The present study was conducted to study the effect of microencapsulated, lyophilized, or fermented milk using Lactobacillus acidophilus NCDC15 as a probiotic to improve gut health, growth, nutrient utilization, and immunity status of young crossbred calves. The viable culture of L. acidophilus was used for preparation of different probiotic forms/products. To compare the efficacy of probiotic products, twenty crossbred calves (3-day old) were divided into four groups (n = 5), control (C), fed only milk and basal diet, and treatment groups, supplemented with microencapsulated, fermented, and lyophilized probiotic at 10⁸ colony-forming units, respectively. Probiotic-supplemented groups showed reduction in faecal score, faecal pH, and ammonia concentration as compared to control indicating decreased diarrheal incidence. There was an increase (P < 0.05) in the concentration of faecal lactate and butyrate in the probiotic-supplemented groups. The faecal count (log10 (CFU)/g of fresh faeces) of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria was higher (P < 0.05), whereas faecal coliforms and clostridia count were reduced (P < 0.001) in all the probiotic fed groups as compared to control. The cell-mediated immunity was improved (P < 0.05) in the microencapsulated and fermented probiotic groups. However, there was no effect on the nutrient utilization, average daily gain, and blood biochemical profile. Therefore, it is concluded that the fermented, microencapsulated and lyophilized probiotic products were superior in improving the gut health in terms of its microbiota and metabolites and cell-mediated immunity response in calves, irrespective of form of probiotic. The increased population of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium decreased the colonization of the gut by pathogens such as Escherichia coli and Clostridium by exclusion and production of organic acids in the intestine. This decreased the diarrhoeal incidence (1.3 vs 1.8) and days in diarrhoea (3.9 vs 5.8) in calves in probiotic fed groups as compared to control.

本研究旨在研究使用嗜酸乳杆菌NCDC15 作为益生菌的微胶囊、冻干或发酵乳对改善杂交小牛肠道健康、生长、营养利用和免疫状态的影响。嗜酸乳杆菌的活培养物用于制备不同的益生菌形式/产品。为了比较益生菌产品的功效，将 20 头杂交小牛（3 日龄）分为 4 组（n  = 5）、对照组（C）、仅饲喂牛奶和基础日粮，以及补充微胶囊、发酵、和冻干益生菌在 10 ⁸菌落形成单位，分别。与对照组相比，益生菌补充组的粪便评分、粪便 pH 值和氨浓度降低，表明腹泻发生率降低。益生菌补充组的粪便乳酸和丁酸浓度增加（P  < 0.05）。 与对照组相比，所有益生菌喂养组的乳酸杆菌和双歧杆菌的粪便计数（log10 (CFU)/g 新鲜粪便）较高（P  < 0.05），而粪便大肠菌群和梭状芽胞杆菌计数减少（P < 0.001）。细胞介导的免疫力得到改善（P < 0.05) 在微囊化和发酵益生菌组中。然而，对营养利用、平均日增重和血液生化特征没有影响。因此，可以得出结论，无论益生菌的形式如何，发酵、微囊化和冻干的益生菌产品在改善小牛肠道健康方面的微生物群和代谢物以及细胞介导的免疫反应方面都具有优势。乳酸杆菌和双歧杆菌数量的增加减少了大肠杆菌和梭状芽胞杆菌等病原体在肠道的定植通过在肠道中排除和产生有机酸。与对照组相比，这降低了益生菌喂养组小牛的腹泻发生率（1.3 对 1.8）和腹泻天数（3.9 对 5.8）。