Modification of abomasum contractility by flavonoids present in ruminants diet: in vitro study

Abstract

Flavonoid supplementation is likely to be beneficial in improving rumen fermentation and in reducing the incidence of rumen acidosis and bloat. Flavonoids are also said to increase the metabolic performance during the peripartum period. Ruminants are constantly exposed to flavonoids present in feed. However, it is not clear if these phytochemicals can affect the activity of the gut smooth muscle. Therefore, the aim of the study was to verify the effect of three flavonoids on bovine isolated abomasum smooth muscle. The study was carried out on bovine isolated circular and longitudinal abomasal smooth muscle specimens. All experiments were conducted under isometric conditions. The effect of apigenin, luteolin and quercetin (0.001 to 100 µM) was evaluated on acetylcholine-precontracted preparations. The effect of multiple, but not cumulative, treatment and single treatment with each flavonoid on abomasum strips was compared. Apigenin (0.1 to 100 µM) dose-dependently showed myorelaxation effects. Luteolin and quercetin applied in low doses increased the force of the ACh-evoked reaction. However, if used in high doses in experiments testing a wide range of concentrations, their contractile effect either declined (luteolin) or was replaced by an antispasmodic effect (quercetin). Surprisingly, the reaction induced by flavonoids after repeated exposure to the same phytochemical was not reproducible in experiments testing only single exposure of abomasum strips to the same flavonoid used in a high concentration. Taking into account the physicochemical properties of flavonoids, this data suggests the ability of flavonoids to interfere with cell membranes and, subsequently, to modify their responsiveness. Assuming ruminant supplementation with luteolin or quercetin or their presence in daily pasture, a reduction of the likelihood of abomasum dysmotility should be expected.

Ethnoveterinary knowledge of farmers in bilingual regions of Switzerland – is there potential to extend veterinary options to reduce antimicrobial use?

“…Preparations with chamomile were used as an infusion mainly to treat diarrhoea in calves. Chamomile flavonoids showed spasmolytic effects on bovine intestinal smooth muscles (Mendel et al, 2016). Chamomile also exhibited in vitro antibacterial properties against pathogens relevant in gastrointestinal disorders of youngstock (Ayrle et al, 2016a).…”

Interactions between erythromycin, flunixin meglumine, levamisole and plant secondary metabolites towards bovine gastrointestinal motility—in vitro study

“…The predominant influence of PSM on final type and size of interactions can be explained by their nonspecific mechanism of action on gastrointestinal smooth muscles. As proposed before, both flavonoids and saponins interfere with the structure of smooth muscle cell membranes, change their permeability and depolarization status and consequently reactivity to other agents (Ma & Xiao, ; Dar & Channa, ; Mendel et al., , ). The nonspecific effect of the tested phytocompounds on gut smooth muscle explains the ability to change strips’ response to pharmaceutical agents of different modes of action.…”

“…Therefore, the study herein was focused on the interactions of PSM in nonsugar form with pharmaceutical agents. Our previous findings indicated that apigenin and quercetin as well as hederagenin and medicagenic acid significantly affect the contractility of bovine abomasum and duodenum smooth muscle (Mendel et al., , ). Therefore, we hypothesized that all of previously tested PSM might be able to modify the effect of pharmaceutical agents which are known to affect gastrointestinal motoric activity.…”

“…Our previous findings indicated that apigenin and quercetin as well as hederagenin and medicagenic acid significantly affect the contractility of bovine abomasum and duodenum smooth muscle (Mendel et al, 2016a(Mendel et al, , 2016b. Therefore, we hypothesized that all of previously tested PSM might be able to modify the effect of pharmaceutical (Nouri et al, 2008;Wittek et al, 2008;Fazeli, Shomali, Firouzi, & Ghane, 2012) in addition to the main activity, that is, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and anthelminthic, respectively.…”

A multicomponent herbal feed additive improves somatic cell counts in dairy cows ‐ a two stage, multicentre, placebo‐controlled long‐term on‐farm trial

“…They all contain high concentrations of crude protein, and easily degradable carbohydrates, but are rather low in phytochemicals. It is not unlikely that with the narrow botanical and biochemical spectrum of these intensive diets important functions of phytochemicals for rumen control (Buccioni, Decandia, Minieri, Molle, & Cabiddu, 2012;Cobellis et al, 2016;Mendel, Chlopecka, Dziekan, & Karlik, 2016), lipid metabolism (Khiaosa-ard et al, 2009;Leiber, Willems, Werne, Ammer, & Kreuzer, 2019), antioxidative protection, immune factors and hormone regulation (Oh et al, 2017) have been lost. The implications of this loss for animal health are not yet sufficiently understood.…”