Degradability, rumen fermentation, and rumen microbiota of livestock rations containing different levels of <i>Azolla pinnata</i>

Ahmed. F.A. Abd-Elgwad; Salah Abo Bakr; Ebrahim A. Sabra; Eman A. Elwakeel; Mahmoud. M. Khorshed; Hamdy. M. Metwally; Alaa Emara Rabee; Ahmed. F.A. Abd-Elgwad; Salah Abo Bakr; Ebrahim A. Sabra; Eman A. Elwakeel; Mahmoud. M. Khorshed; Hamdy. M. Metwally; Alaa Emara Rabee

doi:10.3934/microbiol.2025028

AIMS Microbiology

2025, Volume 11, Issue 3: 679-698. doi: 10.3934/microbiol.2025028

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Degradability, rumen fermentation, and rumen microbiota of livestock rations containing different levels of Azolla pinnata

1.
Animal and Poultry Nutrition Department, Desert Research Center, Cairo, Egypt
2.
Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute, University of Sadat City, Sadat City, Egypt
3.
Animal and Fish Production Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Alexandria University, Alexandria
4.
Animal Production Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain-Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

Received: 19 February 2025 Revised: 24 June 2025 Accepted: 18 July 2025 Published: 01 August 2025

The scarcity of animal feeding resources has been driving the use of sustainable alternatives such as Azolla. This study evaluated the effect of replacing concentrate feed mixture (CFM) with dried Azolla (DAZ) on the in vitro digestibility of rations, rumen fermentations, gas production, and rumen microbiota. The basal diet consisted of Berseem hay and CFM (50:50), and six rations were used, in which DAZ replaced the CFM at 0% (control), 10% (T1), 20% (T2), 30% (T3), 40% (T4), and 50% (T5). Group T1 showed higher degradability of dry matter (53.13%), organic matter (62.47%), neutral detergent fiber (30.79%), and acid detergent fiber (24.72%). The same group (T1) revealed the highest propionate and lowest methane production (p < 0.05). Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) revealed that rumen microbial communities were affected by DAZ level. Microbial communities were dominated by the phylum Bacteroidota, which was higher in group T1, and the phylum Firmicutes, which was higher in group T2. The dominant bacterial genera were Prevotella, Rikenellaceae RC9 gut group, Streptococcus, and Christensenellaceae R-7 group, which were affected by DAZ level. Dried Azolla can be used up to 20% of CFM in ruminant rations without negative consequences on rumen fermentation.
- Azolla pinnata,
- nutrients degradability,
- rumen fermentation,
- microbiota
Citation: Ahmed. F.A. Abd-Elgwad, Salah Abo Bakr, Ebrahim A. Sabra, Eman A. Elwakeel, Mahmoud. M. Khorshed, Hamdy. M. Metwally, Alaa Emara Rabee. Degradability, rumen fermentation, and rumen microbiota of livestock rations containing different levels of Azolla pinnata[J]. AIMS Microbiology, 2025, 11(3): 679-698. doi: 10.3934/microbiol.2025028

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Abstract

The scarcity of animal feeding resources has been driving the use of sustainable alternatives such as Azolla. This study evaluated the effect of replacing concentrate feed mixture (CFM) with dried Azolla (DAZ) on the in vitro digestibility of rations, rumen fermentations, gas production, and rumen microbiota. The basal diet consisted of Berseem hay and CFM (50:50), and six rations were used, in which DAZ replaced the CFM at 0% (control), 10% (T1), 20% (T2), 30% (T3), 40% (T4), and 50% (T5). Group T1 showed higher degradability of dry matter (53.13%), organic matter (62.47%), neutral detergent fiber (30.79%), and acid detergent fiber (24.72%). The same group (T1) revealed the highest propionate and lowest methane production (p < 0.05). Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) revealed that rumen microbial communities were affected by DAZ level. Microbial communities were dominated by the phylum Bacteroidota, which was higher in group T1, and the phylum Firmicutes, which was higher in group T2. The dominant bacterial genera were Prevotella, Rikenellaceae RC9 gut group, Streptococcus, and Christensenellaceae R-7 group, which were affected by DAZ level. Dried Azolla can be used up to 20% of CFM in ruminant rations without negative consequences on rumen fermentation.

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by Azolla program (PI: Alaa Rabee) from Desert Research Center, Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing of interest.

Author contributions

Ahmed. F. A. Abd-Elgwad: Conceptualization, Experimental operation, Investigation, Writing-Original draft preparation. Salah Abo Bakr: Experimental operation, Investigation, Data curation. Ebrahim A. Sabra: Data curation, Investigation, Methodology. Eman A. Elwakeel: Data curation, Investigation, Methodology. Mahmoud. M. Khorshed: Investigation, Validation, Methodology. Hamdy. M. Metwally: Investigation, Validation, Methodology. Alaa Emara Rabee: Conceptualization, Experimental operation, Data curation, Visualization, Investigation, Writing-Original draft preparation. All authors have written, reviewed, read and approved the final manuscript.

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