Effects of dietary feed supplementation with heat-treated Lactobacillus sakei HS-1 on the health status, blood parameters, and fecal microbes of Japanese Black calves before weaning.

Background and Aim: Our previous research suggested that heat-killed Lactobacillus sakei HS-1 (HK-LS HS-1) is potentially beneficial for improving intestinal microbes and reducing the number of medical treatments. This study aimed to investigate the effect of HK-LS HS-1 as a supplement in milk replacers (MRs) on clinical health during the 1-month preweaning period. Materials and Methods: Eighteen female calves were randomly assigned to either a group receiving the HK-LS HS-1 supplement (n = 9) or a control group without it (n = 9). We then investigated the effect of including supplementary HK-LS HS-1; 0.2% in MRs twice daily at 09:00 and 16:00 on the health, serum biochemical parameters (measured using an automated biochemical analyzer), and fecal bacteriological changes of preweaning Japanese Black calves at the day of the start of supplementation (before HK-LS HS-1 supplementation; day 0), at weaning (day 30), and at 2 weeks (day 45) and 4 weeks (day 60) after weaning. Results: During the supplementation period (0-30 days), (1) an increase (p = 0.023) was observed in albumin, and there was a tendency of increase in total cholesterol level in the HK-LS HS-1 group but not in the control group; (2) substantial differences were obtained after the weaning period (30-60 days), although no differences were observed from 0-30 days in both groups. The anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) level was substantially increased after weaning in the control group. No differences were observed in the amounts of Coliform spp. and Staphylococcaceae spp. between the two groups; thus, HK-LS HS-1 supplementation had similar antibacterial effects. A significant reduction was observed in the time to weaning of the HK-LS HS-1 group in the field trial. Conclusion: Supplementation with HK-LS HS-1 from an early stage after birth to weaning is a cost-effective treatment to improve the growth rate of preweaning calves. However, supplementation during only preweaning periods appears to have no beneficial effects on preventing weaning stress, especially in terms of AMH levels.

Mitigation of sterigmatocystin exposure in cattle by difructose anhydride III feed supplementation and detection of urinary sterigmatocystin and serum amyloid A concentrations.

We evaluated the effects of supplementing cattle feed with difructose anhydride III (DFA III) by measuring urinary sterigmatocystin (STC) concentrations using 20 Japanese Black cattle aged 9-10 months from one herd. DFA III was supplemented for 2 weeks for 10 animals, and non-treated animals served as controls. The natural STC concentration in the dietary feed was 0.06  mg kg - 1 (mixture of roughage and concentrate) at the beginning of the study (Day 0). The urine STC concentration was measured using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry 1 d prior to DFA III administration, 9 and 14 d thereafter, and 9 d following supplementation cessation, concomitant with the measurement of serum amyloid A (SAA). The number of heifers in which STC was detected in the urine was low (10 %) in the DFA III group compared to that (60 %) in the control group on Day 9. After 9 d following supplementation cessation (Day 23), STC concentrations were significantly lower ( P = 0.032 ) in the DFA III group than in the control group, although there was no difference in the number of heifers in which urinary STC was detected or in SAA concentrations between the two groups. Our findings demonstrate the effect of DFA III on reducing the urinary concentration of STC in Japanese Black cattle.

Effects of dietary feed supplementation of heat-treated Lactobacillus sakei HS-1 on the health status, blood parameters, and fecal microbes of Japanese Black calves.

This study investigated the effect of heat-killed Lactobacillus sakei HS-1 (HK-LS HS-1) on the health and fecal bacteriological change of suckling Japanese Black calves as a supplement in milk replacers. Twelve calves were separated from dams to calf-hatch after calving for milk replacers feeding. They were randomly assigned to an HK-LS HS-1 supplement or a control without HK-LS HS-1 group in milk replacers. HK-LS HS-1 was administered from separation day to 3 weeks. Blood and fecal samples were examined. Two calves with a haptoglobin concentration of >500 µg/ml on day 0 were excluded from the experiment, and 10 calves were finally included. Glucose and vitamin A levels on day 7 were significantly higher (P<0.05) in the supplement group than in the control group. No significant differences were observed in haptoglobin or serum amyloid A between the groups. The number of Escherichia coli in feces was lower in the control group than in the supplement group on day 21 (P=0.06). No difference was observed in the number of bifidobacteria, but that of lactic acid bacteria was significantly higher (P<0.05) in the supplement group on day 21. The number of medications administered was significantly lower (P<0.05) in the supplement group (5.2 ± 3.9) than in the control group (10.6 ± 5.9) during the experimental period. The results indicated that HK-LS HS-1 is potentially beneficial for improving intestinal microbes and reducing the number of medical treatments.