Background: The purpose of the study described here was to evaluate the effects of different supportive treatments - such as antioxidants, immunomodulators, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) - in mastitic cows treated with intramammary antibiotics on the efficacy of mastitis therapy and fertility indices. Fertility indices, including time to first insemination, conception rate, time between calving and conception (open days), and number of services per conception (insemination index), were evaluated for 300 dairy cows. Sixty cows without apparent clinical signs of mastitis were assigned 100 days after calving to a Control group. Another 240 cows with clinical mastitis were systematically divided into four experimental groups (I–IV) of 60 cows each. All mastitic cows were treated with approved intramammary antibiotics in recommended doses. Cows in Group I were treated with intramammary antibiotics only. Cows in Groups II, III, and IV, received intramammary antibiotic therapy and a single injection with antioxidants, an immunomodulator (lysozyme dimer), or an NSAID (flunixin meglumine), respectively. Results: The lowest treatment efficacy of mastitic quarters and cows was noted in Group I (51.6 and 53.3%; p > 0.05). The best recovery rate was noted in Group II (63.3 and 66.7%; p > 0.05), followed by Group III (58.3 and 60.9%) and Group IV (58.3 and 58.0%; p > 0.05). The above data did not differ statistically (p > 0.05). The animals with mastitis (Groups I–IV) showed prolonged time to first insemination, more open days, higher insemination index, and lower conception rate than the control cows (p < 0.05). The conception rate of healthy cows and of successfully treated cows was insignificantly lower than that of cows required prolonged antibiotic therapy. Supportive treatments improved the mastitis recovery rate compared with intramammary antibiotics only. The efficacy of mastitis treatments affected the reproduction indices: in cows requiring prolonged treatment with antioxidants, a shorter time to first insemination was needed than in other groups (p < 0.05). Fewer days open were observed between the group with antioxidants and the control group (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Clinical mastitis negatively affects reproductive indices (days open, pregnancy rate after first AI, NSC) in dairy cows. Different types of supportive medicine, such as antioxidants (vitamin C and E, and β-carotene), lysozyme dimer, or NSAID can be useful in improving fertility in mastitis cows treated with antibiotic only. It has been proven that each supportive treatment improved antibiotics efficiency and the antibiotic combined with the antioxidants was the most effective treatment.

Ensiling grass with microbial inoculants is a promising strategy to enhance forage quality, animal performance, and environmental sustainability. This study evaluated the effects of a multi-strain inoculant (Lactobacillus plantarum, L. buchneri, Propionibacterium acidipropionici, and P. thoeni) on silage fermentation, nutrient digestibility, milk production, methane emissions, and rumen microbiota in dairy cows. In a 2 × 2 crossover design, 24 lactating Polish Holstein–Friesians were fed total mixed rations differing only in grass silage treated with or without inoculant. Inoculated silage had lower pH (4.56 vs. 5.06; p = 0.02) and higher crude protein (129 vs. 111 g/kgDM; p < 0.05). Cows fed inoculated silage showed higher ruminal propionate (28.3 vs. 26.3 mM; p = 0.03), reduced ammonia (7.61 vs. 8.67 mM; p = 0.02), and fewer protozoa (1.21 vs. 1.66 × 10⁵/mL; p = 0.03). Nutrient digestibility improved (p < 0.05), while methane emissions declined both per cow (368 vs. 397 g/d; p = 0.01) and per kgDMI (15.1 vs. 16.5; p = 0.01). Milk yield increased (p = 0.04), and the fatty acid profile improved. Our study revealed that cows fed inoculated silage had higher nutrient digestibility, lower methane emissions, and microbial shifts in the rumen detected by 16S rRNA sequencing (p < 0.05).

Corrigendum: Impact of Zinc and/or Herbal Mixture on Ruminal Fermentation, Microbiota, and Histopathology in Lambs

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of supplementation strategies containing rumen-protected glucose (RPG) on growth performance, colonic fermentation characteristics, bacterial community structure, carcass traits, and meat quality in Simmental beef cattle.Methods: Thirty Simmental bulls with an initial body weighing 578.4±14.7 kg were randomly assigned to three dietary treatments for 90 d, with 10 animals per treatment. All animals received the same basal total mixed ration, to which the treatment supplements were added. The treatments were CON, unprotected glucose (150 g/d) plus coating fat (150 g/d); T1, RPG (100 g/d) plus unprotected glucose (100 g/d) and coating fat (100 g/d); and T2, RPG (300 g/d). Growth performance was recorded throughout the trial. At the end of the experiment, colonic digesta were collected for fermentation and bacterial community analyses, and carcass traits and meat quality were evaluated after slaughter.Results: T1 and T2 exhibited higher average daily gains (ADGs) compared to CON (p<0.05), while feed efficiency differed marginally among treatments (p = 0.049). In colonic digesta, propionate concentrations were higher in T1 and T2 than in CON, and butyrate concentration was higher in T2 than in CON and T1 (p<0.05). Alpha diversity was not affected by treatment; however, unweighted UniFrac-based principal coordinate analysis showed differences in the overall colonic bacterial community structure among treatments. At the phylum and genus levels, several taxa showed nominal differences based on raw p values, but these were not retained after false discovery rate correction. Hot carcass weight and meat weight were greater in T1 and T2 than in CON (p<0.05). Intramuscular fat content was higher in T2 than in CON (p<0.05), whereas most other meat quality traits were not significantly affected.Conclusion: Under the conditions of this study, the supplementation strategies containing RPG were associated with increased overall ADG, hot carcass weight, and meat weight in Simmental beef cattle. These strategies were also associated with higher colonic propionate and butyrate levels, indicating changes in hindgut fermentation. The higher-RPG strategy (T2) was associated with increased intramuscular fat content.