Effects of adding Sophora alopecuroides to high concentrate diet on rumen fermentation parameters and microbial diversity of sheep

Abstract

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of different doses of Sophora alopecuroides (SA) on the rumen fermentation and microbial diversity of sheep.MethodsA total of 32 healthy Dumont crossbred male lambs weighing 25.73 ± 2.17 kg were randomly assigned to 4 treatment groups with 8 replicates each: a control group (CG) fed a basal diet with a concentrate-to-forage ratio of 7:3 and three experimental groups - the 0.1% group(TG1), 0.3% group (TG2), and 0.5% group (TG3), which were fed the same basal diet but supplemented with increasing doses of SA.Results(1) Increasing the SA dose led to a significant linear increase (p-< 0.05) in acetate, propionate, butyrate, and total volatile fatty acid (TVFA) concentrations in the rumen, as well as a significant quadratic effect (p-< 0.05) on the propionate concentration. In contrast, there was a significant linear decrease (p-< 0.05) in the NH3-N concentration in the rumen. (2) At the level of rumen bacterial phyla, the abundance of Bacteroidetes in the rumen increased, and that of Firmicutes decreased (p = 0.08). At the genus level, the rumen abundances of Ruminococcus and Phocaeicola of sheep in the three experimental groups were significantly higher than in the control group (p-< 0.05), and the abundances of Clostridiales and Candidatus-Hepatincola were significantly increased in the 0.1% and 0.3% groups (p < 0.05). (3) Regarding rumen anaerobic fungi, the differences between the control group and experimental groups at the phylum level and genus level were not significant (p > 0.05), but the relative abundances of Neocallimastigomycota and Piromyces in the 0.1% group were significantly higher than that in the control group.ConclusionSA addition to a high grain diet could increase the VFA concentration and pH in the sheep rumen, reduce the NH3-N concentration in the rumen and improve rumen fermentation function. Although there was no significant change in rumen bacterial or fungal diversity, SA addition increased the rumen abundances of Bacteroidetes, Ruminococcus, Phocaeicola, Clostridiales, Neocallimastigomycota and Piromyces, decreased the rumen abundance of Firmicutes, and had a positive effect on the rumen microbiota to improve sheep health.

Effects of Sophora alopecuroides in a High-Concentrate Diet on the Liver Immunity and Antioxidant Function of Lambs According to Transcriptome Analysis

“…The pH of the S3 group was higher than that of the H2 group, and the changes were relatively smooth; moreover, the rumen pH values were all approximately 6.0, indicating that the addition of SA to high-grain diets was beneficial for improving the rumen pH and might play an important role in the microbial utilization of cellulose to change the rumen fermentation function. These findings were also verified by our previous results showing that SA increased the relative abundance of Bacteroides in the rumen (fiber-and starchdecomposing bacteria) and decreased the relative abundance of Firmicutes (acid-resistant bacteria) [17].…”

“…Wu et al [15] reported that the total alkaloids (TAs) of SA can reduce the ALT, AST and MDA contents in the serum of mice and increase the SOD activity, indicating that TASA has a certain protective effect on alcohol-induced liver injury in mice, which may be related to the ability of TASA to alleviate oxidative stress. Previous studies conducted in our laboratory have shown that SA could alleviate the negative effects of high-concentrate conditions on lambs, and a feeding dose of 0.1% is appropriate [16,17]. However, the mechanism through which SA affects the immune and antioxidant functions of lamb livers under high feed conditions is still unclear.…”

Prickly ash seeds can promote healthy production of sheep by regulating the rumen microbial community

“…These two dominant phyla work together to promote the degradation of fibrous and non-fibrous materials in the rumen to produce acetic acid and propionic acid for absorption and utilization by the body (Ye et al, 2022 ; Zhou et al, 2022b ). As a dominant phylum in the rumen, the main role of Bacteroidota is to promote the degradation of complex organic matter in ruminants, such as the degradation of carbohydrates, which can help the host to absorb and utilize polysaccharides efficiently (An et al, 2023 ; Wang et al, 2023c ). Therefore, the experiment showed that the high addition of prickly ash seeds may have negative effects on the digestive function in the rumen.…”