Research Progress on Propionate Application in Ruminant

Propionate is a kind of new,efficient and safe additive with the functions of anti-mildew,anticorrosion and treatment of diseases,which is widely used in feed processing industry. Propionate is decomposed into propionic acid and mineral elements in the rumen, and propionic acid is the main active ingredient. Propionate can promote rumen development,regulate blood glucose,maintain energy balance,therefore,it has been used to treat ketosis in practice production. At present,the propionate has been studied mostly at the rumen infusion stage,and in vitro experiments are focused on the liver gluconeogenesis pathway,which revolves around energy metabolism. But there are a few researches about the effects of propionate on production performance and fermentation. With the development of study of short chain fatty acids in the medical field,it brings a new opportunity for its development in husbandry. Whether propionate has the ability to promote rumen development, alleviate inflammation and enhance immunity needed to be further explored and verified. This paper mainly introduces the metabolic pathway and the mechanism of propionate and its application value in ruminant animal nutrition,combined with the production performance and maintain health,in order to reveal its potential value and provides scientific basis for its application in ruminant.