China Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Medicine ›› 2026, Vol. 53 ›› Issue (1): 151-164.doi: 10.16431/j.cnki.1671-7236.2026.01.014

• Nutrition and Feed • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of Glycyrrhiza Crude Polysaccharide on Silage Quality, Antioxidant Activity, Microbial Community Structure, and in vitro Ruminal Fermentation Parameters of Alfalfa Silage

WANG Xuao(), ZHOU Xiaodong, MA Xiaojing, MA Chengyan, ZHANG Jiaqi, HUANG Shuai()   

  1. College of Forestry and Prataculture,Ningxia University,Yinchuan 750021,China
  • Received:2025-04-27 Online:2026-01-05 Published:2025-12-26
  • Contact: HUANG Shuai E-mail:15769573736@163.com;shuaihuang010@nxu.edu.cn

Abstract:

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Glycyrrhiza crude polysaccharides (GP) supplementation on alfalfa silage quality, antioxidant activity, microbial community structure, and in vitro rumen fermentation parameters, so as to provide theoretical and practical references for utilizing local characteristic Chinese herbal medicine active ingredients to modulate high-quality alfalfa silage and develop functional forage products. Method Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) at the early flowering stage was used as the experimental material. The experiment was divided into 4 treatments with 4 replicates. Each treatment was supplemented with 0 (control group, CK), 0.5% (GP1), 1.0% (GP2), and 1.5% (GP3)GP, respectively. After 60 days of ensiling, the nutritional composition, fermentation quality, antioxidant activity, microbial community structure, and in vitro rumen fermentation parameters of alfalfa silage were analyzed. Result Compared with CK group, ①GP supplementation significantly increased the contents of dry matter (DM), ether extract (EE), and total polysaccharides (TP), the number of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity, and DDPH free radical scavenging rate of alfalfa silage (P<0.05). Conversely, GP supplementation significantly reduced silage pH and yeast counts (P<0.05). The contents of water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC) and lactic acid (LA), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in GP2 and GP3 groups were significantly increased (P<0.05). The contents of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and propionic acid (PA) in GP3 group were significantly decreased (P<0.05). ②GP supplementation decreased the relative abundances of Cyanobacteria and unclassified_p_Cyanobacteria in alfalfa silage while increased the relative abundances of Firmicutes, Enterococcus mundtiiPediococcus acidilactici, and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum. Specifically, the relative abundance of Fructilactobacillus sanfranciscensis in GP2 group showed a marked increase, whereas the relative abundances of Staphylococcusequorum and Staphylococcus epidermidis in GP1 and GP3 groups exhibited significant increase. Correlation analysis results revealed that the relative abundance of unclassified_p_Cyanobacteria was significantly positively correlated with pH and yeast counts (P<0.05), while was significantly negatively correlated with LA content and LAB counts (P<0.05). The relative abundance of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum was significantly negatively correlated with yeast counts (P<0.05). ③GP supplementation significantly increased the in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) and in vitro neutral detergent fiber digestibility (IVNDFD) of alfalfa silage (P<0.05). Conclusion Under the experimental conditions, GP supplementation could improve alfalfa silage quality, antioxidant activity, and in vitro rumen fermentation parameters, and enhance the abundance of beneficial bacteria. Overall, adding 1.0% GP provided the optimal improvement in alfalfa silage quality.

Key words: Glycyrrhiza crude polysaccharide; silage quality; antioxidant activity; microbial community structure; in vitro ruminal fermentation

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