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Microbiological and chemical profiles of elephant grass inoculated with and without Lactobacillus plantarum and Pediococcus acidilactici

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Abstract

The study was conducted to evaluate the microbiological and chemical profiles of elephant grass inoculated with and without different wild strains of lactic acid bacteria. Silage was prepared of four treatments and one control with three replicates as control (EKC, adding 2 ml/kg sterilizing water), Lactobacillus plantarum (USA commercial bacteria) (EKP), Lactobacillus plantarum (EKA), Pediococcus acidilactici (EKB), and Pediococcus acidilactici (SKD) isolated from King grass. Silage were prepared using polyethylene terephthalate bottles, and incubated at room temperature for different ensiling days. The pH and acetic acid (AA) were significantly (P < 0.05) reduced and lactic acid (LA), butyric acid (BA), and ethanol were significantly increased (P < 0.05) at 3, 5, 7, and 14 days in treatment groups as compared to control. Water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) and NH3–N concentration was not affected at days 3, 5, and 7, but significantly (P < 0.05) reduced at 14 days in treatment groups as compared to control. The LA, BA, and ethanol were significantly (P < 0.05) increased and AA, WSC NH3–N, and yeast were significantly (P < 0.05) decreased at 30 days of ensiling in treatment groups as compared to control. It is recommended that the inoculation of LAB could improve the fermentation quality of elephant grass silage and further effort is needed to evaluate these effects on silage produced on farm scale and on animal production performance.

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Acknowledgements

This work were supported by 31672488, 2016YFC0502005 and 2016ZDKJZC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Ensiling and Processing of Grass, Nanjing Agricultural University, Weigang 1, Nanjing, 210095, People’s Republic of China

    Assar Ali Shah, Yuan Xianjun, Dong Zhihao, Li Junfeng & Tao Sao

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  1. Assar Ali Shah
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  2. Yuan Xianjun
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  3. Dong Zhihao
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  4. Li Junfeng
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  5. Tao Sao
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Correspondence to Tao Sao.

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Communicated by Erko Stackebrandt.

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Shah, A.A., Xianjun, Y., Zhihao, D. et al. Microbiological and chemical profiles of elephant grass inoculated with and without Lactobacillus plantarum and Pediococcus acidilactici . Arch Microbiol 200, 311–328 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-017-1447-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-017-1447-1

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