Furanocoumarins in tedera do not affect ruminal fermentation in continuous culture

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of the forage shrub tedera (Bituminaria bituminosa) on nutrient digestibility, rumen microbial fermentation and furanocoumarins degradation in the rusitec. The variables were measured in fermentation liquid on Days 13 and 17 and were compared with a control (lucerne hay). Overall, tedera had greater (P < 0.05) neutral detergent fibre and acid detergent fibre digestibility than lucerne hay on both days of the experiment, but on Day 17 it had lower (P < 0.01) dry matter and crude protein digestibility than lucerne hay. There were no significant differences in concentration of NH3-N and pH between treatments, but NH3-N concentrations in both treatments were lower (P < 0.05) on Day 17 than on Day 13. The concentration of total volatile fatty acids in vessels were not affected by treatments, but the concentration of acetate was lower and acetate-to-propionate ratio higher (P < 0.05) in tedera than lucerne hay on Day 13 of the experiment. Furanocoumarins were detected in the tedera treatment only. Their concentration in the fermentation liquid increased immediately after the addition of the plant material to the fermenter, reaching highest concentrations after 2 h. These concentrations gradually declined over the next two sampling times, but 6 h after the ‘feeding’, they were still detectable in the fermentation liquid. It was concluded that (i) tedera had in vitro digestibility and fermentability variables comparable to lucerne; (ii) furanocoumarins were degraded in the fermentation fluid, and (iii) furanocoumarins from tedera did not seem to impede microbial fermentation. Tedera may provide an alternative feed source to hay and grain for filling the summer–autumn feed gap without negatively affecting nutrient digestibility and rumen microbial fermentation.

Harnessing plant bioactivity for enteric methane mitigation in Australia

“…Furthermore, most in vivo data in the literature are derived from short-term trials. As a result, extrapolation to production systems becomes difficult because the rumen microbes can adapt to the PSC (Moss et al 2000;Busquet et al 2005a;Pellikaan et al 2011), or degrade them into metabolites with less bioactivity (Malecky et al 2012;Ghaffari et al 2015). These adaptations can explain reduced efficacity over time of candidate PSC in vivo (Benchaar et al 2008).…”

Sheep Preference for Fresh Leaf and Stem of Seven Accessions of Tedera Was Not Influenced by Prior Grazing Experience and Wilting Made No Difference

“…crassiuscula) was one outstanding candidate identified, and its potential value for Australian livestock production has been confirmed [3]. It has the ability to fill the summer-autumn feed-gap [3,4]; has minimal leaf shedding during summer and autumn [1,3]; is drought and heat tolerant [1,3]; has high nutritional value [5,6]; has an ability to recruit seedlings in autumn within established stands, and contributes to the perenniality of the sward [3,4]. Therefore, tedera appeared to be an ideal option as a legume forage suited to this role.…”

Herbicide Tolerance Options for Weed Control in Lanza® Tedera

“…During domestication and breeding of tedera, parallel research programs developed strategies for agronomic management and animal production. The animal production research concluded that: (a) grazing tedera did not cause any ill-effect to the grazing animals even when grazed either as a sole diet or in mixtures at different times of the year [11][12][13] and (b) tedera proved to be a valuable summer and autumn feed for sheep in Mediterranean-type climates [14]. The agronomy information was required for a newly domesticated species to cover all aspects of production [15], utilisation and seed harvesting under the prevailing local conditions.…”