Effects of dietary feed supplementation of heat-treated Lactobacillus sakei HS-1 on the health status, blood parameters, and fecal microbes of Japanese Black calves

This study investigated the effect of heat-killed Lactobacillus sakei HS-1 (HK-LS HS-1) on the health and fecal bacteriological change of suckling Japanese Black calves as a supplement in milk replacers. Twelve calves were separated from dams to calf-hatch after calving for milk replacers feeding. They were randomly assigned to an HK-LS HS-1 supplement or a control without HK-LS HS-1 group in milk replacers. HK-LS HS-1 was administered from separation day to 3 weeks. Blood and fecal samples were examined. Two calves with a haptoglobin concentration of >500 µg/ml on day 0 were excluded from the experiment, and 10 calves were finally included. Glucose and vitamin A levels on day 7 were significantly higher (P<0.05) in the supplement group than in the control group. No significant differences were observed in haptoglobin or serum amyloid A between the groups. The number of Escherichia coli in feces was lower in the control group than in the supplement group on day 21 (P=0.06). No difference was observed in the number of bifidobacteria, but that of lactic acid bacteria was significantly higher (P<0.05) in the supplement group on day 21. The number of medications administered was significantly lower (P<0.05) in the supplement group (5.2 ± 3.9) than in the control group (10.6 ± 5.9) during the experimental period. The results indicated that HK-LS HS-1 is potentially beneficial for improving intestinal microbes and reducing the number of medical treatments.