Abstract

Subacute rumen acidosis (SARA) occurs when highly fermentable carbohydrates are introduced into the diet, decreasing pH and disturbing the microbial ecology of the rumen. Rumen amylolytic bacteria rapidly catabolize starch, fermentation acids accumulate in the rumen and reduce environmental pH. Historically, antibiotics (e.g., monensin, MON) have been used in the prevention and treatment of SARA. Biochanin A (BCA), an isoflavone produced by red clover (Trifolium pratense), mitigates changes associated with starch fermentation ex vivo. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of BCA on amylolytic bacteria and rumen pH during a SARA challenge. Twelve rumen fistulated steers were assigned to 1 of 4 treatments: HF CON (high fiber control), SARA CON, MON (200 mg d-1), or BCA (6 g d-1). The basal diet consisted of corn silage and dried distiller’s grains ad libitum. The study consisted of a 2-wk adaptation, a 1-wk HF period, and an 8-d SARA challenge (d 1–4: 40% corn; d 5–8: 70% cracked corn). Samples for pH and enumeration were taken on the last day of each period (4 h). Amylolytic, cellulolytic, and amino acid/peptide-fermenting bacteria (APB) were enumerated. Enumeration data were normalized by log transformation and data were analyzed by repeated measures ANOVA using the MIXED procedure of SAS. The SARA challenge increased total amylolytics and APB, but decreased pH, cellulolytics, and in situ DMD of hay (P < 0.05). BCA treatment counteracted the pH, microbiological, and fermentative changes associated with SARA challenge (P < 0.05). Similar results were also observed with MON (P < 0.05). These results indicate that BCA may be an effective alternative to antibiotics for mitigating SARA in cattle production systems.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-21-2021

Notes/Citation Information

Published in PLOS ONE, v. 16, issue 7, e0253754.

This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253754

Funding Information

This work was funded by USDA-ARS National Program 101 - Food Animal Production (ARS Project #: 5042-32630-003-00D), awarded to authors BH, MF, and JK. This research was supported in part by an appointment to the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Research Participation Program administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) through an interagency agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). ORISE is managed by ORAU under DOE contract number DE-AC05-06OR23100.

pone.0253754.s001.tif (525 kB)
S1 Fig. Effect of biochanin A on the viable number of gelatin-hydrolyzing bacteria in rumen fluid (4 h post-feeding). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253754.s001

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