The present study was aimed to investigate the nutritive profiles, microbial counts and fermentation metabolites in rye, Italian rye-grass (IRG) and barley supplemented with Lactobacillus plantarum under the field condition, and its probiotic properties. After preparation of silage, the content of crude protein (CP), crude ash, acid detergent fiber (ADF), and neutral detergent fiber (NDF), microbes such as lactic acid bacteria (LAB), yeast and fungi counts, and fermentation metabolites lactic acid, acetic acid and butyric acid was assessed. Results indicated that the content of ADF and NDF were significantly varied between rye, IRG and barley mediated silages. The content of CP was increased in L. plantarum supplemented with IRG, but slightly decreased in rye and barley mediated silages. The maximum LAB count was recorded at 53.10 × 10(7) cfu/g in rye, 16.18 × 10(7) cfu/g in IRG and 2.63 × 10(7) cfu/g in barley silages respectively. A considerable number of the yeasts were observed in the IRG silages than the rye silages (P < 0.05). The amount of lactic acid production is higher in L. plantarum supplemented silages as compared with control samples (P < 0.05). It was confirmed that higher amount of lactic acid produced only due to more number of LAB found in the silages. L. plantarum was able to survive at low pH and bile salt and the duodenum passage with the highest percentage of hydrophobicity. Furthermore, the strain was sensitive towards the antibiotics commonly used to maintain the microbes in food industrial setups. In conclusion, supplementation of L. plantarum is most beneficial in rye, IRG and barley silage preparations and probiotic characteristics of L. plantarum was an intrinsic feature for the application in the preparation of animal feeds and functional foods.
Keywords: Italian ryegrass; Lactic acid; Lactobacillus plantarum; Rye; Silage quality.