title: Lactobacillus rhamnosus as additive for maize and sorghum ensiling.
abstract: The effects of Lactobacillus rhamnosus AT195, a potential probiotic microorganism cultured in buffalo "scotta" whey, on chemical and microbiological composition in maize and sorghum ensiling were evaluated. Both crops were harvested, chopped, and treated or not with the selected strain prior to ensiling in fiberglass vertical silos; 90 days after ensiling, silages were sensorially evaluated and sampled. Different chemical components were evaluated both on fresh crops and silages: in particular, the water-soluble carbohydrates content was investigated by high-field NMR spectroscopy and the carbohydrate fermentation profile was performed by GC. Besides phenotypic identification and typing, microbiological studies included Lb. rhamnosus genotype typing by RAPD-PCR. All silages, inoculated or not, were well preserved, as their chemical and microbiological data along with the fermentation profiles showed. The selected strain used as inoculum influenced the lactic acid population of silages and evidenced a good survival performance during the ensiling process of both maize and sorghum. Moreover, the use of Lb. rhamnosus strain efficiently improved the quality of the multifactorial ensiling process by significantly reducing the ammonia nitrogen content of both maize and sorghum silages.
authors.affiliation: STAAM Department, University of Molise, via De Sanctis, I-86100 Campobasso, Italy. salimei@unimol.it
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Salimei
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Capilongo
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Simoni
authors.forename: Pier Giorgio
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Peiretti
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Maglieri
authors.forename: Cristina A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Romano
authors.forename: Luisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mannina
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Coppola
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sorrentino
mesh_terms: D005285:Fermentation; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods; D052201:Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus / Q000378:metabolism; D012820:Silage / Q000382:microbiology*; D045868:Sorghum; D003313:Zea mays