Effect of inoculation of Lactobacillus plantarum isolated from swine feces on fermentation characteristics of hulless barley

This study was conducted to determine the effect of inoculation of microorganism isolated from pig feces on nutrient contents of fermented hulless barley. The microbial flora in feces of a total of four crossbred piglets ($Landrace{\times}Yorkshire{\times}Duroc$) was analyzed by 16s rRNA sequencing. The most abundant strain was then selected for fermentation of hulless barley. Lactobacillus plantarum (L. plantarum) was dominant (64.56%) in intestinal microbial flora in the pig feces. The selected candidate strain showed significantly higher survival rate at pH 7 than at pH 2.5 and 3.0 (p < 0.05). Incubated culture containing the candidate strain showed an increased growth rate with lower pH levels after 7.5 h incubation compared to initial incubation period (p < 0.05). When compared with commercial multiple probiotics which were used as control, the selected strain showed faster growth rate at 5 h post-incubation (p < 0.05). During the fermentation period, neither inoculated nor non-inoculated control hulless barley showed any change in pH value. Crude fat, fiber and ash contents were lower (p < 0.05) in hulless barley inoculated by the selected strain compared to control. However, moisture, energy, NDF and ADF were not affected by the inoculation of strain or fermentation period. Lactic acid was increased and acetic acid was decreased in the hulless barley inoculated with the selected strain during the fermentation period (p < 0.05). Taken together, our results suggest that L. plantarum derived from the pigs could be utilized as a new microorganism for manufacturing fermented feed stuffs.