What question did this study set out to answer?

The study investigates how replacing alfalfa hay with Glycyrrhiza stem and leaf silage affects rumen fermentation and microbial communities in Holstein cows.

January 25, 2026Open Access

Effects of Licorice Stem and Leaf Semi-Dry Silage Instead of Alfalfa Hay on In Vitro Rumen Fermentation Characteristics and Dynamic Changes of Rumen Microbial Community in Holstein Cows

Key Points

The study investigates how replacing alfalfa hay with Glycyrrhiza stem and leaf silage affects rumen fermentation and microbial communities in Holstein cows.
Conducted in vitro fermentation with 0%, 50%, and 100% alfalfa hay replaced by Glycyrrhiza silage
Measured cumulative gas production, fermentation parameters, and nutrient digestibility
Utilized principal component analysis and gray relational analysis for evaluation
Cumulative gas production was significantly higher in the 50% and 100% Glycyrrhiza silage groups at 3 hours
pH levels were significantly lower in the 50% group at 3 hours
In vitro dry matter digestibility and neutral detergent fiber digestibility were significantly greater in the alfalfa groups compared to the 100% Glycyrrhiza silage group

Abstract

This experiment aimed to investigate the effects of replacing alfalfa hay with Glycyrrhiza stem and leaf silage (moisture content: 45%) on rumen in vitro fermentation parameters, nutrient digestibility, and dynamic changes of microbial community composition. In vitro fermentation was conducted with 0% (control group G0A100), 50% (G50A50), and 100% (G100A0) alfalfa hay replaced by semi-dry silage of Glycyrrhiza stems and leaves with 45% moisture content for 72 h. Cumulative gas production (GP), fermentation parameters, microbial community composition at different time points, and post-fermentation nutrient digestibility were determined, with comprehensive evaluation by principal component analysis (PCA) and gray relational analysis (GRA). Results showed that GP of G50A50 and G100A0 was significantly higher than G0A100 at 3 h (p G50A50 (0.141) > G100A0 (−0.311). GRA comprehensive scores ranked as G50A50 (0.792) > G0A100 (0.756) > G100A0 (0.681). LEfSe analysis indicated distinct microbial biomarkers at 72 h, and KEGG functional profiles were highly consistent among groups. Under the experimental conditions, 50% Glycyrrhiza stem and leaf silage is recommended to replace alfalfa hay in dairy cow diets.

Read Full Paperexternally

Bookmark

View Full Paper

Cite This Study

Tang et al. (Thu,) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6975b20efeba4585c2d6d82f https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci13010108

Bookmark

View Full Paper