Effect of secondary compounds in forages on rumen micro-organisms quantified by 16S and 18S rRNA

A gas syringe method was used to evaluate the effect of secondary compounds from plant materials on in vitro fermentation products and microbial biomass. The experiment used Pennisetum purpureum, Morinda citrifolia fruit, Nothopanax scutellarium leaves, Sesbania sesban LS (low saponins type), Sesbania sesban HS (high saponins type) and Sapindus rarak fruit as substrates. The incubation was conducted with and without polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG) addition for 24 hours. Gas production and short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) were analysed. Prokaryotic and eukaryotic concentrations were measured by quantifying 16S and 18S rRNA. The percentage increase in gas production due to PEG was very small (<5%) for all plant materials, which indicated that the biological effect of tannin in these plant materials is limited. TLC analysis revealed that all materials contained saponin, but only S. rarak, followed by S. sesban, contained a high diversity of saponins. S. sesban gave the highest (234 ml/g) while S. rarak gave the lowest gas production (115 ml/g). S. rarak gave the lowest SCFA production (3.57 mmole/g) and also the lowest ratio of acetate to propionate (1.76), indicating a change in pattern of SCFA production. Total elimination of eukaryotic concentration was evident from the absence of the 18S rRNA band when S. rarak and S. sesban were used as sole substrates. S. rarak also reduced the prokaryotic concentration. To use S. rarak as a defaunating agent without affecting prokaryotes, a crude saponin extract was prepared from S. rarak for further experiment. Different concentrations of crude saponins in a methanol extract of S. rarak fruit dissolved in rumen buffer were added to a substrate consisting of elephant grass and wheat bran (7:3 w/w). Microbial biomass yield was quantified by gravimetry and using rRNA as a marker. Addition of crude saponin extract from S. rarak to a high-roughage diet increased microbial biomass (MB) yield to 1.07 and 1.14 times MB yield of the control, estimated by gravimetry and using rRNA as a marker, respectively. A significant, although low, correlation between these methods was found, suggesting that both methods can possibly be used to study the effect of saponin. However, due to the limited correlation between these two methods (r = 0.5793), more studies are warranted, using a greater number of samples. Using rRNA as a marker for estimating microbial biomass would be advantageous as the same RNA can be used for further microbial community analysis. (author)