Effect of live yeast culture supplementation on apparent digestibility and rate of passage in horses fed a high-fiber or high-starch diet.
Abstract: Eight crossbred male horses aged 12 +/- 5 yr and with BW of 305 +/- 18 kg were used in pairs in a 4 x 4 Latin square design with 4 ground and pelleted diets. Each pair included a cecum and right ventral colon-fistulated animal and a cecal-fistulated animal. The 4 horse diets were a high-fiber diet (HF+0) based on dehydrated alfalfa, a high-starch diet based on barley and wheat bran (HS+0), and the HF or HS diets supplemented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae (SC) CBS 493.94 (HF+SC and HS+SC). The probiotic preparation contained 4.5 x 10(9) cfu/g of live yeast mixed with the culture medium, and was top-dressed onto the feed pellets at a rate of 10 g/d, equally distributed between the 2 daily meals. All 4 diets were offered in the same quantities (18.0 g of pelleted feed DM + 3.5 g of long wheat straw/kg of BW per d). Each of the 4 experimental treatments was divided into a 21-d period of diet adaptation followed by a 10-d period of total fecal collection for digesta flow rate and apparent digestibility measurements. Three markers were used to measure mean retention time (MRT) of the feed particles: Yb bound to the pelleted feeds for MRT in the whole digestive tract (MRT(Yb)), Eu bound to the pelleted feeds, and Dy bound to the fecal particles for MRT in the hindgut (MRT(Eu) and MRT(Dy)). Apparent digestibilities of DM, OM, and CP were greater (P < 0.001) in the HS than HF diet, independently of SC supplementation, whereas ADF digestibility was greatest in the HF diet (P = 0.035). Cellulolytic activity estimated through the in vitro disappearance rate of the dietary ADF fraction (IVAD(ADF)) was less (P < 0.001) in the HS than the HF diet. There was no dietary effect on NDF digestibility due to the longer MRT(Eu) of small particles in the hindgut (P = 0.036), which compensated for the lower fibrolytic activity expressed per unit of time in the HS compared with the HF diet. Supplementation with SC improved ADF digestibility (P = 0.038) and stimulated DM (P = 0.030) and NDF (P = 0.038) intakes, but had no effect on the MRT of solid digesta. The absence of any significant diet x SC interaction supports the strategy of using SC to stimulate cellulose digestion and improve the nutritional status of horses under both HF and HS diets.
Publication Date: 2007-10-02 PubMed ID: 17911241DOI: 10.2527/jas.2006-796Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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The research paper investigates the impact of live yeast culture supplementation on two main diets for horses – high-fiber (HF) and high-starch (HS). The researchers analyzed the differences in digestibility and the overall impact on horse nutrition.
Methodology
- The study used eight crossbred male horses, with their ages averaging at 12 and body weight at around 305 kg. These horses were used in pairs and the study was structured with a 4 x 4 Latin square design.
- Four different diets were prepared: a high-fiber diet based on dehydrated alfalfa (HF+0), a high-starch diet based on barley and wheat bran (HS+0), and modified versions of these two diets supplemented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a type of yeast (HF+SC and HS+SC).
- The yeast was top-dressed on the feed pellets at a rate of 10g per day, distributed among two daily meals.
- Each horse’s diet was followed by a 10-day period of total fecal collection to measure digestion and passage rate.
- Some elements of the feed and fecal matter were bound to specific markers to allow the researchers to estimate retention time in the digestive tract.
Findings
- The high-starch (HS) diet demonstrated greater digestibility of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), and crude protein (CP) compared to the high-fiber (HF) diet. This was found regardless of the yeast supplementation.
- However, acid detergent fiber (ADF) digested better in the high-fiber (HF) diet.
- The cellulolytic activity, which refers to the breaking down of cellulose, was lower in the high-starch diet than in the high-fiber diet.
- Supplementation with yeast improved the digestibility of acid detergent fiber (ADF). It also encouraged the intake of dry matter (DM) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF), but had no impact on the mean retention time of solid digesta.
- There was no significant interaction observed between the diet type and yeast supplementation; the beneficial effects of yeast were largely the same whether the diet was high in starch or fiber.
Conclusion
This research suggests that supplementary yeast can help to improve cellulose digestion in horses, potentially enhancing the nutritional status of the animals. The boost to horses’ nutritional status was seen regardless of whether they consumed a high-fiber or a high-starch diet, and the supplementation did not affect the speed at which digesta moved through the digestive tract.
Cite This Article
APA
Jouany JP, Gobert J, Medina B, Bertin G, Julliand V.
(2007).
Effect of live yeast culture supplementation on apparent digestibility and rate of passage in horses fed a high-fiber or high-starch diet.
J Anim Sci, 86(2), 339-347.
https://doi.org/10.2527/jas.2006-796 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- INRA, UR1213 Herbivores, Site de Theix, 63122 Saint Genes Champanelle, France.
MeSH Terms
- Animal Feed
- Animals
- Colony Count, Microbial / veterinary
- Dietary Fiber / metabolism
- Dietary Supplements
- Digestion
- Gastrointestinal Transit
- Horses / metabolism
- Kinetics
- Male
- Probiotics / administration & dosage
- Random Allocation
- Saccharomyces cerevisiae / metabolism
- Starch / metabolism
Citations
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