• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.467-472
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• 2004

Eight primiparous Holstein cows, in late lactation (255$\pm$10 days in milk) and yielding 10.3$\pm$1.3 kg/d of 4% fat corrected milk (FCM) were allocated into two groups randomly. Two diets containing 30% wheat straw either untreated (UWS) or treated with Pleurotus ostreatus (FTWS) were offered as total mixed ration (TMR). In vivo digestibility of the diets was determined, using acid insoluble ash as a marker. Daily milk production was recorded and milk samples were collected and analysed. Diet FTWS resulted in significantly (p<0.05) higher dry matter intake (DMI) (12.2$\pm$0.86 vs. 10.6$\pm$1.3), DM digestibility (58.8 vs. 52.3) and milk yield (9 vs. 7.5 kg). Milk fat contents were 34.2 and 35.6 g/liter that did not differ between cows fed treated or untreated straw. However, the concentrations of lactose, solid non fat, total solids and milk protein for diets UWS and FTWS were 57.3 and 54.9, 98.9 and 93.2, 134.5 and 127.4, 35.7 and 32.3 g/l, respectively, which differed significantly (p<0.05). The average body weights gain (BWG) for UWS and FTWS were 272 and 743 g/d, respectively (p<0.05). The FCM yield per kg of DMI was similar (0.68 and 0.67 liter) for the two groups, but BWG/kgDMI was higher in the FTWS diet.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.231-241
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• 2004

In recent years, many researches are actively undertaken for environmental-friendly animal production according to the increased understanding about food safety because of the outbreak of various diseases such as mad cow disease, Foot and mouth disease and Poultry Influenza virus. However, high quality(higher safety)- animal production may not be successful without increasing of disease resistance of animal and the improvement of feeding environment. To increase the disease resistance is able to be accomplished by stimulating the immune function. The present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of enzyme mixture reinforced with ${\beta}$-glucanase activity which degrade polysaccharide to release ${\beta}$-glucan known as stimulator of immune function on the change of milk production and somatic cell count. After 12weeks of experimental feeding, milk production tended to be increased and somatic cell count was decreased from average $227{\times}10^4$ to $37.1{\times}10^4$. Milk protein and solid-fat content were tended to increase but milk fat showed decreasing tendency by the feeding of enzyme mixture. All together, it has been suggest6d that the improvement of high quality milk production may be possible through the dietary addition of immune modulating enzyme mixture in lactating dairy cows.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.7
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• pp.1007-1014
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• 2019

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the fermentation characteristics under low mesophilic temperature of spent instant coffee ground (SICG) and to estimate the effect of fermented SICG (FSICG) as alternative feed ingredient on milk productivity of dairy cows. Methods: In the fermentation trial, fermentation of SICG was performed to investigate changes in characteristics using the microbial mixture (Lactobacillus plantarum, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Bacillus subtilis = 1:1:1) for 21 days at $20^{\circ}C$ under anaerobic conditions. Molasses was added at 5% of dry mass. In the animal trial, eighteen Holstein Friesian cows were used to evaluate the nutritive value of the FSICG which was fermented for 14 days under the same condition as the fermentation trial. Results: In the fermentation trial, the dry matter (DM) and organic matter content linearly decreased with fermentation time (p<0.001 and p = 0.008, respectively). The acid detergent insoluble nitrogen content linearly decreased with fermentation time (p = 0.037). The microorganism counts linearly increased for Lactobacillus plantarum, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Bacillus subtilis across fermentation time (p<0.001). In the animal trial, the DM intake of the control and FSICG treatment were not significantly different, as were milk yield, 4% fat corrected milk, fat-protein corrected milk, and feed to milk conversion content. Fat, protein, lactose, non-fat solids, milk urea nitrogen, and somatic cell counts were also not significantly different in milk composition between treatments. Conclusion: FSICG should be considered a sufficient substitute for cottonseed as a feed component, and 5% DM of a dietary FSICG level was appropriate for dairy cow diets.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.525-531
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• 1996

Nutritional status of minerals of beef and dairy cattle and buffalo in central Thailand were investigated by evaluating the mineral concentrations in feedstuff and blood plasma of animals. Three crossbred beef cow herds, a native cow herd, a buffalo female herd and 3 dairy cattle herds which consisted of the herds of lactating cows, dry cows and heifers were studied in both rainy and hot seasons. Low Na concentrations (<0.07% on a dry matter basis) in pasture samples from the fields for a cross bred beef cow were observed. Copper concentrations in all the pasture samples ranged from 3.7 to 13.5 mg/kg. Iron and Se concentration in pasture samples had a wide variety ranging from 185 to 1,345 and 0.033 to 1.127 mg/kg, respectively. The concentrations of K, Ca, Mg, P, Zn and Mn in total diets were higher than the requirements for beef and dairy cattle. Some animals with subnormal plasma Cu concentrations(< $0.65{\mu}g/ml$) existed in each herd. The animals which showed subnormal plasma Se concentrations(< $0.03{\mu}g/ml$) were observed in beef cow herds. The concentrations of Ca, Mg and Zn in plasma of animals were normal. Attention should be paid to the deficiencies in Na, Cu and Se of the animals in central Thailand.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.838-844
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• 2008

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of supplementing a fat diet with selenium (Se) and vitamin E on performance of cows, blood antioxidant status and milk fatty acid composition. Sixty-three lactating Holstein cows were randomly divided into seven groups of nine cows each and each group was fed one of the following diets: i) a basal diet (control); ii) a basal diet with 0.15 mg Se/kg DM (LSe); iii) a basal diet with 0.3 mg Se/kg DM (HSe); iv) a basal diet with 5,000 IU/cow d vitamin E (LVE); v) a basal diet with 10,000 IU/cow d vitamin E (HVE); vi) a basal diet with 0.15 mg Se/kg DM and 5,000 IU/cow d vitamin E (LSeVE); vii) a basal diet with 0.3 mg Se/kg DM and 10,000 IU/cow d vitamin E (HSeVE). Milk fat percentage and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) yield in HVE and HSeVE diets increased (p<0.05) compared with the control diet. In milk fat, dietary supplementation of Se tended to increase the proportion of the sum of unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) and significantly decreased (p<0.05) the proportion of the sum of saturated fatty acids (SFA). In addition, compared with the control, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) content was lower and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) was higher when fat diets were supplemented with Se. Our data showed that supplementation with Se and/or VE improved these nutrients in blood and milk. The results indicated that fat diets supplemented with Se improved both antioxidant status in blood and fatty acids in milk fat, and fat diets supplemented with vitamin E alleviated milk fat depression. Therefore, the combination of Se and vitamin E caused synergistic effects on the nutritional quality of milk fat and performance of cows fed a fat diet.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.79-90
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• 2020

Objective: In the present study, an liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) metabolomics approach was performed to investigate potential biomarkers of milk production in high- and low-milk-yield dairy cows and to establish correlations among rumen fluid metabolites. Methods: Sixteen lactating dairy cows with similar parity and days in milk were divided into high-yield (HY) and low-yield (LY) groups based on milk yield. On day 21, rumen fluid metabolites were quantified applying LC/MS. Results: The principal component analysis and orthogonal correction partial least squares discriminant analysis showed significantly separated clusters of the ruminal metabolite profiles of HY and LY groups. Compared with HY group, a total of 24 ruminal metabolites were significantly greater in LY group, such as 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid, carboxylic acids, carboxylic acid derivatives (L-isoleucine, L-valine, L-tyrosine, etc.), diazines (uracil, thymine, cytosine), and palmitic acid, while the concentrations of 30 metabolites were dramatically decreased in LY group compared to HY group, included gentisic acid, caprylic acid, and myristic acid. The metabolite enrichment analysis indicated that protein digestion and absorption, ABC transporters and unsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis were significantly different between the two groups. Correlation analysis between the ruminal microbiome and metabolites revealed that certain typical metabolites were exceedingly associated with definite ruminal bacteria; Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Synergistetes phyla were highly correlated with most metabolites. Conclusion: These findings revealed that the ruminal metabolite profiles were significantly different between HY and LY groups, and these results may provide novel insights to evaluate biomarkers for a better feed digestion and may reveal the potential mechanism underlying the difference in milk yield in dairy cows.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.491-500
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• 2010

Three experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of polyurethane coated urea on in vitro ruminal fermentation, ammonia release dynamics and lactating performance of Holstein dairy cows fed a steam-flaked corn-based diet. In Exp. 1, a dual-flow continuous culture was run to investigate the effect of polyurethane coated urea on nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation parameters and microbial efficiency. Three treatment diets with isonitrogenous contents (13.0% CP) were prepared: i) feedgrade urea (FGU) diet; ii) polyurethane coated urea (PCU) diet; and iii) isolated soy protein (ISP) diet. Each of the diets consisted of 40% steam-flaked corn meal, 58.5% forages and 1.5% different sources of nitrogen. PCU and FGU diets had significantly lower digestibility of NDF and ADF (p<0.01) than the ISP diet. Nitrogen source had no significant effect (p = 0.62) on CP digestibility. The microbial efficiency (expressed as grams of microbial N/kg organic matter truly digested (OMTD)) in vitro of the PCU diet (13.0 g N/kg OMTD) was significantly higher than the FGU diet (11.3 g N/kg OMTD), but comparable with the ISP diet (14.7 g N/kg OMTD). Exp. 2, an in vitro ruminal fermentation experiment, was conducted to determine the ammonia release dynamics during an 8 h ruminal fermentation. Three treatment diets were based on steam-flaked corn diets commonly fed to lactating cows in China, in which FGU, PCU or soybean meal (SBM) was added to provide 10% of total dietary N. In vitro $NH_3-N$ concentrations were lower (p<0.05) for the PCU diet than the FGU diet, but similar to that for the SBM diet at all time points. In Exp. 3, a lactation trial was performed using 24 lactating Holstein cows to compare the lactating performance and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) concentrations when cows were fed PCU, FGU and SBM diets. Cows consuming the PCU diet had approximately 12.8% more (p = 0.02) dietary dry matter intake than those consuming the FGU diet. Cows fed the PCU diet had higher milk protein content (3.16% vs. 2.94%) and lower milk urea nitrogen (MUN) concentration (13.0 mg/dl vs. 14.4 mg/dl) than those fed the FGU diet. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) concentration was significantly lower for cows fed the PCU (16.7 mg/dl) and SBM (16.4 mg/dl) diets than the FGU (18.7 mg/dl) diet. Cows fed the PCU diet had less surplus ruminal N than those fed the FGU diet and produced a comparable lactation performance to the SBM diet, suggesting that polyurethane coated urea can partially substitute soybean meal in the dairy cow diet without impairing lactation performance.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.10
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• pp.1409-1418
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• 2001

Two trials were carried out during two different grazing seasons to evaluate effect of grass silage supplementation, when amount of pasture is limited on dry matter intake (DMI), milk production, and gross energetic efficiency (GEE) of grazed lactating cows on a high forage-based diet. Fifty-one Holstein cows were randomly assigned to one of two dietary treatments: high pasture group or high silage group. In the spring flush, pasture and silage DMI, milk yield, milk fat percentage, and GEE were not different between the dietary groups. After the spring flush, pasture and silage DMI were higher for the high silage group than for the high pasture group. After the spring flush, although these were the higher total DMI of the high silage group than the high pasture group, milk yield was significantly (p<0.05) higher for the high pasture group than the high silage group. Milk fat percentage tended to be higher for the high silage group than the high pasture group. The GEE was significantly (p<0.05) higher for the high pasture group than the high silage group during after the spring flush. This study indicated that supplementation of grass silage, especially after the spring flush, can have a significant effect of increasing of forage intake and maintenance of the milk fat percentage; but not increase milk yield and GEE.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.1691-1698
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• 2000

An in situ digestion trial (Experiment 1) and a lactation trial (Experiment 2) were conducted to determine the effects of replacing corn and wheat bran with soyhulls (SH) in lactating dairy cow diets on the extent and kinetics of digestion of DM and NDF, and lactation performance. In experiment 1, five mixed feeds consisting of mixed concentrate and roughages (50:50 on a DM basis) were formulated on isonitrogenous and isoenergetic bases to produce five levels (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100%) of SH replacement for corn and wheat bran. SH had high in situ digestion (92 and 89% for potentially digestible DM and NDF) and fairly fast digestion rate (7.2 and 6.3 %/h for DM and NDF). Increasing level of SH replacement resulted in increased NDF digestibility (linear, p=0.001-0.04) and similar DM digestibility (beyond 12 h incubation, p=0.10-0.41). As level of SH replacement increased, percentage of slowly digestible fraction (b) of DM increased (linear, p=0.03), percentage of rapidly digestible fraction (a) of DM tended to decrease (linear, p=0.14), and DM digestion lag time tended to be longer (linear, p=0.13). Percentage of potentially digestible fraction (a+b) and digestion rate (c) of slowly digestible fraction of dietary DM remained unaltered (p=0.36-0.90) with increasing SH in the diet. Increasing level of SH for replacing corn and wheat bran in the diet resulted in increases in percentages of b (quadratic, p<0.001), a (linear, p=0.08), a+b (quadratic, p=0.001) and a tendency to increase in c for NDF (linear, p<0.19). It was also observed that there was a satisfactory fit of a non-linear regression model to NDF digestion data ($R^2=0.986-0.998$), but a relatively poor fit of the model to DM digestion data ($R^2=0.915-0.968$). In experiment 2, 42 lactating Holstein cows were used in a randomized complete block design. SH replaced corn and wheat bran in mixed concentrates at 0, 25, and 50%, respectively. These mixed concentrates were mixed with roughages and fed ad libitum as complete diets. Replacing corn and wheat bran with SH at 0, 25 and 50% levels did not influence (p=0.56-0.95) DM intakes (18.4, 18.6, and 18.5 kg/d), milk yields (27.7, 28.4 and 27.6 kg/d), 4% fat-corrected-milk (FCM) yields (26.2, 27.6, and 27.3 kg/d) and percentages of milk protein (3.12, 3.17 and 3.18%), milk lactose (4.69, 4.76 and 4.68%) and SNF (8.50, 8.64, and 8.54%). On the other hand, milk fat percentges linearly increased (3.63, 3.85 and 3.90% for SH replacement rates of 0, 25 and 50% in the diet, p=0.08), while feed costs per kg FCM production were reduced.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.10
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• pp.1377-1385
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• 2011

This study was conducted to determine the nutritive value of live yeast culture (RumiSacc, Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and to investigate its effects on milk yield, milk composition and some blood parameters in lactating cows. Six multiparous Holstein cows were allocated to two groups of three cows and assigned randomly to one of two diets in a cross-over experiment. Daily 50 g RumiSacc was top dressed at the p.m. feeding for the treatment group. RumiSacc supplied a high protein and energy with high organic matter digestibility values (83.35%) determined by in vitro enzymatic analysis. Yeast culture supplementation significantly increased milk yield, tended to increase fat yield, protein yield and lactose yield of milk. Methylated fatty acid level of 18:3 (n-3) in milk fat was increased by yeast culture supplementation. The concentrations of methionine, phenyalanine, tyrosine, tryptophan and taurine were significantly increased with dietary inclusion of yeast culture. Live yeast culture supplementation did not affect other performance characteristics, milk quality characteristics and blood parameters. As a conclusion live yeast culture (RumiSacc, Saccharomyces cerevisiae) had high nutritive value and positive effects on milk production and some milk quality characteristics in lactating cows under field conditions.