ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Animal Nutrition and Metabolism
Dietary supplementation with microbially fermented rice bran promotes lactation performance in dairy cows by increasing rumen fermentation performance and nutrient digestibility
Provisionally accepted
Zixiao Zhang1
Wanhao Cai2
Xiaoshi Wei2Bo He3Yanze Liu2Xiaowei Zhang4Jinyong Yang4Fusheng Li5Zhefeng Li6*Chong Wang2*- 1Modern Farming (Group) Co., Ltd,, Maanshan, China
- 2Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, Hangzhou, China
- 3Yueqing Livestock and Veterinary Development Center, Yueqing, China
- 4Zhejiang Provincial Animal Husbandry Technology Promotion and Monitoring Station of Breeding Livestock and Poultry, Hangzhou, China
- 5Inner Mongolia Baihe Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Huhehaote, China
- 6Hangzhou king techina feed co., Ltd, Hangzhou, China
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Microbial fermentation not only mitigates rice bran rancidity but also enhances its nutritional value as an animal feed. This study aimed to explore the effects of dietary microbially fermented rice bran feed (MFRB) supplementation on lactation performance, nutrient digestibility, plasma biochemical indicators, rumen fermentation parameters and microbiota of lactating dairy cows. Thirty Holstein cows with similar milk yield (38.1 ± 1.0 kg/d), days in milk (282.8 ± 2.2 d) and parity (2.37 ± 0.1) were randomized into two groups: 1) CON (Control group, fed a basal diet); 2) MFRB (2.6% of pelleted corn was replaced with MFRB). The experiment consisted of a 7-day adaptation period followed by a 30-day experimental period. As a result, despite a lower dry matter intake, dairy cows fed MFRB achieved significantly higher milk yield, feed efficiency, milk fat yield, milk protein percentage, fat-corrected milk, and energy-corrected milk (P < 0.05). Apparent neutral detergent fiber digestibility was also significantly increased (P < 0.05), with trends toward increased dry matter and crude protein digestibility (0.05 < P < 0.1). Rumen fermentation shifted to a propionate-dominant pattern, with significantly higher levels of propionate, ammonia-N, microbial protein, and Prevotella abundance (P < 0.05). plasma triglycerides and glucose levels were increased, while alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase activities decreased (P < 0.05). In conclusion, these integrated changes demonstrate that MFRB enhanced rumen fermentation performance, nutrient utilization, and metabolic health, ultimately optimizing lactational performance.
Keywords: Dairy cow, Lactation performance, Microbially fermented rice bran feed, milk composition, Rumen microbial community
Received: 25 Sep 2025; Accepted: 30 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Cai, Wei, He, Liu, Zhang, Yang, Li, Li and Wang. 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:
Zhefeng Li
Chong Wang
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