Essential oils and fatty acids as strategic additives for rehydrated corn grain silage

• Grant number: 24/01303-1
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: July 01, 2024
• End date: June 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Pastures and Forage Crops
• Principal Investigator: Luiz Gustavo Nussio
• Grantee: Luiz Gustavo Nussio
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The growing pressure to employ sustainable practices in several agribusiness sectors hasencouraged the development of natural products capable of replacing chemical additives used inanimal production and related activities. In the field of silage production, the development ofnatural products for use as additives is still quite modest and incipient, with the availableinformation limited to some forage crops, and the effects still associated with crude oils extractedfrom plants and seeds. Thus, this project will develop viable strategies for the use of vegetableessential oils and fatty acids as additives for making rehydrated corn grain silage, with the researchdivided into three phases. In the first phase, screening tests will be carried out in laboratory siloswith pure isolates of essential oils and pure fatty acids of varied molecular structures, seeking toidentify compounds capable of emulating the positive effects on conservation and aerobic stabilitypromoted by sodium benzoate, a chemical additive consolidated for silage making. In the secondphase, more detailed experiments will be carried out to produce strategic doses for each selectedcompound, describe the microbial and fermentative modulation of silages treated throughmolecular tools, and describe the impact of the strategies on proteolysis and grain processingcapacity. In the third and final phase, the food safety of the silages will be investigated, consideringthe occurrence of residual effects on ruminants. Combining in vitro digestibility tests andmetabolic tests with young male sheep, changes in rumen fermentation and gas production will bemeasured, betting on a likely reduction in methane emissions. (AU)