Cell wall component and mycotoxin moieties involved in binding of fumonisin B1 and B2 by lactic acid bacteria.

International audienceAims: The ability of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) to bind fumonisins B1 and B2 (FB1, FB2) in fermented foods and feeds and in the gastrointestinal tract could contribute to decrease their bioavailability and toxic effects on farm animals and humans. The aim of this work was to identify the bacterial cell wall component(s) and the functional group(s) of FB involved in the LAB-FB interaction. Methods and Results: The effect of physicochemical, enzymatic and genetic treatments of bacteria and the removal/inactivation of the functional groups of FB on toxin binding were evaluated. Treatments affecting the bacterial wall polysaccharides, lipids and proteins increased binding, while those degrading peptidoglycan (PG) partially decreased it. In addition, purified PG from Gram-positive bacteria bound FB in a manner analogue to that of intact LAB. For FB, tricarballylic acid (TCA) chains play a significant role in binding as hydrolysed FB had less affinity for LAB. Conclusions: Peptidoglycan and TCA are important components of LAB and FB, respectively, involved in the binding interaction. Significance and Impact of the Study: Lactic acid bacteria binding efficiency seems related to the peptide moiety structure of the PG. This information can be used to select probiotics with increased FB binding efficiency

Leguminosas bioactivas para mejorar el perfil lipídico de la carne de cordero

6 páginas, 2 figuras, 1 tabla.La utilización de leguminosas forrajeras en la dieta de los rumiantes puede ofrecer importantes ventajas. Además de su elevado valor proteico, algunas especies como la esparceta o el trébol rojo, contienen compuestos bioactivos que podrían mejorar la calidad nutricional de la carne. Entre ellos, destacan los taninos en la esparceta y la polifenol oxidasa en el trébol rojo. Ahora bien, la climatología de muchas áreas limita su aprovechamiento en verde. En este estudio, mostramos que la utilización de la esparceta y el trébol rojo conservados mediante ensilado podría ser una buena alternativa para la alimentación de corderos, al aumentar la concentración de ácidos grasos poliinsaturados (PUFA) en la carne a través de su efecto sobre el metabolismo lipídico ruminal. Aunque el mecanismo de acción de los compuestos bioactivos presentes en estos forrajes probablemente sea distinto, sus efectos sobre el perfil de ácidos grasos de la carne parecen ser similares y aditivos.Este trabajo forma parte del proyecto Legume Plus, financiado por la Comisión Europea a través de una Red de Formación Inicial Marie Curie (PITN GA- 2011- 289377) PG . Toral disfruta de un contrato Ramón y Cajal, financiado por el Ministerio de Economía, lndustria y Competitividad.Peer reviewe

Sodium hydroxide enhances extractability and analysis of proanthocyanidins in ensiled sainfoin (onobrychis viciifolia)

Little information exists on the effects of ensiling on condensed tannins or proanthocyanidins. The acetone–butanol–HCl assay is suitable for measuring proanthocyanidin contents in a wide range of samples, silages included, but provides limited information on proanthocyanidin composition, which is of interest for deciphering the relationships between tannins and their bioactivities in terms of animal nutrition or health. Degradation with benzyl mercaptan (thiolysis) provides information on proanthocyanidin composition, but proanthocyanidins in several sainfoin silages have proved resistant to thiolysis. We now report that a pretreatment step with sodium hydroxide prior to thiolysis was needed to enable their analysis. This alkaline treatment increased their extractability from ensiled sainfoin and facilitated especially the release of larger proanthocyanidins. Ensiling reduced assayable proanthocyanidins by 29%, but the composition of the remaining proanthocyanidins in silage resembled that of the fresh plants

Impact of tannin supplementation on proteolysis during post-ruminal digestion in wethers using a dynamic in vitro system: a plant (Medicago sativa) digestomic approach

The aim of this study was to characterize the effects of tannins on plant protein during sheep digestion, using a digestomic approach combining in vivo (rumen) conditions and an in vitro digestive system (abomasum and small intestine). Ruminal fluid from wethers infused with a tannin solution or water (control) was introduced into the digester, and protein degradation was followed by LC-MS/MS. Tannin infusion in the rumen led to a clear decrease in protein degradation-related fermentation end-products, whereas RuBisCo protein was more abundant than in control wethers. In the simulated abomasum, peptidomic analysis showed more degradation products of RuBisCo in the presence of tannins. The effect of RuBisCo protection by tannins continued to impact Rubisco digestion into early-stage intestinal digestion, but was no longer detectable in late-stage intestinal digestion. The peptidomics approach proved a potent tool for identifying and quantifying the type of protein hydrolyzed throughout the gastrointestinal tract

Benefits of condensed tannins in forage legumes fed to ruminants:Importance of structure, concentration, and diet composition

Condensed tannins (CTs) account for up to 20% of the dry matter in forage legumes used as ruminant feeds. Beneficial animal responses to CTs have included improved growth, milk and wool production, fertility, and reduced methane emissions and ammonia volatilization from dung or urine. Most important is the ability of such forages to combat the effects of gastrointestinal parasitic nematodes. Inconsistent animal responses to CTs were initially attributed to concentration in the diet, but recent research has highlighted the importance of their molecular structures, as well as concentration, and also the composition of the diet containing the CTs. The importance of CT structural traits cannot be underestimated. Interdisciplinary research is the key to unraveling the relationships between CT traits and bioactivities and will enable future on-farm exploitation of these natural plant compounds. Research is also needed to provide plant breeders with guidelines and screening tools to optimize CT traits, in both the forage and the whole diet. In addition, improvements are needed in the competitiveness and agronomic traits of CT-containing legumes and our understanding of options for their inclusion in ruminant diets. Farmers need varieties that are competitive in mixed swards and have predictable bioactivities. This review covers recent results from multidisciplinary research on sainfoin (Onobrychis Mill. spp.) and provides an overview of current developments with several other tanniniferous forages. Tannin chemistry is now being linked with agronomy, plant breeding, animal nutrition, and parasitology. The past decade has yielded considerable progress but also generated more questions — an enviable consequence of new knowledge

Final report for the CORE Organic Cofund funded project “Promoting young stock and cow health and welfare by natural feeding systems- ProYoungStock”

The ProYoungStock project aimed to improve the lives of young cattle and conducted research in 8 European countries: Austria (AT), France (FR), Germany (DE), Italy (IT), Poland (PL), Slovenia (SI), Sweden (SE), and Switzerland (CH). Interviews with 104 dairy farmers in AT, FR, DE, IT, SE, CH showed that many diverse cow-calf contact systems (CCC) are practised in Europe. Better animal welfare and reduced labour were perceived as benefits of CCC, while stress when cow and calf are separated, lower amounts of saleable milk, and building constraints were seen as challenges. Trials in different countries with either focus on feeding strategies (e. g. more milk, use of supplements as linseeds or tannins, silage vs. no silage) or different rearing systems (i.e. 7 different CCC systems compared to control without CCC) revealed the following results concerning: Calf growth: Calves benefited from increased milk levels (10-12 l/day compared to 6-8 l/day) (DE, AT), from permanent CCC compared to control (PL), from CCC when fed by dams before morning milking and with 6 h/day access to dams until weaning. But there was no impact when CCC of 6 h/day was carried out for only 3 weeks (FR) as well as when CCC was restricted to 2 x 30 min/d until 16 weeks of life. These results show that CCC alone does not necessarily promote calf growth! Behaviour disorders and welfare: Main behaviour disorders in calves are sucking each other (cross sucking) or manipulating any objects with their mouth. We observed less cross sucking in calves with permanent foster cow contact and with 2x30 min/d contact to the dam (CH, PL). Calves with permanent foster cow contact also manipulated less objects compared to bucket fed calves (PL). Increased milk feeding (DE) and limited access to the dam 2x30 min/d (CH) however, did not reduce those manipulations. CCC calves had lower hair cortisol contents (less stress) before weaning, but after weaning they vocalized earlier and longer (indicating stress) than control calves. (FR). Calf health: Immunoglobulin-levels in calves’ serum from mothers supplemented with linseeds 30 days before and after calving were higher than in calves from control mothers (PL). However, calf health in 5 variations of CCC systems did not differ compared to control systems (PL, FR, SE, and CH). We found no relevant effect of CCC on the gut microbiota development in calves, nor on the passive immune transfer from cows to neonatal calves (FR), nor on a further build-up of the active immune defence during the pre-weaning period (FR, CH). Cow health: There were no differences in somatic cell count (udder health indicator) and cows’ health events in 3 variations of CCC-systems compared to control (FR, SE). CCC practices did not influence contents of immunoglobulin G and lactoferrin in cow’s milk (FR, CH). Reproductive performance of multiparous cows did not differ between CCC and control, but was improved in primiparous cows in CCC systems (FR, CH, and SE). Extensively reared animals showed lower disease incidences than animals that did not have this experience (AT, FR), but there was no influence of extensive rearing on calving interval (AT, FR, SI). There was no difference between farms with or without silage feeding regarding reproduction (AT, DE, SI), but a negative effect of silage free rearing on udder health was found (AT, DE). Milk contents: In CCC-systems we found higher protein contents and lower fat contents (except when calves suckled before milking) than in milk from control cows (FR). Linseed-feeding before calving increased unsaturated fatty acids in colostrum (PL). Milk and fat yields were higher with silage feeding than without in AT, DE, FR, but lower in SI. Feeding tannin extracts to cows during the dry season (hay feeding) revealed lower urea contents, a better fatty acid profile and a higher antioxidant capacity in milk and cheese (IT). Meat quality: pH of meat 24 h after slaughter was lower in calves with foster cow rearing, but the main fatty acids did not differ between calves from CCC systems and control (PL, CH). Economic impact of CCC: CCC systems produced 21% to 43% less saleable milk compared to control. The best compromise between milk yield and calf growth was reached with 6 – 9 h CCC between morning and evening milking until weaning (SE, FR). Ecological impact of tannin feeding: In vitro blended tannin extracts reduced ruminal protein degradation and ammonia and methane emissions; especially when hay feeding was simulated (IT). As there is no one-fits all solution (but there are many pieces of a puzzle), the large variation in management led us to organise many workshops for farmers, so they could exchange on the diverse possibilities of CCC and find out which is the best one for their farm. Those workshops are great to introduce CCC-systems because farmers advise farmers. More information for farmers and the scientific community is available at www.proyoungstock.net

Use of agro-industrial by-products containing tannins for the integrated control of gastrointestinal nematodes in ruminants

Previous studies have illustrated that different bioactive legume fodders containing condensed tannins might represent one of the options for integrated sustainable control of gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) in ruminants, which may help address the worldwide development of resistance to synthetic anthelmintics. More recently, impetus has been given to assess the potential antiparasitic activity of less conventional resources, represented by different agro-industrial by-products (AIBPs). This review presents in vitro and in vivo results obtained with a range of tannin-containing AIBPs of various geographical and botanical origins, namely AIBP of nuts, temperate and tropical barks, carob, coffee and cocoa. They tend to confirm the "proof of concept" for their antiparasitic effects and also for other aspects of ruminant production in an agro-ecological context. Socio-economic aspects of the exploitation of such non-conventional resources are also discussed as potential models of the circular economy, by using waste. The different modes of use of these resources are presented in this review, as well as strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analyses to illustrate the advantages and limitations of on-farm use

Benefits of Condensed Tannins in Forage Legumes Fed to Ruminants: Importance of Structure, Concentration, and Diet Composition

Condensed tannins (CTs) account for up to 20% of the dry matter in forage legumes used as ruminant feeds. Beneficial animal responses to CTs have included improved growth, milk and wool production, fertility, and reduced methane emissions and ammonia volatilization from dung or urine. Most important is the ability of such forages to combat the effects of gastrointestinal parasitic nematodes. Inconsistent animal responses to CTs were initially attributed to concentration in the diet, but recent research has highlighted the importance of their molecular structures, as well as concentration, and also the composition of the diet containing the CTs. The importance of CT structural traits cannot be underestimated. Interdisciplinary research is the key to unraveling the relationships between CT traits and bioactivities and will enable future on-farm exploitation of these natural plant compounds. Research is also needed to provide plant breeders with guidelines and screening tools to optimize CT traits, in both the forage and the whole diet. In addition, improvements are needed in the competitiveness and agronomic traits of CT-containing legumes and our understanding of options for their inclusion in ruminant diets. Farmers need varieties that are competitive in mixed swards and have predictable bioactivities. This review covers recent results from multidisciplinary research on sainfoin (Onobrychis Mill. spp.) and provides an overview of current developments with several other tanniniferous forages. Tannin chemistry is now being linked with agronomy, plant breeding, animal nutrition, and parasitology. The past decade has yielded considerable progress but also generated more questions-an enviable consequence of new knowledge

How mixing bioactive legumes with grass impacts animal productivity ?

International audienc

Utilisation du sainfoin par les ruminants. Valeur alimentaire et réduction des rejets polluants

Utilisation du sainfoin par les ruminants. Valeur alimentaire et réduction des rejets polluants. Journée d’échange sur les nouveaux usages et application du sainfoin, Multifoli