Assessing effects of tannin-rich sainfoin supplements for grazing dairy goats on feed protein efficiency.

This research communication presents a study evaluating the effects of dried sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) supplemented to dairy goats on their milking performance and feed protein efficiency under commercial conditions. During July and August 2015, a herd of 20 Alpine goats was divided into two treatments (n = 10), balanced by milk yield and days in milk. They were supplied with either 700 g/d sainfoin pellets (condensed tannins: 4.0 g/kg DM) or 700 g/d lucerne (Medicago sativa) pellets (condensed tannins: 0.3 g/kg DM). The goats remained in one herd and were separated by treatments only during milking. In the milking parlour each goat received 350 g of the respective pellets, twice daily. During the day, the herd had 5 h access to a high-quality pasture (crude protein >200 g/kg DM), whilst during the rest of the day and the night animals were housed and offered grass hay ad libitum. The experiment lasted for seven weeks. Individual milk yields and composition were controlled in weeks 1, 3, 5, and 7 after the start of the experiment. No differences between the treatments were found, either for milk, protein or urea yields, nor for protein, urea and fat concentrations. Urea to protein ratio in milk was lower with the sainfoin treatment. In conclusion, sainfoin compared to lucerne, supplied for 7 weeks to dairy goats at approximately 25% of the diet, had only weak beneficial and no adverse effects on milking performance, milk composition and feed protein efficiency under commercial conditions of pasture-based dairy production.

The genetic basis for the selection of dairy goats with enhanced resistance to gastrointestinal nematodes.

Gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) severely affect small ruminant production worldwide. Increasing problems of anthelmintic resistance have given strong impetus to the search for alternative strategies to control GIN. Selection of animals with an enhanced resistance to GIN has been shown to be successful in sheep. In goats, the corresponding information is comparatively poor. Therefore, the present study was designed to provide reliable data on heritabilities of and genetic correlations between phenotypic traits linked to GIN and milk yield in two major dairy goat breeds (Alpine and Saanen). In all, 20 herds totalling 1303 goats were enrolled in the study. All herds had (i) a history of gastrointestinal nematode infection, (ii) uniform GIN exposure on pasture and (iii) regular milk recordings. For all goats, individual recordings of faecal egg counts (FEC), FAMACHA© eye score, packed cell volume (PCV) and milk yield were performed twice a year with an anthelmintic treatment in between. The collected phenotypic data were multivariately modelled using animal as a random effect with its covariance structure inferred from the pedigree, enabling estimation of the heritabilities of the respective traits and the genetic correlation between them. The heritabilities of FEC, FAMACHA© and PCV were 0.07, 0.22 and 0.22, respectively. The genetic correlation between FEC and FAMACHA© was close to zero and -0.41 between FEC and PCV. The phenotypic correlation between FEC and milk yield was close to zero, whereas the genetic correlation was 0.49. Our data suggest low heritability of FEC in Saanen and Alpine goats and an unfavourable genetic correlation of FEC with milk yield.

A Hydroalcoholic Extract from Paullinia pinnata L. Roots Exerts Anthelmintic Activity against Free-Living and Parasitic Nematodes.

Paullinia pinnata is a medicinal plant traditionally used in West Africa against a wide range of diseases including soil-transmitted helminthiases. In this study, a hydroethanolic root extract was investigated for its phytochemical composition and in vitro activity against the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as well as the larval stages of the parasitic helminths Ancylostoma caninum, Haemonchus contortus, Toxocara cati, and Trichuris vulpis.LC-MS analysis of the ethanol-water (1 : 1) extract revealed epicatechin and different A-type linked oligomeric and polymeric procyanidins as the predominant compounds.Within an in vitro mortality assay, the extract showed a lethal activity against T. cati (LC50 of 112 µg/mL), T. vulpis (LC50 of 17 µg/mL), and C. elegans (LC50 2.5 of mg/mL), but not against A. caninum. Additionally, effects on egg hatching and larval migration of H. contortus were investigated, but no inhibitory activity was observed.Overall, these findings rationalize the traditional use of the root extract from P. pinnata as an anthelmintic remedy and provide insight into the phytochemical composition of the extract.

In vitro efficacies of oils, silicas and plant preparations against the poultry red mite Dermanyssus gallinae.

The aim of this study was to test the effectiveness of physically acting substances (oils and silicas) and plant preparations for the control of the poultry red mite Dermanyssus gallinae (De Geer 1778). Reproduction and survival of fed D. gallinae females were evaluated in vitro for a total of 168 h using the "area under the survival curve" (AUC) to compare survival of the mites between treatments. Four oils (two plant oils, one petroleum spray oil and diesel), one soap, three silicas (one synthetic amorphous silica, one diatomaceous earth (DE) and one DE with 2% pyrethrum extract) and seven plant preparations (derived from Chrysanthemum cineariaefolium, Allium sativum, Tanacetum vulgare, Yucca schidigera, Quillaja saponaria, Dryopteris filix-mas, and Thuja occidentalis) were tested at various concentrations. All the oils, diesel and soap significantly reduced D. gallinae survival. All silicas tested inhibited reproduction. DE significantly reduced mite survival, but amorphous silica was less effective in vitro. Except for pure A. sativum juice and the highest concentration of C. cineariaefolium extract, the plant preparations tested resulted in statistically insignificant control of D. gallinae.

Individual administration of three tanniferous forage plants to lambs artificially infected with Haemonchus contortus and Cooperia curticei.

We investigated direct anthelmintic effects associated with the feeding of fresh tanniferous forages against established populations of Haemonchus contortus and Cooperia curticei in lambs. Twenty-four parasite naive lambs were inoculated with a single dose of infective larvae of these two parasites 27 days prior to the start of the feeding experiment. Lambs were individually fed with either chicory (Cichorium intybus), birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) or a ryegrass/lucerne mixture (control) for 17 days. Animals where then united to one flock and subjected to control feeding for another 11 days to test the sustainability of potentially lowered egg excretion generated by tanniferous forage feeding. When compared to the control, administration of all tanniferous forages was associated with significant reductions of total daily faecal egg output specific to H. contortus (chicory: 89%; birdsfoot trefoil: 63%; sainfoin: 63%; all tests P<0.05) and a tendency of reduced H. contortus worm burden (chicory: 15%; birdsfoot trefoil: 49% and sainfoin: 35% reduction). Irrespective of the condensed tannin (CT) containing fodder, no anthelmintic effects were found against C. curticei. Cessation of CT-feeding followed by non-CT control feeding did not result in a re-emergence of faecal egg counts based on faecal dry matter (FECDM) in any group, suggesting that egg output reductions are sustainable. The moderate to high concentrations of CTs in birdsfoot trefoil (15.2 g CTs kg(-1) dry matter (DM)) and sainfoin (26.1 g CTs kg(-1) DM) were compatible with the hypothesis that the antiparasitic effect of these forages is caused by their content of CTs. For chicory (3 g CTs kg(-1) DM), however, other secondary metabolites need to be considered. Overall, birdsfoot trefoil and in particular sainfoin seem promising candidates in contributing to an integrated control strategy against H. contortus not only by mitigating parasite related health disturbances of the host but also by a sustained reduction of pasture contamination.

Effect of sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) silage and hay on established populations of Haemonchus contortus and Cooperia curticei in lambs.

The objective of the study was to examine the effect of dried and ensiled sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) on established populations of Haemonchus contortus (abomasum) and Cooperia curticei (small intestine) in lambs under controlled conditions. Twenty-four parasite naïve lambs were inoculated with a single dose of infective larvae of these parasites 28 days prior to the start of the feeding experiment. Twenty-four days post-infection, 4 days prior to the start of the feeding experiment, animals were allocated to four groups according to egg excretion, live weight and sex. Groups A and B received sainfoin hay and control hay, respectively, for 16 days. Groups C and D were fed on sainfoin silage or control silage for the same period. Feeds were offered ad libitum and on the basis of daily refusals were supplemented with concentrate in order to make them isoproteic and isoenergetic. Individual faecal egg counts on a dry matter basis (FECDM) were performed every 3-4 days and faecal cultures and packed cell volume (PCV) measurements were done weekly. After 16 days of experimental feeding, all animals were slaughtered and adult worm populations were determined. The consumption of conserved sainfoin was associated with a reduction of adult H. contortus (47% in the case of hay, P<0.05; 49% in the case of silage, P=0.075) but had little effect on adult C. curticei. Compared to the controls, H. contortus specific FECDM was reduced by 58% (P<0.01) in the sainfoin hay group and by 48% (P=0.075) in the sainfoin silage group. For both sainfoin feeds FECDM specific to C. curticei were significantly decreased when compared to the control feeds (hay 81% and silage 74%, both tests P<0.001). Our data suggest that different mechanisms were responsible for the reduction in FECDM in response to feeding tanniferous fodder. For H. contortus, the decrease seemed to be due to a nematocidal effect towards adult H. contortus. In contrast for C. curticei, the reduction in FECDM appeared to be a result of a reduced per capita fecundity. For both, hay and silage, an antiparasitic effect could be shown, offering promising perspectives for the use of conserved tanniferous fodder as a complementary control approach against GIN.