoglobulin G (p=0.019), total antioxidant capacity (p=0.001), and glutathione peroxidase activity (p=0.003), whereas decreased leukocyte percentage (p=0.002), cholesterol (p=0.023), and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations (p=0.002) were noted in the CMS supplemented treatment. Average daily feed intake, gain-to-feed ratio, glucose, aspartate aminotransferase, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein were unaffected by the treatments. Conclusion: Supplementation of CMS at 2 g/kg of diet increases growth performance, immunoglobulin secretion, and antioxidant capacity, whereas it lowers leukocyte percentage, cholesterol, and MDA concentrations in growing pigs.

Background and Aim: Weaning pigs normally suffer from many stressors which have impaired growth performance and immunity. Hydrolyzed yeast has been proposed as an alternative feed additive. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of various levels of hydrolyzed yeast (HY) supplementation in the feed of weaning pigs on growth performance, diarrhea incidence, immunity, antioxidant capacity, and microbial populations. Materials and Methods: A total of 144 crossbred weaning pigs (Duroc × Landrace × Large White) with a mean body weight (BW) of 7.46 kg were randomly assigned to one of four treatments during a 5-week feeding trial. Treatments consisted of a basal diet without HY inclusion (control), or the basal diet supplemented with HY at 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 g/kg of diet, respectively. Results: Piglets fed with 1.0 or 1.5 g/kg HY presented significantly increased BW (p=0.009) and decreased incidence of diarrhea (p=0.001). The final BW (p=0.012), average daily gain (p=0.094), and average daily feed intake (p=0.091) showed a linear improvement with the level of HY inclusion. However, the gain-to-feed ratio was unaffected by dietary treatments. Linear responses to the HY supplementation levels were also observed for blood urea nitrogen (p=0.030), total protein (p=0.017), lymphocyte percentage (p=0.064), catalase activity (p=0.089), malondialdehyde (MDA) level (p=0.001), Salmonella spp. (p=0.024), Escherichia coli (p=0.021), and Lactobacillus spp. (p=0.048). Dietary inclusion of HY at 1.0 and 1.5 g/kg resulted in increased immunoglobulin A and G secretions (p=0.042 and p=0.022, respectively) and decreased MDA concentration (p<0.01) and Salmonella spp. (p=0.026) and E. coli (p=0.050). Conclusion: It was concluded that HY inclusion at 1.0 and 1.5 g/kg in the diet of weaning pigs improve BW, immunoglobulin secretion, and antioxidant enzyme activity, whereas it lowers diarrhea occurrence, lipid peroxidation, and pathogenic bacteria in weaning pigs.

This study was conducted to determine the effects of chestnut hydrolysable tannin (CHT) on intake, digestibility, rumen fermentation, milk yield and somatic cell count in crossbred dairy cows (>75% Holstein Friesian). Four crossbred dairy cows (467.6 ± 35.2 kg BW) were assigned to be supplemented with one of four levels of CHT according to a 4 × 4 Latin square design. Dietary treatments included the control (without CHT supplementation) and CHT treatments that consisted of supplementation with 3.15, 6.30 and 9.45 g CHT/day. Rice straw was given ad libitum. The results showed that increasing levels of CHT tended to quadratically decrease rice straw intake (p = 0.06). However, total dry matter intake (DMI) and other nutrients were not different (p > 0.05) among the dietary treatments. The apparent digestibility of DM, organic matter (OM) and crude protein (CP) in cows with CHT treatments were higher (p < 0.05) than those of control cows. Milk yield and milk composition were not different (p > 0.05) among treatments. Lactose yield tended to increase linearly (p = 0.09) as CHT supplementation increased. Ruminal pH and ammonia nitrogen (NH₃-N) were not different (p > 0.05), but total volatile fatty acids (VFAs) increased linearly (p < 0.05) as CHT levels increased. The somatic cell count (SCC) and somatic cell score (SCS) in the CHT treatments were different (p < 0.01) than those in the control treatment. In conclusion, it appears that CHT supplementation improved feed utilization and influenced SCC in crossbred dairy cows. Long-term research is needed to confirm the benefit of CHT supplementation.

There are limited published reports regarding the optimal dosage of spent mushroom. This study investigated the effect of various levels of spent mushroom derived from C. militaris as an alternative growth promoter to an in-feed antibiotic on the growth performance, blood profiles, immunoglobulin, inflammation, and microbial count of weaning pigs. A total of 120 pigs (6.63 ± 0.13 kg initial body weight) were blocked by weight and sex in a randomized complete block design. Each treatment had six replicates of four pigs each. The pigs were allotted into five treatments: (1) positive control (PC) with 150 mg/kg colistin; (2) negative control (NC) without antibiotic inclusion; and (3–5) negative control groups with 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 g/kg of C. militariss pent mushroom (SM), respectively. Blood samples were collected at day 35 for determination of blood-related lipid metabolism and immunity. Fresh fecal samples were collected to examine microbial counts on day 35 postweaning. The results showed that SM at 1.5 g/kg improved the body weight, average daily weight gain, and average daily feed intake of weaning pigs in the overall period (p < 0.05). Moreover, the highest dosage of SM caused improvements in the concentrations of high-density lipoprotein, and immunoglobulin A, along with suppressions of total cholesterol, interleukin-1, tumor necrosis factor-α, and E. coli (p < 0.05). Therefore, the weaned pigs fed a 1.5 g/kg SM diet showed improved growth performance and displayed greater immunoglobulin secretion and lower inflammation, pathogenic population, and cholesterol concentration.

Modification of starches in high-energy feeds using various treatment methods led to the diverse effects on ruminal degradation and bypass protein and starch. Thus, the objectives of the present experiment were to investigate the effects of modification methods applied to high-starch energy feed sources on ruminal degradability and bypass nutrients determined using in situ and in vitro gas production techniques. This experiment was designed using a 2×4 factorial arrangement in a completely randomized design (CRD). The first factor was high-starch energy feed consisted of two levels, i.e., corn grain and cassava chips. The second factor was the treating method consisted of four levels, i.e., no treatment, steam treatment, NaOH treatment, and steam with NaOH treatment. Chemical composition, ruminal in situ disappearance, bypass of crude protein (CP) and non-fiber carbohydrate (NFC), and gas production characteristics were measured in pre-treated and post-treated samples. The results showed that significant interactions (p<0.01) between high-starch energy feed sources and treating methods were observed with respect to CP, ether extract (EE), and NFC, dry matter degradability (DMD), effective degradation (ED), and effective gas production (EP). Cassava chips had lower CP and EE but higher NFC, DMD, ED, and EP (p0.05) in cassava chips and corn grain. DMD, ED, and EP of treated cassava chips were lower, while bypass CP and bypass NFC of treated cassava chips were higher than untreated cassava chips (p<0.05). On the contrary, treated corn grain led to higher DMD, ED, and EP, but lower bypass CP and bypass NFC than untreated corn grain did (p<0.01). DMD and gas production characteristics in cassava chips and corn grain showed significant correlations between in situ nylon bags and in vitro gas production techniques within each high-starch energy feed source. In conclusion, steam and NaOH treatments are two alternative methods that can modify the starches of high-starch energy feeds to alter ruminal degradation by decreasing solubility and degradability in cassava chips but increasing degradability in corn grain.

Background and Aim: Hydrolyzable tannins are an important group of secondary plant metabolites, which are known for antimicrobial activity. This study aimed to assess the efficiency with which a hydrolyzable tannin extract from sweet chestnut wood (Castanea sativa Mill.) could inhibit mastitis-causing bacteria in vitro. Materials and Methods: The negative control used was sterile water, and the positive controls were penicillin and gentamicin. The treatments included five concentrations of hydrolyzable tannins (63, 190, 313, 630, and 940 mg/mL). In cows with subclinical mastitis, the bacteria causing the disease were isolated and identified. Then, the antibacterial activity of the hydrolyzable tannin extract was assessed by the disk diffusion method, by determining the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and by determining the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). Results: Penicillin inhibited (p0.05) the growth of Streptococcus agalactiae, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. However, gentamicin and hydrolyzable tannins could inhibit (p<0.01) all isolated bacteria. Increasing the concentration of hydrolyzable tannin extract resulted in a quadratic increase in the inhibition zone diameter of S. aureus and S. agalactiae and a linear increase in the inhibition zone diameter of E. coli, K. pneumoniae, and P. aeruginosa. In addition, 630 and 940 mg/mL of hydrolyzable tannin extract showed the highest antibacterial activity against S. agalactiae and E. coli (p<0.01), while 940 mg/mL concentration had the highest antibacterial activity against K. pneumoniae (p<0.01). The MIC and MBC of the extract were 27.3-190 mg/mL and 58.8-235 mg/mL, respectively, with the MBC: MIC ratio being 2:1. Conclusion: The antimicrobial activity of the hydrolyzable tannin extract against subclinical mastitis bacteria was comparable to the antibiotics (positive controls) at concentrations over 630 mg/mL. Although these in vitro findings are promising, further research is needed to determine whether hydrolyzable tannins could be used to control or prevent subclinical mastitis in dairy cows.