Ensiling is one of the best known method to preserve fodder. The forage before ensiling intended for silages usually contains a low number of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), so it is necessary to apply starter cultures of selected strains. Traditionally, LAB starter cultures were applied to lower the pH by producing lactic acid and to inhibit the growth of undesirable epiphytic microorganisms by competing for nutrients. Nowadays, LAB inoculants have become an effective tool for creating microbial quality of silages by selecting species with extraordinary features. Epiphytic microflora characteristic of plant material used for the production of silages and the sources of undesirable microflora in the ensiling process are discussed. This review focuses on the most frequently studied issues related to the microbial silage quality and the recent trends in increasing the quality by LAB inoculants, with respect to recent directions for selecting types of modern LAB for inoculation. Among them, the main trends described were prevention of the growth of filamentous fungi and detoxification of mycotoxins by LAB inoculants, inhibition of yeast growth by LAB present in preparations and limiting the development of pathogenic bacterial microflora through controlled fermentation with the participation of LAB and the presence of their metabolites.

There is a significant range of bacterial inoculants for forage ensiling, but there is still a need for formulations to improve the safety of feed. The objective of the study was to evaluate the usefulness of three lactobacilli strains in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) The following bacterial inoculants were used: Lactocacillus plantarum K KKP 593p (LPK), L. plantarum C KKP 788p (LPC), L. buchneri KKP 907p (LB), and mix of all three strains (LPK+LPC+LB). The application of bacterial inoculants in alfalfa ensiling resulted in a reduction of the total number of molds, Clostridium perfringens and Listeria sp. (up to 5, 7, and 5 times respectively for LB inoculant in comparison to untreated silage). Total inhibition of Salmonella sp. and Escherichia coli growth was achieved in silages treated with all inoculants except for LPC. Aerobic stability in the control silage was the lowest (77 h) and doubled under the influence of bacterial inoculants. The most stable according to aerobic stability was silage treated with LB inoculant (175 h), where the highest concentrations of acetic acid (4.8 g kg -1 ), propionic acid (0.7 g kg -1 ) and 1,2-propanediol (526 mg kg -1 ) were reported. The study discussed that it is important to evaluate not only the effect of bacterial inoculants on physicochemical and microbiological silage properties, as the presence and expression of antibiotic resistance genes in lactic acid bacteria have been reported. The results of antimicrobial susceptibility testing of the strains showed that almost all minimum inhibitory concentrations values for eight antibiotics were equal to or below the corresponding breakpoints proposed by the European Food Safety Authority, Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed Panel.

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As silage is one of the most important feed sources for dairy cattle it is recommended for farmers to preserve silage by fermentation. Interaction of the five strains of Lactobacillus genera [Lactobacillus buchneri A KKP 2047 p (LB), L. reuteri M KKP 2048 p (LR), L. plantarum K KKP 593 p (LPk), L. plantarum S KKP 2021 p (LPs), L. fermentum N KKP 2020 p (LF)] has been shown aiming to increase the safety of corn grain silage fodder. Experiments were conducted in polyethylene microsilos for 48 days and on production scale in an experimental farm for 3 years. Synergistic activity of the studied bacterial strains in terms of reducing aflatoxin B1 and ochratoxin A levels was clear in these experimental variants wherein to the inoculants of the LB + LR strains subsequent bacterial strains LPk, LPs and LF were sequentially added. Silages inoculated with five bacterial strains were free from pathogens and showed the lowest yeast and mold count values among all experimental variants. As a result of employing the preparation starter culture for ensiling corn grain there were obtained silages characterized by high stability, microbiological and chemical purity, thus safe in feeding livestock.

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