Bioactive forage legumes as a strategy to improve silage quality and minimise nitrogenous losses

Copani, Giuseppe; Ginane, Cécile; Morvan, Aline Le; Niderkorn, Vincent

doi:10.1071/an14252

Cited by 22 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Furthermore, studies have observed that mixtures of red clover and alfalfa extract could dramatically reduce proteolysis compared with alfalfa extract alone (Sullivan & Hatfield, ). Copani, Ginane, Le Morvan, and Niderkorn () also showed incorporation of red clover improved the protein quality of timothy grass silage. These findings may imply that exogenously adding red clover as a source of PPO to alfalfa could be a viable approach to reduce protein losses during alfalfa ensiling.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Characterization of nitrogen transformation dynamics in alfalfa and red clover and their mixture silages

Dong

Chen

et al. 2019

Grassland Science

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The objective of this experiment was to characterize the dynamics of nitrogen (N) transformations in alfalfa and red clover and their mixture during ensiling. Alfalfa, red clover and a mixture of them (1:1 on fresh weight) were ensiled for 3, 5, 7, 14 and 30 days. The fermentation qualities and dynamic change of N components of the three silages were determined. Red clover and mixed silages showed better fermentation qualities, indicated by lower (p < 0.05) pH value, higher (p < 0.05) lactic acid concentration compared with alfalfa silage after ensiling. Retarded N transformation was observed in red clover and mixed silages, as evidenced by lower (p < 0.05) free amino acid concentrations at all intervals of ensiling, higher (p < 0.05) peptide N and lower (p < 0.05) ammonia N concentrations after 14 days of ensiling as opposed to alfalfa silage. Mixing red clover apparently delayed the degradation process of alfalfa protein in mixed silage, as demonstrated by no significant difference in non-protein N (NPN) concentrations in comparison with pure red clover silage at most intervals of ensiling. The results of this study, from the perspective of N transformation, confirmed the lower rate of protein degradation in red clover in contrast to alfalfa during ensiling and potentially provide an effective strategy to reduce protein loss for alfalfa silage production. K E Y W O R D S Alfalfa, mixture, nitrogen transformation, red clover, silage | INTRODUC TI ONAlfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is the leading legume forage crop, commercially used as feed for dairy cows and other livestock. In some rainy regions such as southern China, alfalfa is commonly preserved as silage. However, low dry matter (DM) and sugar content, as well as high buffering capacity, make ensiled alfalfa often subject to extensive proteolysis. During the ensiling process, between 44% and 87% of alfalfa proteins can be degraded by plant and microbial proteases (Jones, Hatfield, & Muck, 1995). The high extent of protein degradation leads to the low utilization of forage nitrogen (N) by ruminants, thus resulting in high economic losses to farmers and adverse environmental impacts.Red clover (Trifolium pratente L.), a legume forage of similar protein content to alfalfa, has been shown that only 7%-40% of red clover protein is degraded during ensiling. This relatively lower protein degradation has been proven to be related to the activity of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) in red clover (Sullivan & Hatfield, 2006).

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Characterization of nitrogen transformation dynamics in alfalfa and red clover and their mixture silages

Dong

Chen

et al. 2019

Grassland Science

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“…Nevertheless, some legumes contain secondary compounds such as condensed tannins (CT) in sainfoin (SF, Onobrychis viciifolia ), or polyphenol oxidase (PPO) in red clover (RC, Trifolium pratense ). These compounds can enhance forage conservation and quality due to the protection of proteins from degradation during the silage‐making process (Jones et al ., ; Copani et al ., ). Ensiling can even be seen as the preferred conservation method for RC due to the fact that PPO is active when leaves are damaged and plant cell contents are exposed to the air (Lee et al ., ), which occurs during the ensiling process.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Silages containing bioactive forage legumes: a promising protein‐rich feed source for growing lambs

Copani

Niderkorn

Anglard

et al. 2016

Grass and Forage Science

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Forage legumes that contain secondary compounds are considered to be less susceptible to proteolysis than other legumes, with improved silage quality and possibly improved animal performance. This was investigated feeding five groups of growing lambs for 10 weeks, five silages composed of pure timothy (T; Phleum pratense), mixtures of T with red clover (Trifolium pratense; T‐RC, 50/50 on DM basis), sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia; T‐SF), or both (T‐RC‐SF, 50/25/25), or a mixture of the two legumes (RC‐SF). Including SF and/or RC in silages improved silage fermentation as shown by higher lactic acid and lower soluble N and NH3 contents than in T silage. Voluntary intakes were higher with all the RC‐containing silages than with T and T‐SF. The T‐SF silage had the lowest, and RC‐containing silages the highest average values for daily gain, feed conversion efficiency, live weight and carcass weight. The differing effects of these silages cannot be totally explained by differences in their nutritive value and so may be due to their bioactive compounds impacting differently on feeding motivation and digestive efficiency. These results suggest that including RC in silages is a promising strategy to combine improved animal performance with reduced environmental pressure.

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“…Positive effects of condensed tannins (CT) when used as silage additives to protect proteins from hydrolysis during ensiling have been reported (Coblentz & Grabber, ; Copani, Ginane, Le Morvan, & Niderkorn, ; Salawu, Acamovic, Stewart, Hvelplund, & Weisbjerg, ; Tabacco et al., ). When CT are added to forages before ensiling, plant proteins may be protected from proteolysis by forming stable complexes with tannins (Salawu et al., ) and by the inhibition of plant and microbial proteases (Waghorn, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Proteolysis and in situ ruminal degradation of lucerne ensiled with Cistus ladanifer tannins

Dentinho

Paulos

Portugal

et al. 2018

Grass and Forage Science

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The effects of ensiling lucerne with graded inclusion of Cistus ladanifer condensed tannins (CT) on in silo fermentative parameters, in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD) and on in situ rumen degradability of dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) were studied. Lucerne forage (Medicago sativa subsp. sativa) was sprayed with different solutions of C. ladanifer CT extract in 60 ml of water in order for dose 0 (control), 40 (L40), 80 (L80) and 120 (L120) g of CT per kg of lucerne DM and was ensiled in lab‐scale silos. After 35 days, the silages were analysed for chemical composition, and the in situ ruminal degradability was determined in rams. The inclusion of CT in the silages caused an important dose‐dependent reduction in soluble‐N, NH3‐N and a large increase in true protein content and N bound with neutral detergent fibre (NDF‐N), which indicates an effective proteolysis reduction during ensiling. Also, the rumen undegradable protein (RUP) increased linearly (P < 0.01) with CT inclusion. However, a linear decrease (P < 0.02) of 5%, 13% and 22% of IVOMD was observed for the silages L40, L80 and L120 respectively. The results obtained suggest that C. ladanifer CT can be used as silage additives to reduce proteolysis of high‐protein forages during ensiling. A level of CT of 40 g/kg DM seems to be the best compromise between the gains achieved by the protection of CP degradation in silo and in the rumen and the losses associated with the depression of the digestion and absorption.

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Bioactive forage legumes as a strategy to improve silage quality and minimise nitrogenous losses

Cited by 22 publications

References 16 publications

Characterization of nitrogen transformation dynamics in alfalfa and red clover and their mixture silages

Characterization of nitrogen transformation dynamics in alfalfa and red clover and their mixture silages

Silages containing bioactive forage legumes: a promising protein‐rich feed source for growing lambs

Proteolysis and in situ ruminal degradation of lucerne ensiled with Cistus ladanifer tannins

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