EFFECTS OF SAINFOIN HAY ON GASTROINTESTINAL INFECTION WITH NEMATODES  IN  GOATS

H., HOSTE

Ph., DORCHIES

V., PAOLINI

English

Organic Eprints

  1 EFFECTS OF SAINFOIN HAY ON GASTROINTESTINAL INFECTION WITH NEMATODES  IN  GOATS. V. PAOLINI 1,  Ph. DORCHIES 1, H. HOSTE1.   1. Unité Mixte Associée 959 INRA/ENVT « Physiopathologie des Maladies infectieuses et Parasitaires des Ruminants ». 23, chemin des Capelles, 31076 Toulouse Cedex.  Due to  development of resistances to broad spectrum anthelmintics in parasitic nematodes combined with  the increasing demand of public to reduce  the use of chemicals in farm products, there is nowadays a growing interest  to seek alternative, sustainable methods to control gastrointestinal trichostrongyles in ruminants. Among the different options, the positive effects of condensed tannins  in parasitised hosts begin to be well  documented  in sheep (Athanasiadou and others, 2000a, 2000b; Niezen and others, 1998a,1998b). In contrast, data in goats are far less extensive (Kabasa  and others, 2000).  The  consequences  of ingestion of  tannins on resistance and/or resilience of ruminants have been  examined  either in grazing conditions with tanniferous forages or indoors  by  feeding  sheep with Quebracho, a  natural substance with high concentrations of tannins. Surprisingly,  studies on the possible use of  dry forages (hay) as possible source of  condensed  tannins are lacking  despite the advantages which could be associated with this option for distribution in farms.  We  therefore present preliminary results on the  effects of sainfoin hay on gastrointestinal parasitism in naturally infected dairy goats.        Fourteen dairy goats, naturally infected with trichostrongyles,  were divided into two groups according to the level of  nematode egg excretion and the weight. On  D0,  Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciaefolia) hay  was  distributed to group 1, composed with 7 goats.  The 7 goats composing  group 2 received a hay of gramineous plants plus  40     2 grams of  a commercial  concentrate in order to make diets in both groups isoenergetic and isoproteic. Measurements of  concentrations of  condensed tannins in the sainfoin and  gramineous hays (Butler and others, 1982)  indicated  levels which were  3 folds higher in  sainfoin. Distribution of sainfoin  hay was continued from D0 to D20. Thereafter,  both groups received the gramineous  hay  plus concentrate up to D35. Individual  faecal samples were taken  twice per week  from D-7 to  D35 to measure   egg counts (FECs) and to perform larval cultures. Moreover, blood samples were taken weekly from  D0 to D35  to measure pepsinogen and inorganic phosphate concentrations. Statistical comparisons of  pathophysiological measurements   between the 2 groups were performed date by date using non parametric Kruskall Wallis tests.  Egg excretion values were log (x +1) transformed before comparison using repeated ANOVA for periods before (D-3 and D-7) and after sainfoin distribution (D3 to D35).  The levels of egg excretion were similar in the two groups before distribution of hay. After distribution of sainfoin hay, a decrease  in  egg excretion was observed in group 1 which  persisted after  distribution was stopped  (Figure 1 ). No significant difference was found between the two groups  in pepsinogen concentrations. In contrast, a significant rise in   phosphate values was observed in  group 1 on D28 and D35  which lead  to significant differences (Table 1). In sheep, the  interactions between nematode infections  and  ingestion of tannins have been examined  both   in indoors and outdoors studies (Athanasiadou and others, 2000a; Niezen and others,1998a). These studies have usually  shown  that  the consumption of  tannins or tanniferous plants was associated with a decrease in  nematode egg output  and,  less  frequently, in  worm burdens. Surprisingly, although   3 goats appear  more adapted than sheep to feed on tanniferous plants, only one experiment, in  rangeland  environment,  suggested  a  positive effect of  tannins  on  nematode infections (Kabasa and others, 2000). Results from the current study confirm that tannin rich forages or plants might  represent an alternative to anthelmintics in goats as in sheep.  In sheep,  the grazing of  pastures seeded with  tanniferous plants  has been proposed as a “natural” way  to reduce nematode parasitism. However, several drawbacks  can be evoked  with this approach. Firstly, the effects of condensed tannins  are  related to their concentrations  which  vary with season in plants (Jean-Blain, 1998).  Secondly,  it might be difficult to achieve chronological concordance between  the optimal  stage of tanniferous plants and   peaks of parasite infections. Thirdly,  agronomical factors could also interact with the  growth of  tanniferous plants  and impair their production when needed.  There is  therefore an interest  for more flexible way to distribute tanniferous forages and hay  might represent  an option  to overcome some of the difficulties previously evoked. However, no information was available on the use of hay from tanniferous plants on nematode  infections. In the current  experiment, sainfoin  was selected due to  reports on its positive effect against nematodes (Molan and others, 2002) and because of  its  appetency in goats. Our  results suggest that dried  tanniferous forages  also induce a  decrease in egg output from natural infections, which persisted  after  the arrest of hay distribution. These results could provoke major consequences on pasture contamination. Because our study was performed on naturally  infected goats, it was inappropriate  to kill goats  for comparison of  worm burdens and composition  in the two groups. Nevertheless, analysis of the pathophysiological  parameters suggest a positive effect of  sainfoin hay on intestinal species,  as assessed by restoring the    4 blood phosphate concentrations  whereas the pepsinogen values, related  to abomasal parasitism, did not change. Further studies in experimental  conditions are needed to state more precisely  these points. Nevertheless, these preliminary results suggest that  distribution of dried forages, rich in condensed tannins,  has  to be considered as a potential, flexible  alternative to anthelmintics  in sheep and  in goats.   Acknowledgments :  This work received the financial support from the European Union (Project WORMCOPS)  and is part of a collaboration  between Denmark, Great-Britain, Spain, Sweden,  The Netherlands  and France. The authors are deeply grateful to Pr F Delafarge, CHU Rangueil Toulouse,  for measurements of inorganic phosphate concentrations and to Pr F Enjalbert from ENVT Toulouse for measurement of diet composition. Jerome Cazaux and Pr I Fouraste  from the University Paul Sabatier Toulouse is particularly thanked   for titration of tannins in the sainfoin and gramineous hays.       References : ATHANASIADOU, S., KYRIAZAKIS, I., JACKSON, F.& COOP, R.L. (2000a) Consequences of long-term feeding with condensed tannins on sheep parasitised with Trichostrongylus colubriformis. International Journal for Parasitology 30, 1025-1033  ATHANASIADOU, S., KYRIAZAKIS, I., JACKSON, F.& COOP, R.L. (2000b) Effects of short term exposure to condensed tannins on adult Trichostrongylus colubriformis. Veterinary Record  146 ,728-732  BUTLER,  L.G.,  PRICE,  M.L.  &  BROTHERTON,  J.E.  (1982)  Vanillin  assay  for proanthocyanidins (condensed tannins) : modifications of the solvent for estimation of the degree of polymerisation. Journal of   Agricultural Food Chemistry 30, 1087-1089    JEAN-BLAIN,  C.  (1998)  Aspects  nutritionnels  et  toxicologiques  des  tanins.  Revue  de Médecine Vétérinaire  149, 911-920  KABASA,  J.D.,  OPUDA-ASIBO,  J.  &  TER  MEULEN,  U.  (2000)  The  effect  of  oral administration of polyethylene glycol on faecal helminth egg counts in pregnant goats grazed on browse containing condensed tannins. Tropical  Animal  Health and Production 32, 73-86   MOLAN, A.L, WAGHORN, G.C. &  McNABB, W.C. (2002) Effect of condensed tannins on egg hatching and larval  development of  Trichostrongylus colubriformis in vitro. Veterinary Record  150, 65-69    5 NIEZEN,  J.H.,  ROBERTSON,  H.A.,  WAGHORN,  G.C.  &  CHARLESTON,  W.A.G.  (1998a) Production,  faecal  egg  counts  and  worm  burdens  of  ewe  lambs  which  grazed  six  contrasting forages. Veterinary Parasitology  80,15-27  NIEZEN, J.H., WAGHORN, G.C.& CHARLESTON, W.A.G. (1998b) Establishment and fecundity of Ostertagia circumcincta and Trichostrongylus colubriformis in lambs fed Lotus (L.pedunculatus) or perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne). Veterinary Parasitology 78, 13-21.  Figure 1: Comparison of trichostrongyle egg excretion in  the 2 groups of  naturally infected goats. The sainfoin  hay was distributed  from  D-7  to D35       Table 1: Phosphate (mmol/l) and pepsinogen (mU Tyr) values in the  2 experimental groups. * indicate a statistical difference (P < 0.05)   D0  D7  D14  D21  D28  D35 PHOSPHATE             Control  group  1.75  1.49  1.86  1.55  1.66  1.87 Sainfoin group  1.68  1.74  1.72  1.65  2.68*  2.44* PEPSINOGEN             Control  group  968  1221  869  1022  1073  867 Sainfoin group  1091  1298  1094  852  980  900  04000800012000D-7D-3D3D7D10D14D17D21D24D28Sampling dates Eggs epr gramControl  Sainfoin

Effects of sainfoin hay on gastrointestinal infection with nematodes in goats

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