Energy (Volatile Fatty Acids) Effect
Feed is digested by bacteria that attach to the surface of a feed particle to digest it. However, lignin, a naturally occurring plant compound that gives structural strength to forages, is not digested by the bacteria, and creates a barrier between the bacteria and the hemicellulose and cellulose, the carbohydrates in forages used for energy. When the bacteria digest cellulose and hemicellulose, they produce the volatile fatty acids (VFA) acetate, propionate, and butyrate. These VFA are the main products of the digestion of feed by bacteria. These VFA are absorbed into the blood stream and carried to the liver where they are converted to glucose and fat for energy use by the animal. On a forage-based diet, the proportion of VFA would be approximately 65-70% acetate, 15-25% propionate, and 5-10% butyrate. Acetate is used primarily in the production of milkfat and body conditioning. Propionate is converted into glucose and stored as glycogen for use as energy. Therefore, increasing the digestibility of forages results in more energy to the animal. Glinskey et al., reported that 30% of the digestible energy for the horse is obtained from VFA production in the cecum. Amaferm has been shown to increase total VFA production by 19 to 23%, depending on the species.
Frumholtz et al., 1989
Amaferm resulted in a 10.6% increase in total VFA production, with an increase in the acetate:propionate ratio, and butyrate production in one fermentation study. (Frumholtz, P.P., C.J. Newbold and R.J. Wallace. 1989. Influence of Aspergillus oryzae Fermentation Extract on the Fermentation of a Basal Ration in the Rumen Simulation Technique (Rusitec). J. Agric. Sci (Camb.). 113:169-172).
Harper et al., 1996
Amaferm has been shown to increase growth rates, protein and cellulase secretion, and fungal mass in three rumen fungi species, as well as increasing total VFA production by 19 to 23%, depending on species (Harper, E. G., R. P. Welch, D. Contreras Lara, J. S. Chang, R. E. Calza. 1996. The effect of Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract on the anaerobic fungi Neocallimastix frontalis, EB 188, Piromyces communis DC 193 and Orpinomyces spp. RW 206: generalized effects and component analysis. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 45:817-821).
