ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Vet. Sci.

Sec. Animal Nutrition and Metabolism

Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1557614

This article is part of the Research TopicNatural Compounds/Products and Livestock Productivity: Enhancing Antioxidant Levels, Gut Health, Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Disease ControlView all 34 articles

Enhancing Fermentation Quality and Fiber Decomposition of Phragmites australis Silage by Introducing Bacillus subtilis and Lactic Acid Bacteria Consortia

Provisionally accepted
Yong LiuYong Liu1Songbai ZhangSongbai Zhang2Junrui LiaoJunrui Liao3Nazir Ahmad KhanNazir Ahmad Khan3Shaoxun TangShaoxun Tang3Chuanshe ZhouChuanshe Zhou3Zhiliang TanZhiliang Tan3Asmaa ElnagarAsmaa Elnagar4Ibrahim F. RehanIbrahim F. Rehan4František ZigoFrantišek Zigo5Abdelfattah Z. M. SalemAbdelfattah Z. M. Salem6*
  • 1Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Changsha, Hunan Province, China
  • 2Guangdong Wulonggang Aquatic Technology Development Co., Ltd., Guangdong, China
  • 3Key Laboratory of Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Changsha, Hunan Province, China
  • 4Faculty of Pharmacy, Meijo University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
  • 5University of Veterinary Medicine in Kosice, Košice, KoSice, Slovakia
  • 6Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Toluca, Mexico

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As a low-cost, high-fibre biomass resource, Phragmites australis (reed) has significant potential for feed applications, particularly as a partial replacement for conventional roughage in ruminant diets. This study investigated the effects of integrating Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis BNCC109047) with homofermentative/heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria (LAB) consortia on the fermentation and nutritional quality of Phragmites australis (reed) silage. Five treatments were evaluated: a Control (CK, without inoculum) and four inoculants-LAB (1.5× 10 8 CFU/kg LAB, 1:4 homofermentative (Lentilactobacillus plantarum BNCC 336421 and Pediococcus pentosaceus BNCC 135034 in a ratio of 1:1): heterofermentative (L. buchneri BNCC 187961) ratio), LAB-BS2.5 (LAB plus 2.5 × 10 7 CFU/kg B. subtilis), LAB-BS5.0 (LAB plus 5.0 × 10 7 CFU/kg B. subtilis), and LAB-BS10.0 (LAB plus 1.0 × 10 8 CFU/kg B. subtilis)-with triplicate samples per group. Silage fermentation was conducted for 90 days. LAB-BS10.0 demonstrated superior fermentation outcomes, achieving the highest lactic acid-to-total acid ratio (62.3%, p < 0.05) and the lowest ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) content (0.60 ± 0.09 g/kg, p < 0.05). Acetic and butyric acid concentrations were significantly reduced (p < 0.05), while neutral detergent fiber (NDF) decreased by 5.9% compared to the Control. Ether extract (EE) increased to 4.76% (p < 0.01), highlighting enhanced lipid preservation. These results emphasize the synergistic potential of B. subtilis and LAB to optimize P. australis silage, providing a sustainable strategy to enhance forage quality and tackle global feed shortages.

Keywords: Silage, Microbial inoculant, Homofermentative, Heterofermentative, Lactobacillus, reed, Silage quality

Received: 08 Jan 2025; Accepted: 02 May 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Liu, Zhang, Liao, Khan, Tang, Zhou, Tan, Elnagar, Rehan, Zigo and Salem. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Abdelfattah Z. M. Salem, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Toluca, Mexico

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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