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Cited by 30Ruminant Nutrition and Digestive PhysiologyAnimal Nutrition and PhysiologyMycotoxins in Agriculture and Food

Potassium sorbate reduces production of ethanol and 2 esters in corn silage

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Hafner, Sasha D., Franco, Roberta B., Kung, Limin, Rotz, C.Alan, Mitloehner, Frank·2014·Journal of Dairy Science
DOI 10.3168/jds.2014-8537
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Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of biological and chemical silage additives on the production of volatile organic compounds (VOC; methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, methyl acetate, and ethyl acetate) within corn silage. Recent work has shown that silage VOC can contribute to poor air quality and reduce feed intake. Silage additives may reduce VOC production in silage by inhibiting the activity of bacteria or yeasts that produce them. We produced corn silage in 18.9-L bucket silos using the following treatments: (1) control (distilled water); (2) Lactobacillus buchneri 40788, with 400,000 cfu/g of wet forage; (3) Lactobacillus plantarum MTD1, with 100,000 cfu/g; (4) a commercial buffered propionic acid-based preservative (68% propionic acid, containing ammonium and sodium propionate and acetic, benzoic, and sorbic acids) at a concentration of 1 g/kg of wet forage (0.1%); (5) a low dose of potassium sorbate at a concentration of 91 mg/kg of wet forage (0.0091%); (6) a high dose of potassium sorbate at a concentration of 1g/kg of wet forage (0.1%); and (7) a mixture of L. plantarum MTD1 (100,000 cfu/g) and a low dose of potassium sorbate (91 mg/kg). Volatile organic compound concentrations within silage were measured after ensiling and sample storage using a headspace gas chromatography method. The high dose of potassium sorbate was the only treatment that inhibited the production of multiple VOC. Compared with the control response, it reduced ethanol by 58%, ethyl acetate by 46%, and methyl acetate by 24%, but did not clearly affect production of methanol or 1-propanol. The effect of this additive on ethanol production was consistent with results from a small number of earlier studies. A low dose of this additive does not appear to be effective. Although it did reduce methanol production by 24%, it increased ethanol production by more than 2-fold and did not reduce the ethyl acetate concentration. All other treatments increased ethanol production at least 2-fold relative to the control, and L. buchneri addition also increased the 1-propanol concentration to approximately 1% of dry matter. No effects of any treatments on fiber fractions or protein were observed. However, L. buchneri addition resulted in slightly more ammonia compared with the control. If these results hold under different conditions, a high dose of potassium sorbate will be an effective treatment for reducing VOC production in and emission from silage. Regulations aimed at reducing VOC emission could be ineffective or even increase emission if they promote silage additives without recognition of different types of additives.

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  • Application of potassium sorbate at 1 kg/tonne of fresh matter was effective at reducing yeast count and improving aerobic stability in various trials.

    “However, application of potassium sorbate at 1 kg/tonne of fresh matter was effective at reducing yeast count and improving aerobic stability in various trials (Teller et al., 2012; Bernardes et al., 2014; Hafner et al., 2014).”

    From Silage review: Factors affecting dry matter and quality losses in silages (2018) · cites this paper as Hafner et al., 2014

    The Silage Production section reports a potassium sorbate treatment of 1 g/kg of wet forage, equivalent to 1 kg/tonne. The Results section says yeast counts in that treatment were below detection for almost all samples, but could not establish a difference from the control. The paper does not report an aerobic-stability improvement for this treatment; its reported benefit concerns reduced volatile-organic-compound production. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Application of a low level of potassium sorbate to corn silage (91 mg/kg of fresh matter) may decrease aerobic stability, as it has been shown to increase yeast count and ethanol content compared with untreated silage.

    “Application of a low level of potassium sorbate to corn silage (91 mg/kg of fresh matter) may decrease aerobic stability, as it has been shown to increase yeast count and ethanol content compared with untreated silage (Hafner et al., 2014).”

    From Silage review: Recent advances and future uses of silage additives (2018) · cites this paper as Hafner et al., 2014

    The Silage Production section identifies the low dose as 91 mg/kg of wet forage. The Results report that it increased ethanol relative to the control and appeared to increase yeast counts, although the yeast comparison was difficult to establish conclusively. The paper does not report that this treatment decreased aerobic stability; that is an inference from the measured outcomes. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • The effects of potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate on yeast counts, ethanol content, and aerobic stability of corn silage are dose-dependent.

    “The effects of potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate on yeast counts, ethanol content, and aerobic stability of corn silage are dose-dependent (Auerbach and Nadeau, 2013;Bernardes et al., 2014;Hafner et al., 2014;Nadeau et al., 2015a).”

    From Silage review: Recent advances and future uses of silage additives (2018) · cites this paper as Hafner et al., 2014

    The Abstract reports that high and low doses of potassium sorbate had different effects on ethanol, and the Results describe differences in yeast counts between treatments. The Introduction also reports ethanol reductions in earlier studies of potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate at different doses. But this paper does not establish dose-dependent effects of both additives on all three outcomes: it did not test sodium benzoate as a separate treatment or report dose-dependent aerobic stability. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Addition of 1.0 g of potassium sorbate/kg of fresh matter to corn silage inhibited yeast growth, decreased ethanol content, and improved aerobic stability.

    “In contrast, addition of 1.0 g of potassium sorbate/kg of fresh matter has inhibited yeast growth, resulting in decreased ethanol content (Hafner et al., 2014) and improved aerobic stability of corn silage (Teller et al., 2012;Bernardes et al., 2014).”

    From Silage review: Recent advances and future uses of silage additives (2018) · cites this paper as Hafner et al., 2014

    The Abstract reports that 1 g of potassium sorbate/kg of wet forage reduced ethanol in corn silage by 58%. The Results say yeast counts in that treatment were generally below detection, but could not establish that they differed from the control; the claim that it inhibited yeast growth is therefore stronger than the evidence. The citing sentence attributes improved aerobic stability to Teller et al. and Bernardes et al., not to Hafner et al. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Cites

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1 of the 29 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. [2]2. Auerbach, H., and E. Nadeau. 2013. Effects of chemical additives on whole-crop maize silage traits. Pages 736-737 in Proc. 22nd Intl. Grassl. Congr., Sydney New South Wales, Australia. New South Wales Department of Primary Industry, Orange, New South Wales, Australia.
  2. [17]17. Kung, L., Jr., and R. D. Shaver. 2001. Interpretation and use of silage fermentation analysis reports. Focus on Forage, vol. 3. University of Wisconsin Extension, Madison. Accessed Sep. 17, 2014. http:// d2vsp3qmody48p.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ Fermentation3-31-09.pdf.
  3. [31]31. Weiß, K., and H. Auerbach. 2012. The effect of different types of chem- ical silage additives on DM losses, fermentation pattern, volatile organic compounds (VOC) and aerobic stability of maize silage. Pages 360-361 in Proc. XVIth Intl. Silage Conf., Hämeenlinna, Finland.
  4. [34]34. Weiß, K., C. Kalzendorf, J. Zittlau, and H. Auerbach. 2009. Novel results on the occurrence of volatile compounds in maize silag- es. Pages 33-34 in Proc. XVth Intl. Silage Conf., Madison, WI.

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Authors
Hafner, S. D., Franco, R. B., Kung, L., Rotz, C. A., & Mitloehner, F.
Affiliations
  • University of Southern Denmark (DK)
  • University of California, Davis (US)
  • University of Delaware (US)
  • Agricultural Research Service (US)
Corresponding author
Hafner, Sasha D.
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Dairy Science
Publisher
American Dairy Science Association
Published
2014-12
Volume
97
Issue
12
Pages
7870-7878
ISSN
0022-0302 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3168/jds.2014-8537
OpenAlex
W2136335574
Cited by
30
References
29
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 2
FWCI
6.64
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Dairy Science (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • University of Southern Denmark Research Portal (University of Southern Denmark) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • California Air Resources Board
  • National Council for Scientific and Technological Development
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Agronomy and Crop Science › Ruminant Nutrition and Digestive Physiology
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Animal Science and Zoology › Animal Nutrition and Physiology
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Mycotoxins in Agriculture and Food
Keywords
potassium sorbate, corn silage, volatile organic compounds, ethanol production, ethyl acetate, methyl acetate, methanol, 1-propanol, silage additives, Lactobacillus buchneri, Lactobacillus plantarum, silage fermentation, silage quality, yeast inhibition
MeSH terms
Ethanol, 1-Propanol, Animals, Animal Feed, Bacteria, Zea mays, Dietary Fiber, Esters, Lactobacillus, Silage, Sorbic Acid, Yeasts, Volatile Organic Compounds

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