Effects of dietary feed supplementation with heat-treated Lactobacillus sakei HS-1 on the health status, blood parameters, and fecal microbes of Japanese Black calves before weaning

Naoya Sasazaki; Katsuki Toda; Hiroshi Hasunuma; Daisaku Matsumoto; Urara Shinya; Osamu Yamato; Takeshi Obi; Takashi Higaki; Oky Setyo Widodo; Kunihiko Ishii; Naoki Igari; Daiji Kazami; Masayasu Taniguchi; Mitsuhiro Takagi

doi:10.14202/vetworld.2023.2293-2302

Effects of dietary feed supplementation with heat-treated Lactobacillus sakei HS-1 on the health status, blood parameters, and fecal microbes of Japanese Black calves before weaning

Vet World. 2023 Nov;16(11):2293-2302. doi: 10.14202/vetworld.2023.2293-2302. Epub 2023 Nov 19.

Authors

Naoya Sasazaki^{1

2}, Katsuki Toda², Hiroshi Hasunuma², Daisaku Matsumoto², Urara Shinya³, Osamu Yamato^{4

5}, Takeshi Obi⁴, Takashi Higaki⁴, Oky Setyo Widodo^{1

5}, Kunihiko Ishii⁶, Naoki Igari⁷, Daiji Kazami⁸, Masayasu Taniguchi^{1

9}, Mitsuhiro Takagi^{1

5

9}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Veterinary Medicine, Joint Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi, Japan.
² Shepherd Central Livestock Clinic, Akune, Japan.
³ Kagoshima Agriculture Mutual Aid Association, Soo, Japan.
⁴ Department of Veterinary Medicine, Joint Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan.
⁵ Department of Veterinary Science, Division of Animal Husbandry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Airlangga University, Surabaya, Indonesia.
⁶ JADD Co., Ltd. Yokohama, Japan.
⁷ Daiwa Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Tokyo, Japan.
⁸ Kazami Food Science, Tochigi, Japan.
⁹ Department of Veterinary Medicine, Joint Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi, Japan.

Abstract

Background and aim: Our previous research suggested that heat-killed Lactobacillus sakei HS-1 (HK-LS HS-1) is potentially beneficial for improving intestinal microbes and reducing the number of medical treatments. This study aimed to investigate the effect of HK-LS HS-1 as a supplement in milk replacers (MRs) on clinical health during the 1-month preweaning period.

Materials and methods: Eighteen female calves were randomly assigned to either a group receiving the HK-LS HS-1 supplement (n = 9) or a control group without it (n = 9). We then investigated the effect of including supplementary HK-LS HS-1; 0.2% in MRs twice daily at 09:00 and 16:00 on the health, serum biochemical parameters (measured using an automated biochemical analyzer), and fecal bacteriological changes of preweaning Japanese Black calves at the day of the start of supplementation (before HK-LS HS-1 supplementation; day 0), at weaning (day 30), and at 2 weeks (day 45) and 4 weeks (day 60) after weaning.

Results: During the supplementation period (0-30 days), (1) an increase (p = 0.023) was observed in albumin, and there was a tendency of increase in total cholesterol level in the HK-LS HS-1 group but not in the control group; (2) substantial differences were obtained after the weaning period (30-60 days), although no differences were observed from 0-30 days in both groups. The anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) level was substantially increased after weaning in the control group. No differences were observed in the amounts of Coliform spp. and Staphylococcaceae spp. between the two groups; thus, HK-LS HS-1 supplementation had similar antibacterial effects. A significant reduction was observed in the time to weaning of the HK-LS HS-1 group in the field trial.

Conclusion: Supplementation with HK-LS HS-1 from an early stage after birth to weaning is a cost-effective treatment to improve the growth rate of preweaning calves. However, supplementation during only preweaning periods appears to have no beneficial effects on preventing weaning stress, especially in terms of AMH levels.

Keywords: anti-Müllerian hormone; feed supplementation; heat-killed lactic acid bacteria; probiotic; serum amyloid A.