Objective: This study aimed to determine the appropriate supplementation level of lactic acid bacteria (LAB; Lactobacillus plantarum and Bacillus clausii), yeast (Saccharomyces cariocanus and Wickerhamomyces anomalus) for degrading free gossypol and glucosinolate in the fermented total mixed ration (TMR) containing cottonseed meal (CSM) or rapeseed meal (RSM), to improve the utilization efficiency of these protein sources.Methods: For LAB, L. plantarum or B. clausii was inoculated at 1.0×108, 1.0×109, 1.0×1010, and 1.0×1011 colony-forming unit (CFU)/kg dry matter (DM), respectively. For yeast, S. cariocanus or W. anomalus was inoculated at 5×106, 5×107, 5×108, and 5×109 CFU/kg DM, respectively. The TMR had 50% moisture and was incubated at 30°C for 48 h. After fermentation, the chemical compositions, and the contents of free gossypol and glucosinolate were determined.Results: The results showed that the concentration of free gossypol content was reduced (p<0.05), while that of the crude protein content was increased (p<0.05) in the TMR containing CSM inoculated by B. clausii (1×109 CFU/kg DM) or S. cariocanus (5×109 CFU/kg DM). Similarly, the content of glucosinolate was lowered (p<0.05) and the crude protein content was increased (p<0.05) in TMR containing RSM inoculated with B. clausii (1×1010 CFU/kg DM) or S. cariocanus (5×109 CFU/g DM).Conclusion: This study confirmed that inclusion of B. clausii with 1.0×109 or 1.0×1010 CFU/kg DM, or S. cariocanus (5×109 CFU/kg DM) to TMR containing CSM/RSM improved the nutritional value and decreased the contents of anti-nutritional factors.

Cottonseed meal (CSM) and rapeseed meal (RSM) are protein sources in livestock feed. However, the applications of both ingredients are limited in diets due to the existence of anti-nutritional factors such as free gossypol and glucosinolate. The aim of this study was to determine the optimal fermentation conditions for reducing anti-nutritional factors and increasing the nutritional value of fermented total mixed rations containing cottonseed or rapeseed meal. An orthogonal design L9 (3⁴) was performed to optimize the fermentation conditions, including fermentation time, temperature, moisture content and microbial strain. Optimum fermentation conditions were performed using different fermentation times (48, 60, 72 h), fermentation temperatures (28 °C, 32 °C, 36 °C), moisture content (40%, 50%, 60%) and microbial inoculations (1 = Bacillus clausii with 1 × 10⁹ CFU/kg DM for CSM or 1 × 10¹⁰ CFU/kg DM for RSM; 2 = Saccharomyces cariocanus with 5 × 10⁹ CFU/kg DM; 3 = mixed strain (B. clausii:S. cariocanus ratio 1:1). The results show that the concentration of free gossypol content was reduced (p < 0.05), while the crude protein content was increased (p < 0.05) in CSM through optimum fermentation conditions: time 60 h; temperature 32 °C; moisture content 50% and inoculated with B. clausii (1 × 10⁹ CFU/kg DM) as well as S. cariocanus (5 × 10⁹ CFU/kg DM). Likewise, the concentration of glucosinolate was lowered (p < 0.05) and the crude protein was increased (p < 0.05) in RSM through optimum fermentation conditions: time 60 h; temperature 28 °C; moisture 50% and inoculated with B. clausii (1 × 10¹⁰ CFU/kg DM) as well as S. cariocanus (5 × 10⁹ CFU/kg DM). Our findings indicate that the optimal fermentation conditions of total mixed rations with cottonseed meal or rapeseed meal enhance the nutritional value, thereby making them viable and usable feedstuffs for potential use in livestock industries.

Protein sources in livestock feed include cottonseed meals (CSM) or rapeseed meals (RSM). However, their use in feed diets is restricted due to anti-nutritional elements such as free gossypol or glucosinolate. The main objective of this study was to determine the effect of microbial fermentation of total mixed ration (TMR) with CSM/RSM on the growth performance and meat quality of Hu lamb. Fifty-one male Hu lambs (4 months old) with a 22.51 kg body weight were randomly assigned to three treatments and fed unfermented TMR with soybean meal (control group), FTMR (fermented total mixed ration) with CSM or RSM, respectively. The experiment lasted 97 days. Growth performance, rumen fermentation, and meat quality were measured. Overall dry matter intake (DMI), average daily gain (ADG), and final body weight (FBW) were similar among treatments (p > 0.05). There were no significant differences in the lightness (L*), redness (a*), and yellowness (b*) of longissimus thoracis (LT) muscle meat. There were no significant differences between the FTMR-CSM/RSM and control groups in drip loss, cooking loss, cooking percentage rate, or shear force of LT muscle meat. Lambs fed FTMR-CSM had significantly higher rumen fluid total volatile fatty acid values than those in control or FTMR-RSM groups (p < 0.05). Meat from lambs fed FTMR-RSM had a higher level of saturated fatty acids than lambs fed the control diet. The LT muscle meat of lamb fed FTMR-CSM had more unsaturated fatty acids than the control group (p < 0.001). In conclusion, FTMR with cottonseed or rapeseed meal can be fed without causing any adverse effects on Hu lamb.

The purpose of this experiment was to evaluate changes in fermentation quality, chemical composition, aerobic stability, anti-nutritional factors, and in situ disappearance characteristics of various protein-based total mixed rations. Soybean meal (control, non-fermented), fermented cottonseed meal (F-CSM), and fermented rapeseed meal (F-RSM) group were used to prepare the TMRs with corn, whole-plant corn silage, corn stalks, wheat bran, and premix. The test groups were inoculated at 50% moisture with Bacillus clausii and Saccharomyces cariocanus and stored aerobically for 60 h. The nylon-bag method was used to measure and study the rumen’s nutrient degradation. The pH of all TMRs after 48 h of air exposure was below 4.8, whereas that of the F-CSM and control and F-RSM groups increased to 5.0 and >7.0, respectively. After 8 h of aerobic exposure, the temperatures of all groups significantly increased, and 56 h later, they were 2 °C higher than the surrounding air. The lactic acid concentration in the F-CSM and F-RSM groups increased after 12 h of aerobic exposure and then decreased. The acetic acid concentrations in the fermented groups decreased significantly with the increasing air-exposure time. The yeast population of the TMRs increased to more than 8.0 log₁₀ CFU/g before 72 h of air exposure, followed by a decrease in the population (5.0 log₁₀ CFU/g). After fermentation, the free gossypol (FG) concentration in F-CSM decreased by half and did not change significantly during the air-exposure period. Fermentation with probiotics also reduced the F-RSM’s glucosinolate concentration, resulting in a more than 50% detoxification rate. Compared with the F-CSM and F-RSM groups, the effective degradation rates of nutrients in the control group were the lowest, and the dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), natural detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF) all degraded effectively at rates of 28.4%, 34.5%, 27.8%, and 22.8%, respectively. Fermentation with B. clausii and S. cariocanus could improve the fermentation quality and nutrient composition, decrease the anti-nutritional factor, and increase nutrient degradation of the TMR with cottonseed meal or rapeseed meal as the main protein source, thus achieving detoxification.