Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Background of the Invention
The present invention relates to a feed for ruminants
which is produced by using as the main raw material vegetable
fiber materials which ruminants are incapable of digesting,
and to the process for producing same.
Assorted feeds (concentrated feeds) which have been
produced as livestock feeds, are generally designed so as to
contain calculated amounts of nutritious substances needed by
animals, and usually the content of solid fiber materials is
relatively low.
Feeds taken by ruminants such as cattle and sheep
stay in their rumen-reticulum region for a relatively long
period of time. Meanwhile, they are moderately mixed by gastric
action, fermented by the action of various microorganisms and
enzymes in the rumen and finally absorbed as nutritive substances.
However, when the content of solid fiber materials in the above
feeds is too low, such digestive mi~ing and fermentation cannot
be adequately carried out, thus creating various problems.
Therefore, in case of foddering ruminants with assorted feeds, --
it is necessary to blend most feeds with crude or rough feeds
mainly composed of solid fiber materials.
Further, it is required that such crude feeds not
only contain a sufficient amount of solid fiber materials but
also that they be digestible. Hay or pasture grass is a
suitable fiber-containing crude feed, but in some cases it may
be replaced with rice straw which is comparatively dlgestible
by ruminants.
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However, because of recent shortages and rise in the
prices of these feed resources, it has become desirable from
the viewpoint of livestock management to utilize as crude feeds
various vegetable fiber resources such as sawdust and waste
paper which have not previously been successfully used as
livestock feeds. Toward this end, many attempts have been
made but to date use of such indigestible vegetable fiber materials
as livestock feed has proven impractical because they are
indigestible and do not have suitable taste. For example, a
crude livestock feed has been prepared by fermenting sawdust
in the presence of Bacillus subtilis. The crude feed thus
obtained has an improved taste and can be used together with
hay or pasture grass to increase the quantity of livestock feeds.
However, it lacks nutritional value and otherwise has little
value as to livestock feed because its indigestibility is no
better than the sawdust from which it is produced. Moreover,
the livestock feed thus obtained is expensive, because the
fermentation of sawdust takes a considerable period of time
and requires a troublesome mixing operation and special apparatus.
Further, there is known another process for
producing a crude feed, where more ~r less hard vegetable fiber-
ous materials such as rice hulls are treated with ammonia at
a high pressure within the range of about ~0 to 100 atm. to
destroy their fiber structure. However, the above process has
little utility because it requires special and large-scale
apparatus which can stand the unusually high temperature and
pressure. It is also possible to produce a crude livestock
feed by mixing assorted feeds with the above-mentioned in-
digestible vegetable fibers. However, the serious drawback of
low nutritional value remains. Additionally, extremely hard
vegetable fibers such as wood chips cannot be added to assorted
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feeds.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
. .
The present invention provides a feed for ruminants
by mixing 90.0 - 99.5 % by weight of vegetable fiber materials
which are substantially indigestible by ruminants and 0.5 -
10 % oE non-protein nitrogen compounds and inoculating the
mixture with an effective amount of one or more fermentation
micro organisms selected from the group consisting of alcoholic
fermentation micro organism, organic acid fermentation micro-
organism and ester formation micro organi~m. This inoculatedmixture is then fermented to produce a highly digestible live-
stock feed having high nutritive value.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Fibrous vegetable materials which are suitable for
use as starting materials in the process of the present
invention include "hard" materials such as wood chips, sawdust,
saw powder, waste paper, rice hulls, peanut shells and bagasse
which are essentially indigestible by ruminants and vegetable
fiber materials such as rice straw and wheat straw which are
only slightly digestible by ruminants.
These vegetable fiber materials can be used without
any pretreatment. However, where one of the "hard" vegetable
fiber materials is used, it is desirable to soften it by alkali
pretreatment, which is carried out as follows. The hard
vegetable fiber material is soaked at room temperature in an
alkali solution such as aqueous caustic soda or an ammonia
solution, and then introduced into a pressurized autoclave,
wherein it is cooked at a pressure in the range of 4-6 atmosphere~.
The cooked material is then washed with water and if required
neutralized with an aqueou~ solution of-a weak acid such as
carbonic acid or sulfurous acid.
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In this alkali pretreatment, the alkali solution
reacts with the methoxy groups of the lignins contained in the
vegetable fiber materials to solublize and elute the lignins.
The alkali permeates into the middle lamella interconnecting
the fibers, and into the primary fiber membrane and swells and
softens them, thus destorting the fiber structure. The
vegetable fiber materials which have been softened and
distorted by the alkali solution are then mechanically crushed
and fibrillated by means of a disc refiner or the like. In
this process the distorted parts are destroyed, a part of the
primary membrane adheres to the neighboring fibers and the
other part forms the fine fibers. Thus the "hard" vegetable
fiber materials are converted into cotton-like, softened fiber
materials. Further, since the primary membrane is peeled off
and the scarcely ligninized secondary membrane is exposed
during this alkali pretreatment, the pretreated fiber materials
are easily fermentable and they can be easily digested in the
rumen-reticulum of the livestock animal.
When coarse materials such as wood chips are used
as the fiber materials, it is desirable to crush or refine
them after cooking.
The content of the vegetable fiber materials in the
above-mentioned mixture is preferably about 90.0-99.5% by weight
and more preferably 93-98% by weight. If the amount of such
vegetable fibrous material exceeds 99.5%, the percentage of
digestible nutritious substances in the mixture as a whole is
reduced to the point where desirable increases in body weight
cannot be obtained. On the other hand, if the amount is less
than 90% there is insufficient fiber to fulfill the desired
digestive mixing function in the rumen-reticulum of livestock.
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Non-protein nitrogen compounds suitable for use
in the present invention include urea-type nitrogen compounds
such as urea, biuret and diureido isobutane and ammonia-type
nitrogen compounds such as ammonium acetate, ammonium butyrate,
ammonium carbonate, ammonium lactate, and ammonium phosphate.
These nitrogen compounds are decomposed by the fermentation
microorganism in the fermentation step and used as nutriments
for the symbiotic microflora of the rumen-reticulum. In the
rumen-reticulum these microorganisms transform the nonprotein
nitrogen compounds into protein.
The content of the nonprotein nitrogen compounds in
the above-mentioned mixture is preferably about 0.5-10%, and
more preferably 2-7% by weight. If it exceeds 10%, crude
protein becomes superabundant and in some cases it may be
drawn off as urine. Conversely, if it is less than 0.5%, crude
protein becomes insufficient and a satisfactory increase in
body weight may not be achievable. Further, according to the
present invention, other effective components can be added to
the above-mentioned mixture in order to heighten the nutritive
value and taste of the final product to such an extend that the
use of other feeds is unnecessary. Such optional effective
components, include grains, chaff and bran, fermentation
accelerators such as molasses, calcium carbonate, calcium
secondary phosphate (dibasic calcium phosphate) and the like.
The nutritive value and taste of the final product are remarkably
heightened by adding 3-lO0 parts of grain and 3-lO0 parts of
chaff and bran per lO0 parts of the mixture. The action of
the fermentation microorganism is accelerated by adding 3-lO0
parts of a fermentation accelerator such as molasses. Further,
calcium carbonate, calcium secondary phosphate or a mixture
thereof acts as an effective promoter of the growth of skeletal
structures, when added in the amount of 0.3-5 parts per lO0
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parts of the fermentation mixture. Additionally, calcium
secondary phosphate plays an important part in regulating
the pEI in the blood and in the rumen of the animal.
Alcoholic fermentation microorganisms which are suit-
able Eor inoculation of the mixed starting material include
species of genus Saccharomyces such as Saccharomyces cere-
visiae (yeast), Saccharomyces sake, Saccharomyces carlsbergensis,
Saccharomyces diastaticus, Saccharomyces pastorianus, and
Saccharomyces _ouxii genus Schizosaccharomyces such as_
Schizosaccharomyces pombe, and Schizosaccharomyces octosporus;
some species of genus Candia; and some species of genus
Aspergillus (molds). Suitable organic acid fermentation
bacilli, include species of genus Brettanomyces, genus
Endomycopsis, genus Hansenula, genus Candida, genus Rhodotorus
genus Lactobacillus (bacteria), e.g. Lactobacillus hiochii,
genus Pediococcus, propionic acid bacteria, and acetic acid
bacteria. Further, suitable ester formation microorganisms
include Hansenula anomala and species of genus Ceotrichum.
Any of the foregoing fermentation microorganisms may
be used after exposure to radioactive rays such as -ray,
X-ray and ultra-violet ray to strengthen their fermentability.
The feed for ruminants of the present invention is
produced by inoculating the mixture containing the vegetable
fiber materials, which cannot be digested by ruminants, and a
non-protein nitrogen compound or compounds with an effective
amount of one of the above fermentation microorganisms or a
combination of an alcoholic fermen~ation microorganism with
an organic acid fermentation microorganism and then station-
arily cultivating the mixture for at least 18 hours, preferably
20 - 24 hours, under conditions of temperature and humidity
suitable for accelerating the action of the particular ferm-
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entation microorganism selected for use.
By using a combination of an alcoholic fermentation
microorganism-~ith an organic acid fermentation microorganism
or by using an ester formation microorganism, esters are formed
in the feed and its taste is remarkably improved.
The feed for ruminants of the present invention is
of high nutritive value and easily digestible in the rumen-
reticulum because a large quantity of fermentation micro-
organisms multiplied in the cultivating step have permeated
into the fiber structures.
The fiberous content of the present invention is
sufficient to provide for mixing the feed in the rumen-reticulum.
Therefore, this feed can be used not only as a feed additive but
also as the sole feed.
In the following examples the term "humidity" means
relative humidity.
Example 1
One hundred ml of an alcoholic fermentation micro-
organsim, Saccharomyces cerevisiae was inoculated into a mixture -
of 70 kg of sawdust, 5 kg of molasses, 4 kg of urea and 20 Q of
water, and stationary cultivation was carried out at 25C and
70 ~ humidity for 24 hours.
The above amount of feed was supplied as a day's
ration to 100 head of cattle, each head of cattle initially
weighing 200-300 kg, for three straight months. As a result,
the mean increase in body weight was found to be 0.5 kg/day.
As a control, a mixture obtained by mixing 80 kg of a commonly
used mixed feed 1 and 15 kg of a crude livestock feed (rice
straw) was supplied to another 10 head of cattle of approximately
equal body weight and the mean increase in body weight was
found to be 0.8 kg/day. Although the mean increase in body
1 The "mixed feed" used in this example and throughout the
examples was "KINGBEEF" trademark of Zenkoku Nogyo Xyodo Kumiai.
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weight was inferior to that of the control, the test demonstrated
that growth of cattle is possible even if the feed of the
presen1: invention is the only feed.
Example 2
One hundred ml of an organic acid fermentation micro-
organism, Endomycopsis fibuligere was inoculated into a mixture
(total 96 kg) prepared by mixing 50 kg of sawdust, 17 kg of
wheat bran, l0 kg. of rice bran, l0 kg of rolled barley, 5 kg
of molasses, 2 kg of urea, 1.5 kg of calcium secondary phosphate,
and 0.5 kg of calcium carbonate together with a proper amount
of water. Then stationary cultivation was carried out at 25C
and 70 % humidity for 24 hours.
The feed thus obtained was supplied to the same test
animals as in Example l and as a result the increase in body
weight was found to be l.20 kg/day.
Example 3
Two different fermentation microorgansims, 50 ml of
Saccharomyces cerevisiae and 50 ml of Endomycopsis fibuligere
were inoculated into a raw material mixture identical to that
of Example 2 and stationary cultivation was carried out in the
same manner as in Example 2.
Likewise, the same feed was supplied under the same
conditions to 10 head of cattle having 400-500 kg body weight
with a resulting increase in body weight of 1.5 kg/day.
On the other hand, the increase in weight for the
control group fed the same mixture of a mixed feed and crude
feed as in Example l was l.20 kg/day.
Example 4
A raw material ~wood chips) was soaked in an aqueous
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solution of sodium hydroxide at room temperature for 24 hours.
Then the raw material and the aqueous solution were introduced
into an alkali-containing, pressurized autoclave and cooked
under a pressure in the range of 4-6 atm. at 135C for 40-60
minutes. After cooking, the wood chips were washed with water,
neutralized and refined by means of a disc refiner. To 70 kg
of this pretreated raw material were added 3 kg of urea, 5 kg
of molasses (fermentation accelerator) and 22 Q of water to form
a fermentation mixture or medium. One hundred ml of the micro-
organsim, Saccharomyces cerevisiae was inoculated into the
.
mixture obtained above and stationary cultivation was carried
out at 25 C and 50 % humidity for 24 hours.
The above amount of the thus-prepared feed was fed
as a day's ration to 10 head of cattle, each weighing 200-300
kg, for three straight months. The resulting mean increase
in body weight was found to be 0.8 kg/day.
For comparision, another feed was prepared in the
same manner as described above (this Example) except that the
sawdust used was not pretreated with alkali, and fed to control
animals. As a result, the increase in body weight was found
to be only 0.5 kg/day.
Example 5
Two different fermentation microorganisms, 50 ml of
Saccharomyces cerevisiae and 50 ml of Endomycopsis fibuligere --
were inoculated into a mixture prepared by mixing the alkali
pretreated sawdust with other raw materials in the same manner
as in Example 4 and cultivating the stationary mixture.
The feed thus obtained was supplied to the same
~test animals as in Example 4 and as a result the increase in
body weight was found to be 0.8 kg/day.
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Example 6
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Two fermentation microorganisms, 50 ml of Saccharomyces
cerevisiae and 50 ml of Endomycopsis fibuligere were inoculated
into a mixture (total weight 96 kg) prepared by mixing 50 kg
of sawdust (alkali pretreated as in Example 4), 17 kg of wheat
bran, 10 kg of rice bran, lO kg of rolled barley, 5 kg of
molasses, 2 kg of urea, 1.5 kg of calcium secondary phosphate,
0.5 kg of calcium carbonate and a proper amount of water.
Stationary cultivation was carried out at 25C and 70 %
humidity for 24 hours. The feed thus obtained was supplied to
the same test animals as in Example ~ and as a result the
increase in body weight was observed to be 1.5 kg/day. The
total effective digestion number (TDN) of the sawdust was 25%.
Example 7
50 kg of an alkali pretreated raw material (wood chips)
were mixed with 11 kg of rolled barley , 20 kg of wheat bran,
10 kg of rice bran, 2 kg of urea, 0.5 kg of calcium carbonate,
1.5 kg of calcium secondary phosphate, 5 kg of molasses, and
a proper amount of water. Then 50 ml of an alcoholic fermentation
microorganism, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and 50 ml of an organic
acid fermentation microorgansim, Endomycopsis fibuligere were
inoculated into the mixture and cultivation was carried out
for 24 hours.
The above amount of fermented feed was fed as a day's
ration to lO head o~ ~lolstein (beef cattle) and the mean increase
in body weight was found to be 1.35 kg/day.
For compaxison, a mixture of a commonly used mixed
feed (assorted feed) and crude feed (wheat straw and grass)
was supplied to control animals whereupon the increase in body
weight WAS found to be 1.20 kg / day.
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Example 8 ..
Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Endomycopsis fibuligere
weré inoculated into a mixture of 70 kg of sawdust (alkali
pretreated as in Example 4), 10 kg of rolled barley, 10 kg of
wheat bran, 10 kg of rice bran, 0.5 kg of calcium carbonate,
1.5 kg of calcium secondary phosphate, 2 kg of urea, and 5 kg
of molasses, and the mixture was fermented at 25% and 70% .
humidity for 24 hours.
The feed thus obtained was supplied to the same
test animals as in Example 7 and the increase in body weight
was found to be 1.2 kg/day.
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