Ruminants have evolved to develop circadian rhythms of rumen fermentation [1]. This nature-driven rhythmicity involves microbial characteristics of nutrient assimilation [2]. Such circadian patterns greatly contribute to circadian responses in microbial and host metabolism to modern management strategies [3,4]. As such, before and while practicing any modern production approach in foodproducing ruminant industry and human food sectors, such circadian rhythms of rumen fermentation must be taken into account. This is to ensure no or minimal interference with optimal microbial physiology and overall rumen and ruminant health.

Due to the highly diverse ruminal microbial population including bacteria, protozoa, fungi, archaea and viruses, and also the extensive rumen fermentation capacity, internal probiotics (relative to external probiotics) greatly determine rumen function and health. The internal probiotics include optimized natural patterns of feed presentation and subsequent eating behaviour and fermentation patterns. Managing ruminants in ways that never or minimally interferes with such nature-instigated patterns of microbial physiology, will determine the degree of success in manipulating rumen fermentation and utilizing external probiotics such as supportive fibrolytics.

Optimizing timing of feed presentation, notably, can improve microbial energetics and mass production, and thus, can increase production of adequately safe and secure human food (e.g., milk and meat) [5,6]. Appropriate use of external supplementary probiotics in line with optimal timing of rumen fermentation is more likely to significantly improve microbial production and health while reducing waste. Since ruminants have shown to possess greater digestive capacity of especially fibrolytic ability overnight vs. morning [5], linking such a natural and internal probiotic property of rumen ecology to external probiotic strategies will be highly beneficial. The goal is indeed to maintain reasonable ruminant productivity without jeopardized or even compromised rumen microbial metabolism and health.

This article innovatively established the scientific basis for an onfarm practice to augment prohealth and promass effects of probiotics on human food production from ruminants through taking increasing advantages of amalgamated internal natural probiotics with external prohealth supplements.

Thanks to Iran’s Ministry of Science Research and Technology, National Elite Foundation, and University of Zanjan for supporting the author’s global programs of optimizing science edification in the third millennium.