A holistic approach to bovine rumen health

The rumen of bovine can also be called “the seat of production” which governs the extent of production by the animal. The rumen is a dynamic, continuous fermentation compartment that houses a variety of anaerobic bacteria, protozoa, and fungi. These microorganisms have a complex series of actions on the feed consumed by the ruminant. The rumen microbes ferment fiber, starch, sugar, and protein to form volatile fatty acids that serve as a readily available source of energy to the animal and microbial protein that helps the microorganisms to reproduce rapidly in the rumen. However, as the rumen serves as a fermentation chamber there are several parameters that are required to be in a specified range in order for its smooth functioning.

First and foremost the rumen is anaerobic. This means that there is little or no oxygen in it. Secondly, the rumen temperature is one degree above body temperature at 39°C, and pH ranges between 5.7 and 7.3. Any disruption to the delicate balance of the rumen environment will result in poor growth of the microbes, poor digestion, and ultimately, lower milk production. For instance, if there occurs any slight change in the oxygen concentrations of the rumen the conditions would turn aerobic where the anaerobic microbiota does not function efficiently.

Vinyeast is a product consisting of Live Yeast Culture (LYC) derived from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Yeast is an oxygen scavenging organism that primarily helps to maintain the balance of anaerobic nature of the rumen. Yet another benefit of using a Vinyeast is that it is a fiber digesting organism that produces Volatile Fatty Acids (VFA) like acetate, propionate, and butyrate that are absorbed by the ruminant as it serves as a readily available source of energy thus beneficial to the animal. Vinyeast also releases a number of secondary metabolites like vitamins- Biotin, Thiamine, and Folic Acid which are essentially used by the microbiota for rapid growth which in turn converts into high fermentation, high VFA, high energy, and thus high production by the animal, hence ensuring holistic health of the rumen.  Thus fulfills the aforementioned phrase “seat of production” aptly.

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