THE RUMEN ORGANISM MEGASPHAERA ELSDENII CAN ASSIST DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH OF PRE-WEANED CALVES.

The microbe Megasphaera elsdenii (Me) resides in the rumen and utilizes lactic acid, thereby assisting in preventing acidosis. A strain called Me NCIMB 41125 which was selected at the ARC – Irene and later used in the market by MS Biotech, proved remarkably effective in controlling acidosis in the feedlot animal, sheep on maize residue  and the dairy cow on a high concentrate diet. However, Me NCIMB 41125 has other benefits as well, such as in development of the rumen wall as the results on calves below will show. In the study referenced, Dr Muya and colleagues at Irene investigated the potential of Me to enhance development of the rumen and absorption environment in the pre-weaned dairy calf.

In the study 30 calves were randomly assigned to two treatments and fed until weaning at 42 days of age. Treatments were a control group, which did not receive Megasphaera elsdenii (Me0) and a M. elsdenii group, which received a 50ml oral dose of M. elsdenii NCIMB 41125  containing 10⁸ CFU Me per ml) at 14 days of age (Me14). All calves received colostrum for the first three days, followed by limited whole milk feeding. A commercial calf starter was offered ad libitum starting at day four until the end of the study. Fresh water was available throughout the study. Feed intake and growth were measured. Blood samples were collected to determine β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA) concentrations. Blood BHBA provides an indication of the success of absorption from the developing rumen. Fourteen male calves (seven per treatment) were killed on day 42 and their digestive tracts investigated. The rumen weight was determined and rumen tissue samples collected from the cranial and caudal sacs of the ventral and dorsal portions of the rumen for measurements of papillae length, papillae width and rumen wall thickness.

Dosing with M. elsdenii NCIMB 41125 improved starter dry matter intake and weaning body weight, implying that rumen development was improved in Me14 compared to Me0. Calves in Me14 also had greater plasma BHBA concentrations than Me0 calves during the last three weeks of the trial and, in accordance with the implication above, had at day 42 greater reticulo-rumen weight, papillae width and papillae density compared to Me0. However, no differences in rumen wall thickness or papillae length were observed between the two groups. Total volatile fatty acids, acetate and propionate production did not differ between treatments, but butyrate production was greater in Me14 than Me0. In conclusion, dosing with M. elsdenii NCIMB 41125 should benefit pre-weaned calves with improved feed intake and rumen development and possibly increased rumen epithelium metabolism and improved absorption of digestive end products.

Reference:

Muya, M. C., Nherera, F. V., Miller, K. A., Aperce, C. C., Moshidi, P. M. and Erasmus, L. J. (2015), Effect of Megasphaera elsdenii NCIMB 41125 dosing on rumen development, volatile fatty acid production and blood β-hydroxybutyrate in neonatal dairy calves. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition, 99: 913–918. doi: 10.1111/jpn.12306