The nutrients in Moringa oleifera leaf contribute to the improvement of stylo and alfalfa silage: Fermentation, nutrition and bacterial community

Moringa oleifera leaf (MOL) has been proved to improve silage fermentation but the exact reason is unclear yet. Fermentation quality, protein preservation, antioxidant activity and bacterial community of stylo and alfalfa ensiled with 5%, 10% dry MOL, stylo or alfalfa were investigated. The present results showed that mixing MOL led to the decrease of pH (5.15 vs 4.76, 5.71 vs 4.57 for stylo and alfalfa, respectively), butyric acid (15.1, 28.3 g/kg DM vs not detected), ammonia-N (111 vs 50.7, 351 vs 100 g/kg total N) contents, and the increase of lactic acid content (8.70 vs 13.0, 0.23 vs 14.0 g/kg DM) and antioxidant activity relative to the control. The relative abundance of Clostridium was lowered (55.4% to 1.69%, 8.34% to 0.57%), whereas Lactobacillus was increased (14.9% to 63.2%, 11.7% to 23.5%). In conclusion, nutrients in MOL help to improve protein preservation and nutritional value of high-moisture stylo and alfalfa silage.