Citric Acid Influences the Dynamics of the Fermentation Quality, Protease Activity and Microbial Community of Mulberry Leaf Silage

Chen, Dekui; Zhou, Wei; Guo, Xiang; Zheng, Mingyang; Chen, Xiaoyang; Zhang, Qing

doi:10.3390/fermentation7030185

Open AccessArticle

Citric Acid Influences the Dynamics of the Fermentation Quality, Protease Activity and Microbial Community of Mulberry Leaf Silage

by

Dekui Chen

^†,

Wei Zhou

^†,

Xiang Guo

,

Mingyang Zheng

,

Xiaoyang Chen

^* and

Qing Zhang

^*

Guangdong Province Research Center of Woody Forage Engineering Technology, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contribute equally to this work.

Fermentation 2021, 7(3), 185; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation7030185

Submission received: 18 August 2021 / Revised: 3 September 2021 / Accepted: 7 September 2021 / Published: 9 September 2021

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fermentation and Bioactive Metabolites 3.0)

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Abstract

Mulberry (Morus alba) leaves has performed well as a high-quality protein supplement for livestock and enriches the edible resources of livestock. However, the harvest of mulberry leaves is seasonal and occurs mainly during the rainy season in southeast China; therefore, humid and sultry weather causes serious losses of mulberry leaf biomass, which pose a challenge for the preservation of mulberry leaves. In this study, we used the silage fermentation method to preserve mulberry leaves and investigated the effects of citric acid on the silage quality of mulberry leaves. Mulberry leaves were ensiled with or without 1% citric acid and 2% citric acid. The chemical composition, protein fraction and microbial community of mulberry leaf silages were analyzed. The results showed that the silage treated with citric acid had a higher dry matter recovery and lactic acid content and a lower acetic acid content, non-protein nitrogen content and ammonia-N content; citric acid also inhibited the activities of carboxypeptidase and aminopeptidase. Moreover, citric acid increased Lactobacillus abundance in silages and decreased the abundance of undesired microorganisms, such as Enterobacter. In summary, the addition of citric acid improved the fermentation quality of mulberry leaf silages, with 2% citric acid being more effective than 1% citric acid.

Keywords: mulberry leaves; silage; citric acid; fermentation quality

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MDPI and ACS Style

Chen, D.; Zhou, W.; Guo, X.; Zheng, M.; Chen, X.; Zhang, Q. Citric Acid Influences the Dynamics of the Fermentation Quality, Protease Activity and Microbial Community of Mulberry Leaf Silage. Fermentation 2021, 7, 185. https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation7030185

AMA Style

Chen D, Zhou W, Guo X, Zheng M, Chen X, Zhang Q. Citric Acid Influences the Dynamics of the Fermentation Quality, Protease Activity and Microbial Community of Mulberry Leaf Silage. Fermentation. 2021; 7(3):185. https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation7030185

Chicago/Turabian Style

Chen, Dekui, Wei Zhou, Xiang Guo, Mingyang Zheng, Xiaoyang Chen, and Qing Zhang. 2021. "Citric Acid Influences the Dynamics of the Fermentation Quality, Protease Activity and Microbial Community of Mulberry Leaf Silage" Fermentation 7, no. 3: 185. https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation7030185

APA Style

Chen, D., Zhou, W., Guo, X., Zheng, M., Chen, X., & Zhang, Q. (2021). Citric Acid Influences the Dynamics of the Fermentation Quality, Protease Activity and Microbial Community of Mulberry Leaf Silage. Fermentation, 7(3), 185. https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation7030185

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Citric Acid Influences the Dynamics of the Fermentation Quality, Protease Activity and Microbial Community of Mulberry Leaf Silage

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