Twenty-six stocker cattle (286.1 ± 25.7 kg) were used to quantify the effect of commercial plant tannin extracts (control vs. mimosa and chestnut tannins) on animal performance, gastrointestinal parasites control and plasma metabolite changes in heifers grazing winter wheat forage ( Triticum aestivum L. var. “cutter”). The forage biomass and crude protein content were generally similar among treatments. Initial live-weight (LW) was similar among treatments, although final LW ( P = 0.1) and average daily gain (ADG; P < 0.01) differed. Logarithmic (log) fecal egg counts (FEC) for Haemonchus contortus was higher ( P < 0.02) for mimosa tannins group than for control group, and chestnut tannins group was intermediate in cattle grazing wheat forage on day 35. Logarithmic FEC for Ostertagia was lower ( P < 0.05) for chestnut tannins group than for both control and mimosa tannins group on day 41. However, log FEC for Cooperia was lower ( P < 0.04) for mimosa tannins than for both control and chestnut tannins group. Blood parameters were similar among treatments, except cholesterol level on day 70. Blood cholesterol level was higher ( P < 0.02) for chestnut tannins group than for control, and intermediate for mimosa tannins. However, cholesterol level was similar among treatment after 20 days cessation of tannins treatments. Our data suggest that heifers grazing winter wheat forage supplemented with plant tannins rather than control (non-tannins group) increased ADG (8% to 19%) for mimosa and chestnut tannins groups, respectively with no detectable detrimental effects on animal health. The increase in ADG may be due to decrease fecal parasites infections.
Gastrointestinal parasite infections are natural occurring components of pastoral grazing systems and many internal parasite species have developed resistance to anthelmintic drugs [
Natural plant tannins have been documented to control intestinal parasites in ruminants [
The benefits of tannins in the diets to affect digestion of tannins-free diets have facilitated research involving other dietary tannins compounds such as commercially available mimosa and chestnut tannins. We hypothesize commercially available plant tannin extracts would be effective in controlling internal parasites infestation and increasing average daily gain (ADG) in growing stocker cattle. The objectives of this study were to examine the animal performance, internal parasites, and blood metabolites effects of hydrolysable tannin-rich chestnut and condensed tannin-rich mimosa extracts applied as a feed additive to stocker cattle.
Twenty-six stocker cattle (Angus × Hereford × Brangus; 286.1 ± 25.7 kg) were used to quantify the effect of plant tannins (control vs. mimosa and chestnut tannins) on animal performance and animal health (internal parasites and plasma metabolites) in heifers grazing winter wheat forage. Animals were randomly allocated to 1 of 3 treatments that included a control (non-tannins group; texture feed only) and two types of tannins (mimosa and chestnut tannins). The study was conducted at the West Walker Unit of the Texas Agricultural Research Center, Vernon, TX from February to April during 70 days. After a 30 day adjustment period to grazing wheat forage, cattle were dewormed (Moxidectin; 10 mL/100 kg BW; Fort Dodge Animal Health, Fort Dodge, Iowa). Cattle were weighted at 10 days intervals. Plant tannins (1.5% of DMI) were supplemented by once daily mixing extract with a textured feed carrier (500 g/steer) at approximately 0800 h. The mixed ration consisted of steam- flaked milo (85 kg), hominy feed (10 kg), and molasses (5 kg/100kg DM) on an as-feed basis.
Two weeks after treated with Moxidectin, all animals were experimentally-infected (March 15) with infective stage of larvae (L3) by a single feed-through infection mixed with Cooperia (3000), Ostertagia ostertagi (2000), and Haemonchus contortus (1000) larvae per animal (day 0). The nematodes larvae were collected from infected donor cattle and provided by Dr. J. E. Miller, Louisiana State University, LA. Individual parasites larvae and fecal eggs were morphologically confirmed according to the methods of Merck Veterinary Manual [
Fecal samples (n = 4) were collected (every 10 to 15 days) rectally and examined for fecal egg counts (FEC; [
Blood samples was taken (5 ml) and analyzed by Vet Scan (Mammalian Liver Profile; VS2; 3240 Whipple Rd., Union City, CA) to quantify Alkaline phosphatase (liver, bone, parathyroid, and intestinal disease), Alanine aminotransferase (liver and heart diseases including viral hepatitis and cirrhosis), Gamma glutamyl transferase (primary and secondary liver tumors), bile acids (hepatobiliary disease), total bilirubin (hepatic disorders), blood urea nitrogen (liver and kidney disease), and total cholesterol levels. The endoscopic examination (Olympus CLK-3; Cold light supply, Olympus Optical Co. Ltd., Japan) from esophagus were performed all the animals with a local veterinary (Vernon, Vet Clinic, Vernon, TX) at the end of trial and 30 days after the cessation of experiment to quantify any lesions related to tannin extract supplementation.
Data from each experiment were analyzed by the MIXED procedure (SAS Institute, Cary, N.C.), and differences in log mean FEC/mg was determined by a repeated-measures analysis of variance. The variables in experiment included forage chemical composition, live-weight (LW), average daily gain (ADG), FEC, and plasma blood parameters. The model included sources of plant extracts (mimosa vs. chestnut tannins) and time. The replicate was treated as a random variable. The FEC was log transformed prior to analysis.
Animals were grazed during a vegetative state and early reproductive stage of wheat forage during the experiment. The forage biomass and crude protein content were generally similar among treatments (
There was no significant interaction between date and source of tannins on FEC. Logarithmic FEC for H. contortus was greater (P < 0.02) for mimosa tannins group than for control group, and chestnut tannins group was intermediate after day 35 (
As shown in
Item | MCT | CCT | Control | SEM | P-value |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Biomass (kg DM/ha) | 1283 | 1032 | 1141 | 122.2 | 0.25 |
Crude protein (%) | 22.8 | 23.5 | 22 | 1.33 | 0.57 |
BW change (70 day) | |||||
Initial BW | 325.1 | 335.4 | 331.3 | 15.59 | 0.83 |
Final BW | 408.7 | 434.8 | 399.5 | 17.5 | 0.1 |
ADG (g/day) | 1.84ab | 2.1a | 1.7b | 0.12 | 0.01 |
MCT: mimosa tannins, CCT: chestnut tannins. a,b,cNumbers in a row with superscript letters are significantly different (P < 0.05).
Item | Control | Mimosa | Chestnut | SEM | P-value |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Haemonchus contortus | |||||
Day 0 | 0.51 | 0.46 | 0.21 | 0.16 | 0.74 |
Day 20 | 0.37 | 0.85 | 0.64 | 0.16 | 0.22 |
Day 35 | 0.57c | 1.44a | 1.06ab | 0.16 | 0.02 |
Day 41 | 0.26 | 0.21 | 0.21 | 0.16 | 0.58 |
SEM | 0.14 | 0.14 | 0.14 | - | - |
Ostertagia ostertagi | |||||
Day 0 | 0.57 | 0.16 | 0.59 | 0.22 | 0.32 |
Day 20 | 0.77 | 0.59 | 0.77 | 0.22 | 0.66 |
Day 35 | 1.24 | 1.57 | 1.71 | 0.22 | 0.26 |
Day 41 | 0.40a | 0.40a | 0.17b | 0.22 | 0.05 |
SEM | 0.19 | 0.19 | 0.19 | - | - |
Cooperia + others | |||||
Day 0 | 0.56 | 0.73 | 0.21 | 0.13 | 0.13 |
Day 20 | 1.73 | 2.14 | 1.81 | 0.13 | 0.19 |
Day 35 | 4.28a | 3.63b | 4.26a | 0.13 | 0.04 |
Day 41 | 3.97a | 3.47b | 3.66b | 0.14 | 0.12 |
SEM | 0.1 | 0.12 | 0.12 | - | - |
Interaction | HC | OS | Cooperia | ||
Date (D) | 0.001 | 0.001 | 0.001 | ||
Sources of tannins (T) | 0.16 | 0.64 | 0.57 | ||
D × T | 0.69 | 0.78 | 0.11 |
Steers were grazed winter wheat forage during the 70 days with and without tannins supplementation. Infective third (L3) stage of larvae mixtures Haemonchus contortus (HC), Ostertagia ostertagi (OS), and Cooperia were artificially infected with feed through. a,b,cNumbers in a row with superscript letters are significantly different (P < 0.05).
Blood cholesterol level was higher (P < 0.02) for chestnut tannins group than for control, and intermediate for mimosa tannins. However, cholesterol level was similar among treatments after 20 days cessation of tannins treatments. After 20 days cessation of tannins treatment, total bilirubin was higher (P < 0.02) for mimosa than for control, while blood urea nitrogen was higher (P < 0.02) for control than for chestnut tannins group.
Esophageal endoscopic evaluation of all cattle at the end of the trial (day 70) indicated that heifers received with or without plant tannins had no lesions observed on esophagus measured by endoscopic examination (Data not shown).
The most significant findings in this study were that heifers grazing winter wheat forage supplemented with plant tannins rather than control (non-tannins group) 8% to 19% increased ADG for mimosa and chestnut tannins groups, respectively with no discernable detrimental effects on blood chemistry or the esophagus. The increase in ADG may be due to decreases in both Cooperia and O. ostertagi fecal parasites infections. The significant reduction of FEC in both Cooperia and O. ostertagi after day 35 or 41 suggests that length of feeding time is required to give maximum response in internal parasites infestation.
Control | Control | Mimosa | Chestnut | SEM | P-value | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tannins treatment period (after 70 days tannins administration) | ||||||||
ALP | 181.6 | 180.9 | 162 | 63.57 | 0.76 | |||
ALT | 30.2 | 31.6 | 29.4 | 2.51 | 0.41 | |||
GGT | 11.2 | 13.1 | 13.3 | 2.51 | 0.39 | |||
BA | 6.9 | 8.6 | 3 | 1.91 | 0.25 | |||
TBIL | 0.69 | 0.69 | 0.71 | 0.03 | 0.61 | |||
ALB | 2 | 2 | 1.9 | 0.04 | 0.49 | |||
BUN | 12.7 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 0.52 | 0.38 | |||
CHOL | 62.6b | 71.2ab | 90.4a | 10.6 | 0.02 | |||
Non-tannins treatment period | ||||||||
(20 days cessation of tannins administration on wheat pasture) | ||||||||
ALP | 149.8 | 135.1 | 129.3 | 24.8 | 0.73 | |||
ALT | 24.1 | 24.8 | 23.5 | 2.57 | 0.66 | |||
GGT | 9.8 | 13.7 | 11.6 | 2.61 | 0.45 | |||
BA | 19.1 | 13.8 | 14.2 | 1.91 | 0.3 | |||
TBIL | 0.48b | 0.61a | 0.50b | 0.04 | 0.02 | |||
ALB | 2 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 0.05 | 0.38 | |||
BUN | 11.1a | 10.7a | 7.9b | 0.52 | 0.02 | |||
CHOL | 54 | 73 | 63.2 | 13.4 | 0.37 | |||
Interaction | ALP | ALT | GGT | BA | TBIL | ALB | BUN | CHOL |
Period (P) | 0.3 | 0.01 | 0.58 | 0.001 | 0.001 | 0.34 | 0.001 | 0.14 |
Source of tannins (T) | 0.89 | 0.7 | 0.36 | 0.42 | 0.13 | 0.63 | 0.07 | 0.16 |
P × T | 0.98 | 0.97 | 0.81 | 0.53 | 0.09 | 0.38 | 0.28 | 0.29 |
Steers were grazed winter wheat forage during the 70 days with tannins supplementation. Animals were continues grazed on wheat forage after the cessation of tannins administration, and the last blood samples were taken 20 days thereafter. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), liver, bone, parathyroid and intestinal disease; alanine aminotransferase (ALT), liver diseases including viral hepatitis, cirrhosis, and heart diseases; gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT), liver disease, primary and secondary liver tumors; bile acids (BA), hepatobiliary disease, portosystemic anomaly, and extraheptic; total bilirubin (TBIL), hepatic disorders; albumin, liver and kidney disease; blood urea nitrogen (BUN), liver and kidney disease; total cholesterol (CHOL). a,b,cNumbers in a row with superscript letters are significantly different (P < 0.05).
In the present study, both mimosa and chestnut tannins did not have inhibiting effect on H. contortus fecal egg output, but Cooperia and Ostertagia fecal egg output were reduced in heifers supplemented with both tannin extracts. When established adult nematodes were exposed to condensed tannins in sheep, a reduction in worm fecundity and worm numbers was observed for the intestinal species (Nematodirus battus and Trichostrongylus colubriformis), whereas no changes were recorded for the species that resides in the stomach and abomasums (Teladorsagia circumcincta and H. contortus; [
Cooperia fecal eggs were reduced 8% to 13% by mimosa and chestnut tannins supplementation, respectively. While present study has shown that average Ostertagia fecal eggs production can be reduced by 57% on day 41 without use of anthelmintics when heifers received chestnut tannins as compared to a non-tannins containing diet. This reduction is an indication that plant tannins supplementation has an anthelmintic potential to control internal parasites in ruminants depending on sources of tannins and nematode species. Yamasaki et al. [
There is strong evidence showing that an improved efficiency of protein digestion throughout tannins-con- taining forage diet, especially by-pass protein from the rumen, can result in an increased ADG and animal productivity [
Ingestion of phenolic compounds such as tannins have been shown to various gastrointestinal disturbances. Hervas et al. [
It was concluded that heifers grazing winter wheat forage received plant tannins increased ADG with generally no detrimental effects. The increase in ADG may be due to decrease fecal parasites infections.
B. R.Min,K.Hernandez,W. E.Pinchak,R. C.Anderson,J. E.Miller,E.Valencia, (2015) Effects of Plant Tannin Extracts Supplementation on Animal Performance and Gastrointestinal Parasites Infestation in Steers Grazing Winter Wheat. Open Journal of Animal Sciences,05,343-350. doi: 10.4236/ojas.2015.53038