Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T03:32:08.066Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The effect of rumen adaptation to oxalic acid on selection of oxalic–acid–rich plants by goats

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

Alan J. Duncan ,
Pilar y  and
Sheila A. Young
Alan J. Duncan*
Affiliation:
Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen, AB15 8QH, UK
Pilar y
Affiliation:
Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen, AB15 8QH, UK
Sheila A. Young
Affiliation:
Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen, AB15 8QH, UK
*
*Corresponding author: Dr Alan Duncan, fax +44 (0) 1224 311556, email [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Rumen microbial degradation is an important route for detoxification of secondary plant compounds encountered in the diets of free-grazing ruminants. Exposure to diets containing particular secondary plant compounds can lead to increased rates of secondary compound degradation in the rumen. An experiment was conducted to determine whether rumen adaptation to oxalic acid would influence the diet selection of goats offered choices between plant species differing in their oxalic acid content. Twelve adult female goats were divided into two groups of six animals each. One group received a daily oral dose, in gelatin capsules, of 0·6 mmol oxalic acid/kg live weight per d throughout the experiment while the other group received placebos consisting of empty gelatin capsules. After an adaptation period of 8 d, the animals were allowed to graze a mixture of spinach (rich in oxalic acid) and cabbage (low in oxalic acid) for 7 h/d on two consecutive days per week during four consecutive 1-week periods. Intervening days were spent on grass pasture. Diet composition and intake were measured using cuticular wax n−alkanes as internal markers. Results showed that adapted goats included a higher proportion of spinach in their diet (P < 0·05) although absolute intakes of spinach were the same for the two groups. Goats in the oxalic-acid-adapted group consumed less cabbage than control animals (P < 0·05) suggesting that adaptation to oxalic acid at the rumen level may have interfered with detoxification of cabbage-derived secondary plant compounds. Voluntary intake increased progressively through the four experimental periods (P < 0·001) with a tendency for higher intakes among control than among adapted animals (P < 0·1). The experiment demonstrates how differences in the rate of degradation of secondary plant compounds may influence diet selection in ruminants.

Keywords

Diet selectionOxalic acidRumen detoxification
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 83 , Issue 1 , January 2000 , pp. 59 - 65
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2000

References

Allison, MJ, Dawson, KA, Mayberry, WR & Foss, JG (1985) Oxalobacter formigenes gen. nov., sp. nov.: oxalate-degrading anaerobes that inhabit the gastrointestinal tract. Archives of Microbiology 141, 1–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Allison, MJ, Littledike, ET & James, LF (1977) Changes in ruminal oxalate degradation rates associated with adaptation to oxalate ingestion. Journal of Animal Science 45, 1173–1179.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dove, H & Mayes, RW (1991) The use of plant wax alkanes as marker substances in studies of the nutrition of herbivores — a review. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 42, 913–952.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duncan, AJ (1991) Glucosinolates. In Toxic Substances in Crop Plants, pp. 126–147 [Mello, JPF D, Duffus, CM and Duffus, JH, editors]. Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duncan, AJ, Frutos, P & Young, SA (1997) Rates of oxalic acid degradation in the rumen of sheep and goats in response to different levels of oxalic acid administration. Animal Science 65, 451–456.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duncan, AJ, Mayes, RW, Lamb, CS, Young, SA & Castillo, I (1999) The use of naturally occurring and artificially applied n-alkanes as markers for estimation of short-term diet composition and intake in sheep. Journal of Agricultural Science 132, 233–246.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duncan, AJ & Milne, JA (1992) Rumen microbial degradation of allyl cyanide as a possible explanation for the tolerance of sheep to brassica-derived glucosinolates. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 58, 15–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
du Toit, JT, Provenza, FD & Nastis, A (1991) Conditioned taste aversions: how sick must a ruminant get before it learns about toxicity in foods. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 30, 35–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freeland, WJ, Calcott, PH & Anderson, LR (1985) Tannins and saponin: interaction in herbivore diets. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 13, 189–193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frutos, P, Duncan, AJ, Kyriazakis, I & Gordon, IJ (1998) Learned aversion towards oxalic acid-containing foods by goats: does rumen adaptation to oxalic acid influence diet choice?. Journal of Chemical Ecology 24, 383–397.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
James, LF (1972) Oxalate toxicosis. Clinical Toxicology 5, 231–243.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jefferies, RL, Klein, DR & Shaver, GR (1994) Vertebrate herbivores and northern plant communities: reciprocal influences and responses. Oikos 71, 193–206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawes Agricultural Trust (1989) Genstat 5. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Libert, B (1981) Rapid determination of oxalic acid by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography. Journal of Chromatography 210, 540–543.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayes, RW, Lamb, CS & Colgrove, PM (1986) The use of dosed and herbage n-alkanes as markers for the determination of herbage intake. Journal of Agricultural Science 107, 161–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Palo, RT & Robbins, CT (1991) Plant Defenses Against Mammalian Herbivory. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, Inc.Google Scholar
Provenza, FD & Balph, DF (1987) Diet learning by domestic ruminants: theory, evidence and practical implications. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 18, 211–232.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Provenza, FD, Lynch, JJ, Burritt, EA & Scott, CB (1994) How goats learn to distinguish between novel foods that differ in postingestive consequences. Journal of Chemical Ecology 20, 609–624.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Provenza, FD, Lynch, JJ & Nolan, JV (1993) The relative importance of mother and toxicosis in the selection of foods by lambs. Journal of Chemical Ecology 19, 313–323.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Provenza, FD, Pfister, JA & Cheney, CD (1992) Mechanisms of learning in diet selection with to phytotoxicosis in herbivores. Journal of Range Management 45, 36–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ralphs, MH, Graham, D & James, LF (1994) Social facilitation influences cattle to graze locoweed. Journal of Range Management 47, 123–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, GS (1992) Toxification and detoxification of plant compounds by ruminants: an overview. Journal of Range Management 45, 25–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, RH, Earl, CR & Matheson, NA (1974) The probable role of S-methyl cysteine sulphoxide in kale poisoning in ruminants. Transactions of the Biochemical Society 2, 101–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Soest, PJ (1963) Use of detergents in the analysis of fibrous feeds II. A rapid method for the determination of fiber and lignin. Journal of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists 46, 829–835.Google Scholar
Van Soest, PJ & Wine, RH (1967) Use of detergents in the analysis of fibrous feeds IV. Determination of plant cell-wall constituents. Journal of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists 50, 50–55.Google Scholar