Feeding Essential Oils to Neonatal Holstein Dairy Calves Results in Increased Ruminal Prevotellaceae Abundance and Propionate Concentrations.

ABSTRACT: Since antibiotic use in animal production has become a public health concern, great efforts are being dedicated to find effective and viable alternatives. While essential oils (EO) have become attractive candidates for use in the livestock industry, their mode of action and microbial targets in food animals remain largely uncharacterized. To gain further insight, we investigated the rumen environment of neonatal calves fed calf starter pellets and milk replacer supplemented with a commercial blend of EO. Propionate concentrations were not only found to be higher in EO-fed calves compared to controls (P < 0.05), but ruminal bacterial communities also differed greatly. For instance, the abundance of Firmicutes was significantly lower in samples from EO-fed calves than in controls, whi

SUBMITTER: Poudel P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6560426 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature