Effect of replacing alfalfa with panicled-tick clover or sericea lespedeza in corn-alfalfa-based substrates on in vitro ruminal methane production

Abstract

Methane emissions from ruminant livestock contribute to total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and reduce metabolizable energy intake by the animal. Condensed tannins (CT) are polyphenolic plant secondary compounds commonly produced by some perennial forage legumes that characteristically bind to protein, carbohydrates, and minerals. The degree to which CT may affect ruminant nutrition depends upon the concentration, structural composition, and biological activity of the CT. The objective of our experiment was to determine the effect of replacing alfalfa in a corn-alfalfa-based substrate with a legume containing CT on in vitro CH4 production and the dynamics of fermentation using an in vitro gas production technique. All fermented substrates contained 50% ground corn as the energy concentrate portion, whereas the forage portion (50%) of each diet was comprised of alfalfa (control) or some combination of alfalfa and sericea lespedeza (SL) or panicled-tick clover (PTC). Our treatments consisted of PTC or SL 15, 30, and 45, which corresponded with 15, 30, or 45% replacement of the diet (alfalfa component) with either PTC or SL. Substrates containing 45% PTC or SL reduced in vitro CH4 production. Treatments did not affect total gas production as compared with that of the control. Replacement of alfalfa with SL or PTC increased fermentable organic matter (FOM). The PTC treatment increased FOM by as much as 1.8% at the 45% replacement level, whereas FOM of SL 45 was increased by less than 1%. The replacement of alfalfa with PTC increased substrate nutritive value greater than replacement with SL. There were no correlations between any physicochemical constituent of the substrates and CH4 production. A combination of factors associated with the inclusion of PTC and SL contributed to the in vitro CH4 production, and CT in these forages was likely a major contributing factor. Further confirmation of these results on in situ or in vivo animal systems is required. If proven effective in an in vivo production scenario, replacement of commonly fed non-CT-containing legumes, such as alfalfa, with legumes containing CT might be a viable method to decrease the effect of animal agriculture on greenhouse gas production.

The role of condensed tannins in ruminant animal production: advances, limitations and future directions

“…Quijada et al (2015) demonstrated that CT composed predominately of prodelphinidin subunits had greater anthelmintic activity than those composed predominantly of procyanidin. This may explain why L. cuneata, a forage that produces CT composed predominately of prodelphinidin subunits (Naumann et al, 2015b), has demonstrated high anthelmintic efficacy in vivo (Shaik et al, 2006;Terrill et al, 2007;Terrill et al, 2009). Similar findings have been reported with cattle parasites.…”

“…It is possible to accomplish this objective with CT. In in vitro rumen fermentation studies, replacement of 45% of the forage portion of a corn-alfalfa diet for either L. cuneata or D. paniculatum, achieving dietary CT concentrations of 2.6 and 9%, respectively, decreased CH 4 production without decreasing total gas production (Naumann et al, 2015b).…”

In Vitro protein digestibility and fermentability of mulberry (Morus alba)-Leucaena foliage mixed feed

“…The gas decline by 19.68% when tannin was added at 2% and further decline to maximum 33.63% when the tannin addition was increased into 4% DM In this study though the levels of tannin addition (based on tannin content of leucaena) was higher (6.45% and 3.13% at leucaena hybrid mixture at 50% and 25% respectively the reduction of gas production was lower (13.3% and 21% respectively for mixture at 50 and 25%) the difference of gas production due to tannin addition in the current study with previous study reported by Huang et al (2010) might be caused by the difference of tannin activity in extracted form (Huang et al 2010) or in intact in the plant materials form such in the current study. Naumann et al (2015) also reported that at different level of tannin content and different source of tannin in the diet did not affect total gas production. This indicated that effect of tannins on feed fermentation varied.…”

Characterization and biological activity of condensed tannins from tropical forage legumes

“…We determined the prodelphinidin:procyanidin ratio of CT from six plants, using anthocyanidin monomers as described by Naumann et al (2015), using purified CT added to butanol acid. Delphinidin and propelargonidin (Sigma-Aldrich Co., St. Louis, MO, USA) were used as standards in HPLC-controlled by Breeze software.…”