Paper Title
Application of Biostarter Developed from the Rumen Bacteria of Buffalo Increases the Protein Content of Corn Ears-Corn Cobs Mixture

Abstract
One of the problems of using corn cobs-corn ears (CCCE) mixture as a feedstuff for ruminants is the lack of its crude protein content. The fermentation of this stuff using bio starter (BS) is an alternative to overcome this problem. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of the application of BS on the crude protein contents of the CCCCE. The BS was developed from the rumen contents of four adult local buffalos raised under a typical feeding system. The experiment was run according to a completely randomized design consisting of seven treatments and three replications for each treatment, giving the total number of the experimental unit of 21. The treatments were: 250 g CCCE without addition of BS (P0), 250 g CCCE + 2.5% BS (P1), 250 g CCCE + 5% BS (P2), 250 g CCCE + 7.5% BS (P3), 250 g CCCE + 10% BS (P4), 250 g CCCE + 0.6% commercial bio starter (P5), and 250 g CCCE + 0.6% BS (P6). Except for the treatment T0, other treatments were fermented under anaerobic conditions for three weeks. Following the fermentation, the crude protein contents of CCCE were determined. The results of this study indicated that crude protein contents of CCCE treated with BS or commercial bio starter were significantly higher (P<0.05) than those of the control one (P0). Moreover, the higher the levels of BS used in the fermentation, the higher the crude protein contents of the CCCE. Besides, the use of a similar level of bio starter between the one developed in this study and the commercial one had no significant different (P>0.05) on the crude protein content of CCCE. In conclusion, the application of BS developed from rumen bacteria of buffalo has a promising prospect to be used as a biological agent to improve the crude protein contents of the ruminant feedstuff having low crude protein content. Keywords - Bio Starter, Rumen Bacteria of Buffalo, Crude Protein, Fermentation, Ruminant Feedstuff