Impact of Oral Probiotics on Faecal Profile in Endangered Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus)

Authors

  • Dharmendra Chharang Department of Animal Nutrition, Post Graduate Institute of Veterinary Education and Research, Rajasthan University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Jaipur-302031, India
  • Sheela Choudhary Department of Animal Nutrition, Post Graduate Institute of Veterinary Education and Research, Rajasthan University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Jaipur-302031, India
  • Bhavana Rathore Department of Veterinary Parasitology, Post Graduate Institute of Veterinary Education and Research, Rajasthan University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Jaipur-302031, India
  • Deepak Chopra Department of Livestock Production and Management, National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal-132001, Haryana, India
  • Kavita Meena Department of Animal Nutrition, Post Graduate Institute of Veterinary Education and Research, Rajasthan University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Jaipur-302031, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.48165/ijvsbt.19.1.10

Keywords:

Asian elephants, Faecal profiles, Lactobacillus, Mould, Probiotics

Abstract

A study was planned to determine the impact of oral probiotics on faecal profiles in 18 adult Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) for sixty days. The elephants were randomly divided into three groups, with six each. The experimental probiotics; Lactobacillus acidophilus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, were supplemented @ 1 gm (1 × 109 cfu /gm) / 50 kg body weight per day to all the elephants of T2 and T3 groups, respectively, whereas no probiotic was given to the control (T1) group. The faecal samples were taken on 0 and 60th day of the experiment for the analysis of faecal profiles viz. pH, lactic acid, coliforms, and probiotic microbial counts, i.e., lactobacillus and mould. Oral feeding of probiotics did not exhibit any significant impact on faecal profiles; however, it seems to induce some shift in faecal microflora. A declining trend in lactobacillus count was observed in probiotic groups as compared to the control group, which could be implicative of positive health status in Asian elephants.

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Published

2023-01-10

Issue

Vol. 19 No. 1 (2023): The Indian Journal of Veterinary Sciences and Biotechnology (IJVSBT) (Jan- Feb) 2023

Section

Articles

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Chharang, D., Choudhary, S., Rathore, B., Chopra, D., & Meena, K. (2023). Impact of Oral Probiotics on Faecal Profile in Endangered Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus). Indian Journal of Veterinary Sciences and Biotechnology, 19(1), 43–46. https://doi.org/10.48165/ijvsbt.19.1.10
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