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Fermentation
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Application of Fermentation Technology in Animal Nutrition: 2nd Edition
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Application of Fermentation Technology in Animal Nutrition: 2nd Edition

A special issue of Fermentation (ISSN 2311-5637). This special issue belongs to the section "Industrial Fermentation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2025 | Viewed by 2428

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Siran Wang

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Guest Editor
Institute of Animal Science, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Science, Nanjing 210014, China
Interests: silage; ensiling; function potential; microbial community; metabolites
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Lin Sun

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Inner Mongolia Engineering Research Center of Development and Utilization of Microbial Resources in Silage, Inner Mongolia Academy of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Science, Hohhot 010031, China
Interests: bacterial community; digestibility; fermentation; silage; legume
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Lei Chen

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Guest Editor
College of Animal Science, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, China
Interests: feeds; bio-additive development; ruminant nutrition
Dr. Jie Bai

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Pratacultural College, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, China
Interests: forage processing and utilization; ruminant nutrition

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fermentation technology in animal nutrition has been used by human beings across the globe for a long time. Its technology has been focused primarily on animal feed aspects. Its main purpose was to store feedstuffs for a long-term period. Harvested forages, putrefiable agro-industrial or food processing by-products, and the total mixed rations with these ingredients are often ensiled in order to make them palatable, stable, and sanitary over seasons. Additionally, another purpose was to improve the feed’s nutritional values or safety of under-utilized feed resources with fermentation technology; otherwise, their usage as feed may be limited due to low digestion or potential toxicity. To fulfil these goals, various physical, chemical, and microbiological techniques have been developed.

More specifically, many factors affect the fermentation of feedstuffs, such as temperature, moisture, air, nutrients, microbes, acidic condition, and environmental situation, among others. Various types of additives have been developed to improve the quality of ferments and aerobic stability such as nutrients, microbes, enzymes, organic acids, and others. With these scientific research efforts, fermentation technology has been much developed and utilized in the animal industry. However, we still do not have a complete understanding of the most effective fermentation factors under various conditions, the mechanisms of fermentation products and metabolites’ utilization inside the animal body, and its effect on ruminal fermentation, gastro-intestinal microflora and health, animal productivity and health, and final animal products, among others.

In conclusion, this valuable Special Issue on fermentation in animal nutrition is expected to provide promising scientific answers to these interesting questions.

Dr. Siran Wang
Dr. Lin Sun
Dr. Lei Chen
Dr. Jie Bai
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fermentation is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • fermentation
  • silage
  • forage
  • by-product
  • feed
  • nutrition
  • animal

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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16 pages, 2167 KiB  
Article
Growth Performance and Rumen Microbiota of Sheep Respond to Cotton Straw Fermented with Compound Probiotics
by Peiling Wei, Mingxuan Guan, Xuhui Liang, Kaixin Yuan, Ning Chen, Yuxin Yang and Ping Gong
Fermentation 2025, 11(5), 244; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation11050244 - 29 Apr 2025
Abstract
To develop cotton straw as a feed resource through biological fermentation, it was fermented using compound probiotics (Bacillus subtilis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Lactobacillus plantarum) and subsequently fed to sheep after the nutrients and hygienic indices of the fermented cotton straw [...] Read more.
To develop cotton straw as a feed resource through biological fermentation, it was fermented using compound probiotics (Bacillus subtilis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Lactobacillus plantarum) and subsequently fed to sheep after the nutrients and hygienic indices of the fermented cotton straw (FCS) were analyzed. Sixty sheep were randomly assigned to five groups: a control group (CON); a low-proportion fermented cotton straw group (LFC, with FCS comprising 14.5% of the diet); a high-proportion fermented cotton straw group (HFC, with FCS comprising 29.0% of the diet); a compound microbial group (MIC, containing Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus subtilis, and yeast); and a microbial-enzymatic preparation group (MEY, containing compound probiotics and enzymes such as cellulase, xylanase, β-glucanase, amylase, and protease). The trial lasted seven weeks and was divided into two stages: stage 1 (weeks 1–4, days 1–28) and stage 2 (weeks 5–7, days 29–49). Body weight and daily feed intake were registered, and blood and rumen fluid samples were obtained at day 28 and day 49 of the feeding trial. Fermentation significantly increased the crude protein content of cotton straw while reducing neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) (p < 0.05). Additionally, fermentation reduced the residues of aflatoxin B1, vomitoxin, zearalenone, and free gossypol in the treatment groups (p < 0.05). LFC possessed the lowest value of feed-to-gain ratio (F/G) among all groups. Serum indices related to antioxidant capacity and utilization of fat and protein increased in the treatment group (p < 0.05). Rumen microbiota were separated between different groups (p < 0.05). LFC and HFC enhanced the abundance of Prevotella. These findings could provide conclusions that fermented cotton straw has the tendency to enhance the growth performance of sheep by increasing the abundance of bacteria related to utilization of protein, carbohydrate, and other nutrients such as Prevotella, in which the LFC group has the best fast-fattening (about 50 d) effect. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Fermentation Technology in Animal Nutrition: 2nd Edition)
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14 pages, 10499 KiB  
Article
Fermented Feed Promotes Gut Development by Enhancing Intestinal Stem Cell Expansion via Activation of the Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Pathway
by Haozhan Qu, Gengxiu Zan, Haoyan Li, Xiaofan Wang, Jiayi Zhou, Xiuqi Wang and Huichao Yan
Fermentation 2025, 11(2), 52; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation11020052 - 23 Jan 2025
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Abstract
Fermented feed is extensively used in animal production due to their improved palatability and efficient utilization. This study aimed to explore the effects of fermented feed on growth performance and gut health, particularly through the modulation of intestinal stem cells (ISCs). Twenty-four 28-day-old [...] Read more.
Fermented feed is extensively used in animal production due to their improved palatability and efficient utilization. This study aimed to explore the effects of fermented feed on growth performance and gut health, particularly through the modulation of intestinal stem cells (ISCs). Twenty-four 28-day-old male weaned piglets were randomly assigned into two groups (n = 12): piglets in a control group fed a basal diet, and an experimental group fed a basal diet replaced with 6% fermented mixed feed (FMF) for 28 days. The results indicated that FMF significantly elevated the growth rate, feed intake, and nutrient digestibility of piglets (p < 0.05). Furthermore, FMF supplementation increased the jejunal villus height, transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) values, and the expression of tight junction proteins (ZO-1 and Claudin1) (p < 0.05). Immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis revealed that FMF increased the number of Olfm4+ ISCs and PCNA+ mitotic cells in jejunal crypts, facilitating the differentiation of ISCs into enterocytes (Villin), goblet cells (MUC2), and enteroendocrine cells (CHGA). Conversely, the protein expression of Cleaved Caspase-3 was decreased in the FMF group (p < 0.05). Notably, the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, including FZD7 and Active β-catenin, was significantly upregulated in the jejunum after FMF supplementation. Consistent with these findings, intestinal organoids derived from jejunal crypts in the FMF group demonstrated enhanced growth and increased expression of Lgr5, PCNA, KRT20, and β-catenin (p < 0.05). These results suggest that fermented feed promotes intestinal development by enhancing ISC proliferation and differentiation via activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Fermentation Technology in Animal Nutrition: 2nd Edition)
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18 pages, 2189 KiB  
Article
Biotechnological Effects of Lactobacillus plantarum, Cellulase, and Xylanase on Nutritional Quality and Microbial Community Structure of Corn Stover Silage
by Jianliang Liu, Mingjian Liu, Panjie Sheng, Chaoran Song, Weiqin Ma, Baochao Bai, Jiayu Zhao, Shuai Du, Gentu Ge, Zhijun Wang and Yushan Jia
Fermentation 2025, 11(1), 14; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation11010014 - 2 Jan 2025
Viewed by 1039
Abstract
As animal husbandry advances, the demand for premium feed has seen substantial growth, while the availability of natural forage resources remains limited. Corn stover, characterized by its high yield and rich nutritional content, has become a vital source of roughage. The application of [...] Read more.
As animal husbandry advances, the demand for premium feed has seen substantial growth, while the availability of natural forage resources remains limited. Corn stover, characterized by its high yield and rich nutritional content, has become a vital source of roughage. The application of silage technology to corn stover enhances its palatability, improves its nutritional value, and exerts positive effects on livestock production performance. This study aims to evaluate the impact of different additives and their proportions on the nutrient composition, fermentation quality, and microbial community structure of corn stover silage. Specifically, Lactobacillus plantarum, cellulase preparations (commercial cellulase enzyme preparations), and xylanase preparations (commercial xylanase enzyme preparations) were employed as additives to investigate their synergistic effects and underlying mechanisms during the silage process. Furthermore, dosage gradients were established to determine the optimal dosage range, providing a robust scientific basis for the optimization of additive applications. In this experiment, corn stover was used as the substrate, with the moisture content maintained at 60%. Treatments with Lactobacillus plantarum, cellulase, and xylanase were applied, and silage samples were analyzed after 30 and 60 days of fermentation to assess fermentation quality, nutritional quality, and microbial community structure. The findings revealed that the nutritional quality of corn stover silage improved progressively with fermentation time. Compared to the control group, the addition of Lactobacillus plantarum, cellulase, and xylanase significantly increased the abundance of lactic acid bacteria, reduced the pH value, and effectively suppressed the proliferation of spoilage microorganisms. Among the treatments, xylanase demonstrated the most pronounced effects, substantially increasing lactic acid and soluble carbohydrate content while reducing levels of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF). Notably, the incorporation of 20 U/g xylanase into the silage process facilitated the breakdown of xylan in corn stover into soluble carbohydrates, thereby providing essential substrates for lactic acid bacteria and other beneficial microorganisms. This, in turn, inhibited the growth of harmful microorganisms, ultimately improving the nutritional quality, fermentation quality, and microbial community structure of the silage. These findings provide a theoretical framework and practical guidance for optimizing the production of corn stover silage, promoting efficient resource utilization, and supporting the sustainable development of animal husbandry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Fermentation Technology in Animal Nutrition: 2nd Edition)
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