Mundrathi Harika, M. KISHAN KUMAR, D. B. V. Ramana, Ch. Harikrishna, J. Narasimha, D. Sreenivas, A. Deepika, Jupelli Uma Maheshwar Rao
A study was conducted to assess the effects of an enzyme cocktail and postbiotic yeast supplementation on the chemical composition, in vitro digestibility, and in vitro gas production of total mixed rations. Nineteen treatment diets were formulated with different levels of the enzyme cocktail (ENC), postbiotic yeast (PBY), or their combination. Among diets T1-T7, NDF and ADF differed significantly (P < 0.01), whereas DM, CP, OM, EE, crude fibre, NFE, total ash, hemicellulose, cellulose, silica, and lignin did not differ significantly. Among diets T8-T13, NDF and ADF differed significantly (P < 0.01), whereas the other measured chemical components did not differ significantly. Among diets T14-T19, CP showed a marginal treatment effect (P = 0.050), while NDF and ADF differed significantly (P < 0.01) and cellulose differed at P = 0.013. In vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) and in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD) were highest in T7, T13, and T19 within their respective treatment groups, although IVDMD did not differ significantly among T1 and T8-T13 (P = 0.072). In vitro gas production at 12, 24, and 48 h differed significantly (P < 0.01), with the highest values recorded for T7, T13, and T19 within their respective groups. These findings indicate that enzyme-containing treatments, alone or combined with postbiotic yeast, improved selected measures of substrate degradability and in vitro gas production compared with the control diet.