Influence of Zaslon®-Fito enterosorbent of mycotoxins on rumen microbiome and productivity of dairy cows

One of the global problems arising from the extension of opportunistic microflora in canned foods is toxin accumulation. Mycotoxins, the secondary metabolites of micromycetes, suppress immune system, disrupt the functioning of the rumen, intestines, liver, kidneys, reproductive and nervous system of cows, which leads to premature cow disposal. When developing preventive measures to increase the safety level of feed of own procurement, it should be borne in mind that the basis of the modern concept of control pathogens and their toxins is the use of natural environmentally friendly technologies. Modification of sorbents with natural essential oils can help restore the cows’ rumen microbiome disrupted due to the toxins impact. The article presents the results of a study of unidentifiable rumen microorganisms in cattle by T-RFLP (terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism) method. The purpose of the study was to identify the effects of a phytobiotic enterosorbent Zaslon®-Fito on the composition of rumen microbiome, blood biochemical parameters and productivity. Farm test of Zaslon®-Fito enterosorbent was carried out on dairy cows (АО PZ “Plamya”, Leningrad Province, Gatchina District). Two groups of dairy black and white mottled Holstein cows ( Bos taurus taurus ) of the 2-3rd lactation were formed, 15 animals in each group, for a 71-day experiment. The enterosorbent Zaslon®-Fito was added to the diet by mixing with feed, 20 g per animal per day. At the first step of the investigation, the ELISA method showed that these feeds were contaminated with aflatoxins (9 µg/kg, or 2.4 times higher than the maximum permissible concentration), zearalenone (264 µg/kg, or 2.6 times higher than MPC), and deoxynivalenol (310 µg/kg, MPC = 1000 µg/ml). The use of Zaslon®-Fito had a pronounced positive effect on the milk productivity of cows with a 5.5 % increase in the average daily milk yield per 1 animal (up to 1.8 kg). Analysis of the main biochemical parameters of dairy cows’ blood as influenced by Zaslon®-Fito detected a tendency to total protein level optimization; in the control animals there was a decrease in glucose concentration (to the lower limit), and in the experimental group, we found out an increase in the amount of inorganic phosphorus compared to the control (p ≤ 0.05). The counts of chytridiomycetes (class Neocallimastigales ) and archaea in the rumen of cows fed dietary Zaslon®-Fito additive did not change, while the absolute number of bacteria increased to 1.25×1011±5.43×109 genome equivalent per gram. Thus, our investigation shows that Zaslon®-Fito as the dietary additive has a direct positive impact on the animal health and productivity. This is due to multifunctional properties of Zaslon®-Fito, including both high adsorption of mycotoxins and regulation of the rumen microbiota due to some essential oils contained in the composition. The use of enterosorbent Zaslon®-Fito in the diet of dairy cows at the daily rate of 20 g per animal can reduce the risks of the harmful effects of feed mycotoxins and improve the production performance and the quality of the obtained products.