4023459 Tropnutricon Compendium 1

International Tropical

Animal Nutrition ConferenceVolume I

October 4-7, 2007October 4-7, 2007

National Dairy Research InstituteNational Dairy Research Institute

Karnal, IndiaKarnal, India

M. P. S. BakshiM. P. S. Bakshi

M. WadhwaM. Wadhwa

Animal Nutrition Society of India

International TropicalAnimal Nutrition Conference

Volume IInvited papers

October 4-7, 2007

National Dairy Research InstituteKarnal - 132001, India

M. P. S. Bakshi and M. WadhwaDepartment of Animal Nutrition

Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences UniversityLudhiana-141004, India

ANIMAL NUTRITION SOCIETY OF INDIAINDIAN COUNCIL OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH

PreludeThe Animal Nutrition Society of India, is pleased to have organized Interna-

tional Tropical Animal Nutrition Conference ‘TROPNUTRICON-2007’ at NationalDairy Research Institute, Karnal in October 2007.

The conference’s theme ‘Animal Nutrition in Tropics- Constraints and Oppor-tunities’ has the relevance of the information to all involved in promoting improvedand affordable livestock husbandry practices to the resource- poor, throughout thetropics. The conference would include a series of deliberations, on available feed re-sources and their efficient use either by manipulating rumen microbes or by modifyingthe activities of enzymes involved in digestion and utilization of end products at cellu-lar level or by partitioning the nutrients for productive purposes or by processing thefeed resources to make available the nutrients or by using feed supplements or byfinding potential alternate feed resources, or by modifying the existing feeding prac-tices/systems, from all over the world, especially from tropical countries.

The whole purpose is to have sustainable system, because Sustainability necessi-tates getting beyond environmentalism which is a movement against pollution whilesustainability is a movement towards new actions and behaviors.

We feel confident that prudent adoption of the recommendations of this con-ference will lead to wealth creation for many poor people of tropics, which keep live-stock and provide them with an opportunity to escape from poverty and sustain inclean environment. With this hope, we welcome delegates from all over the world toKarnal.

We are very grateful to the participants who shared their experiences, withouttheir generous participation, these proceedings would not have been achieved.

The endless efforts put in by our staff especially Ms Kamal preet Kaur and DrJasmin Kaur, friends and the family members is duly acknowledged.

M P S BakshiM Wadhwa

CONTENTS

1. Tropical animal nutrition with emphasis on animal adaptation and productsE. R. Ørskov -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1

2. Transformation of animal nutrition education to match future needAshok Rathore -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6

3. Biotechnological advances in animal productionS. K. Gulati, M. R. Garg, P. L. Sherasia,B. M. Bhanderi, T. W. Scott --------------------------------------------------------------------- 20

4. Ruminal anaerobic fungi for improving digestion and utilization offibrous feeds in ruminants

J. P. Sehgal and Sanjay Kumar -------------------------------------------------------------- 24

5. Bioactivity of phytochemicals in some lesser-known plants and theireffects and potential applications in livestock and aquaculture nutrition

Harinder P. S. Makkar -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 32

6. Combined strategies guarantee mycotoxin controlDevendra S. Verma ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 49

7. Nutritional challenges for poultry and pigs in the post antibiotic eraS. S. Sikka and Jaswinder Singh ------------------------------------------------------------- 53

8. Score of utilizing unconventional phophorus supplements in broilersR. P. S. Baghel ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 65

9. Nutrition and nutrient delivery system for fish farmingVijay Anand and G. Ramesh --------------------------------------------------------------------73

10. Pasture based feeding systems for small ruminant production and itsrelevance in tropics

S. A. Karim and A. K. Shinde ----------------------------------------------------------------- 80

11. Sustainable intensive meat production system for goats and sheep in tropicsN. P. Singh ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 91

12. Heat stress and dairy feeding programJason Park ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 105

13. Code of practice on good animal feeding in relation to food safetyM. R. Garg and B. M. Bhanderi ----------------------------------------------------------------108

14. Metrological aspects and strategies to reduce uncertainties ingreenhouse gas emissions from livestock

Prabhat K. Gupta and Arvind K. Jha ------------------------------------------------------- 116

15. Environmental pollution and animal productivityD. Swarup ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 125

16. Safety and wholesomeness of genetically modified crops for livestock,poultry and aquaculture: focus on insect-protected crops in India

G. F. Hartnell and B. G. Hammond ----------------------------------------------------------- 132

17. Potential of GM plants, current status, feeding to animals and open questionsGerhard Flachowsky --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 141

18. Efficacy of herbal feed additive for livestockM. J. Saxena, K. Ravikant and Anup Kalra -------------------------------------------------147

19. Implications for minerals deficiency in ruminants and methods for its ameliorationC. S. Prasad, N. K. S. Gowda, D. T. Pal ---------------------------------------------------- 152

20. Strategic supplementation of minerals to livestock: An Indian perspectiveTapan K. Ghosh and Sudipto Haldar ---------------------------------------------------------163

111

Silver Jubilee Year of Animal Nutrition Society of India TROPNUTRICON - 2007

Tropical animal nutrition with emphasis on animal

adaptation and products

E. R. Ørskov

Macaulay Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB15 8QH, UK

It is of course possible to write books about

the subject above so this paper will be a summary

of my own experiences of tropical agriculture and

philosophies derived from them.

First of all we need perhaps to define what is

tropical. Most people of course expect the tropics to

be hot but with varying degrees of humidity. How-

ever, for several years, I had a project with animal

production some 2000 m up on the slopes of

Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, almost on the Equator, I can

assure you that at that altitude it can also be cold.

Adaptation to dry and hot climates with fluctu-

ating supply of nutrients

An excellent example of an animal adapted to

an extreme climate is no doubt the camel. Both

Dromedary and Bactrian camel are well adapted to

hot and dry and cold conditions, but in slightly dif-

ferent ways. The camel has not only an ability to

be comfortable in very hot and dry climates; it can

do without food and water for many days. The

dromedary at least is biochemically adapted with

an enzyme system that ensures a very low require-

ment of glucose. In fact they can generate reducing

equivalent from C2 unit i.e. fat so that even at 10 d

starvation there is no increase in blood ketones e.g.

β-hydroxybutyrate (β-OH) (Wensvoort et al.,

2001) which is unlike ruminants. When food and

water become available they can drink very large

quantities and very rapidly convert even glucose to

fat stores (Wardeh and Dawa 2006). The most

important fat store is in the hump so the fat is stored

in a specific region which make for much easier

thermoregulations. Ruminants on the whole need a

small supply of feed every day to avoid glucose

deficiency. In our intragastic nutrition studies we

found that if cattle were fed about one third of

energy maintenance their elevation of β-OH was

slight (Ku Vera et al., 1989). In sheep the level of

feeding needed to avoid elevation of β-OH is lower

(Ørskov et al., 1998) suggesting that sheep may

have a lower glucose requirement than cattle. An

elevation of β-OH signifying glucose deficiency will

lead to excessive loss of lean tissue as reducing

equivalents required for utilization of fat are gener-

ated from the protein turnover cycle. At starvation

or fasting the urine N excretion is about two times

greater than it is when there is no elevation in β-

OH due to use of glucose precursors from the

protein turnover cycle. Bos indicus also has a fat

store in the hump rather than evenly spread subcu-

taneously to help thermoregulation during hot sea-

sons and when there is fluctuation in the supply of

nutrients. Bos taurus on the whole is less well

adapted to hot climates with fluctuating supply of

nutrients.

Sheep in hot regions with a fluctuating supply of

nutrients have also adapted by having fat stores in

their tail e.g. Awassi sheep whose tails carry more

than 5Kg of fat; some sheep also store fat in their

dewlap e.g. Maasai sheep in Africa. Many breeds

have a hair coat rather than wool e.g.Maasai sheep

and many other breeds. A sleek hair coat reflects much

of the sun’s heat whereas a wool coat insulates from

it. Goats on the whole tolerate fluctuating supply of

nutrients better than cattle since they are browsers

and have access to nutrients, sometimes high quality

nutrients such as tree leaves, which cattle being graz-

222


ers have not. Sheep also do better than cattle as they

are grazer/browsers but not as selective as goats.

Apart from Bos indicus some other cattle breeds are

well adapted to hot regions where there is not too

much fluctuation in nutrient supply e.g. Bos bantang

in Indonesia, Bos frontalis in Yunnan and indeedChinese and Vietnamese yellow cattle.

Humid tropics

The best adapted animal for the humid tropics

is undoubtedly the buffalo but under extreme con-

ditions it needs access to water or mud to assist in

thermoregulation

Low oxygen

The Yak cattle in the high Tibetan Plateau and

Mongolia and the South American camelids e.g.

Llama and Guanaco (Campero, 2006) and Alpaca

and Vicunna (Otazu, 2006) are outstanding in their

adaptation to low oxygen tension at great altitudesas is the Bactrian camel in the Gobi desert (Wardehand Dawa, 2006). The Yaks do not do well at high

oxygen concentration in lowlands. They are alsoextremely well adapted to fluctuating supply of

nutrients and also to cold winters as they have a

long coat of hair. Even their milk production is

related to nutrient supply. They normally have acalf every two years but have virtually two summer

lactation periods for each calf (Weiner et al., 2003).

They respond to nutrient supply in the second sum-

mer even though milk production had virtually

stopped in the winter when little feed was available.

It is of course also possible that the calf has physi-

ologically adapted to less demand for milk in the

winter period.

Adaptation to low quality feed

As a generalization roughages and grasses are

of lower quality in tropical as opposed to temper-

ate regions. However, cattle breeds in the tropicsare often adapted to this by having a higher rumenvolume relative to body weight enabling them to

have longer retention time of roughage and so di-gest it more fully. Mould et al. (1982) for instanceshowed that cattle in Bangladesh had a rumen vol-ume amounting to about 35% of live weight com-pared to about 20% for Holstein cattle. Chineseyellow cattle likewise can fatten on much poorerdiets due to higher rumen volume relative to bodyweight. Buffaloes too are outstanding in this re-spect with high rumen volume and long retentiontime giving generally a slightly higher digestibility ofroughage compared to cattle. Buffaloes are alsomore efficient than cattle in recycling urea to therumen, even purine derivatives are recycled (Thanhand Ørskov 2006), and thus the N concentration inroughages needed to satisfy the requirement of ru-men microbes is less for buffaloes than cattle. Thisis one area of research where more data is neededto describe different types of animals and theiradaptation to local feeds.

Nutrition and heat production

It is a fact that the main energy source forruminants is the volatile fatty acid (VFA) arisingfrom the anaerobic fermentation of food by rumenmicrobes. The utilization of energy by the animalsis less efficient from VFA than for instance fromglucose. Ørskov et al. (1979) found that at least40% of the energy of VFA infused into the rumenwas dissipated as heat. In addition to this the costof eating and propulsion of roughage through thegut is high so capture of metabolizable energy forproductive purposes is generally less than 50%.This has the effect that in hot areas the animals willoften limit their intake of food according to howmuch of this waste heat they can dissipate even ifthe quality of the feed could have enabled them toeat more. If the need for ME is high, e.g. for milkproduction by dairy cows, the animals will then bein negative energy balance. While fat stores can beused during negative energy balance the consequentglucose requirement will be met by metabolisingtissue protein, which depress immunity to diseaseand delay ovulatory cycling activity and so prolongthe calving interval. The consequence is that cattle

333


in tropical regions will generally have lower pro-duction of milk and even growth rate comparedwith the cattle in temperate regions as they cannotsustain sufficient food intake to meet the need for

very high milk yield. The heat stress will limit their

intake. If the animals are kept inside, their environ-

ment can be controlled by air conditioning, but this

is generally not an economical option. It is of course

also possible to reduce heat stress somewhat by

shelter and air movement. However, I have often

seen differences between animals in their ability to

dissipate heat. I observed for instance in South

China Holstein cattle panting like dogs while Jersey

cows were comfortably chewing their cud and in

Mexico Creole cattle eating comfortably and yield-

ing milk well while Holstein cattle were suffering

from heat stress.

Animal products

In many countries including East and South-

East Asia livestock perform many functions; they

are multipurpose not single purpose. This aspect

was discussed by Ørskov and Viglizzo (1994) and

is summarized in Table 1, with a comparison be-

tween market oriented and single purpose systems

and social value oriented and multipurpose systems.

Table 1. Comparison between single purpose system andmultipurpose system.

System Single purpose Multi purposeMarket oriented Social value

oriented

Economic goal Profit maximization Risk minimizationCash generation Family supportProductivity Stability and

sustainability

Control of Human control Environmentalenvironment control

Breeding goal Homogeneity Biological diversity

Philosophical Specialistic Holisticapproach

Scientific Single discipline System disciplineapproach

Statistica Meanl Varianceemphasis Main effects Interactions

The contrasting economic goals, the driving

forces that distinguish the two systems, are profit

maximisation, cash generation and productivity in

the market oriented sector, and risk minimization

and stability in the social value oriented sector.

It is most important that often the environment

is under human control in market oriented systems.

Thus beef animals are kept in feedlots at least dur-

ing part of their lives with complete environmental

and nutritional control so that weight gains, milk

yields etc. are similar in dry and wet seasons and

in summers and winters. This has an effect on the

breeding goal which is homogeneity in the market

oriented sector as this increases the prediction of

profitability. The homogeneity may be achieved by

use of tools such as artificial insemination and em-

bryo transfer. For the social value sector diversity

has survival value as the environment is not predict-

able but varies from year to year. It is unfortunate

that almost everywhere animal research is focussed

on homogeneity and single products. This is under-

standable but not excusable because most research

is funded by countries with intensive animal pro-

duction industries. The philosophical approach can

be specialistic e.g. concentrated on one aspect of

production while in the social value sector the phi-

losophy has to be holistic, as animal production is

part of a system interacting with families and with

plants and soils. University courses traditionally

focus on single disciplines e.g. animal nutrition, ani-

mal production, animal breeding, whereas in rela-

tion to the social value sector there should be sys-

tem disciplines. Normally statistical emphasis is

directed towards the mean and main effect but in

the social value sector there should be emphasis on

the variance and interactions as these concern sur-

vival value in an environment that varies from year

to year.

Clearly animals from the social value sector

will not generally be able to compete with market

oriented animals on the single product for which the

latter have been selected for many years to achieve.

444


Generally, there is little direct transfer in that direc-

tion though it might serve to enhance genetic diver-

sity. However transfer of animals from the market

oriented to social value oriented sector is pursued

relentlessly by western livestock dealers pretending

to solve problems and aid the farmer in the social

value sector. Animal selected under environmental

control and with high quality feed and produce a

single product are asked to produce and survive in

an area where the environment is not under control.

There are plenty of examples of disasters and rela-

tively few successes. The average lifespan of Frie-

sian cows exported to developing countries is about

15 months. They have great problems and yet the

expert of so-called superior breeds continue relent-

lessly and uncritically under the guise of aid! Nu-

tritional support can then be achieved by importa-

tion of feed but this is expensive and neglectful of

local feed resources. Beef cattle produced in west-

ern temperate countries on high quality feeds are

often, apart from growth rate, selected for high

carcass weight relative to live weight which essen-

tially results in selecting against rumen volume.

These animals are exported as upgraded animals to

areas where the local feed of low quality requires

a large rumen volume for its intake and digestion. It

is however leaving a country very vulnerable. Inten-

sive poultry production in Indonesia was supported

by cheap feed from America. When the currency

was devalued by 80% in 1998 most of the poultry

industry went bankrupt. The small farmers produc-

ing chickens from local resources survived. Vari-

ous levels of crossbreeding with single purpose

animals can be attempted. It is interesting to note

that Cuba where breeding policy used to depend

on the use of cheap feed from USSR is now reduc-

ing the amount of Holstein blood in their dairy herds.

In the tropics, and elsewhere too, livestock

kept in their proper interaction with soil, plants and

people make a tremendous contribution to resource

management, to soil fertility, high quality food such

as milk and meat, and to security as a type of bank.

Separating animals from this interaction, as by keep-

ing them in large feedlots, is not a sustainable sys-

tem. Animal manure becomes a polluting waste

product, instead of contributing to soil fertility. Many

cities even in Asia and Africa are surrounded by

intensive animal enterprises to provide meat and

milk for the townsfolk, but the manure causes pol-

lution and the feed has to be transported from rural

areas or imported. This system causes immense

environmental damage and should be stopped. The

increased demand for animal products for the cities

should if possible be used as a tool to decrease

rural poverty. Animal production should be en-

couraged from rural areas where the feed is avail-

able but here our politicians have to recognise that

small farmers cannot take risks or tolerate large

price fluctuations. Given security it is my experi-

ence from many countries that small farmers will

respond by increasing animal production when the

conditions are right. This has so many advantages

for soil, plants, people and environment in general.

Organizations such as WTO must recognize this.

Intensive animal production closely around cities

promotes the very opposite, poverty, pollution and

soil deterioration.

REFERENCES

Campero, J.R. (2006) Llama and Guanaco generalperspective. ICAR Technical Series, 11: 11-18.

Ku-Vera, J.C., MacLeod, N.A. and Ørskov, E.R.(1989) Energy exchanges of cattle nourishedby intragastric infusion of nutrients. In: Energy

metabolism of farm animals. (Y. van derHoneny and W.H. Close, eds.). pp. 271-274.Proc. 11th Symp. Lunteren (EAAP 43), Pudoc,Wageningen.

Mould, F.L., Saadullah, M., Haque, M., Davis, C.,Dolberg, F. and Ørskov, E.R. (1982) Trop.

Anim. Prod., 7: 174-181.

Ørskov, E.R., Grubb, D.A., Smith, J.S., Webster,

555


A.J.F. and Corrigall, W. (1979). Br. J. Nur.,

41: 541-551

Ørskov, E.R. and Viglizzo, E.F. (1994) Outlook

Agric., 23: 81-89.

Ørskov, E.R., Meehan, D.E., MacLeod, N.A. andKyle, D.J. (1998) Br. J. Nur., 81: 389-393.

Otazu D.A. (2006) Alpaca and Vicuna general

perspective ICAR Technical Series, 11: 31-36.

Thanh Vo thi Kim and Ørskov, E.R. (2006) Anim.

Sci., 82: 355-358.

Wardeh, M.F. and Dawa, M. (2006) Camels and

Dromedaries: general perspective ICAR

Technical Series No 11: 1-10.

Weiner, G., Jianlin, H. and Ruijun, L. (2003) FAORAP Publication 2003/2006. Regional Officefor Asia & Pacific, FAO, UK Bangkok Thai-land.

Wensvoort, J., Kyle, D.J., Ørskov, E.R. and

Bourke, D.A. (2001) Rangifer, 21: 45-48

666


Transformation of animal nutrition education to match future need

Ashok Rathore

Department of Animal Welfare and Veterinary Science Institute

Allahabad Agricultural Institute-Deemed University, Allahabad-211007, India

Agricultural improvement has been called the

most difficult task, a nation can face (Sommer,

1975). It is difficult, yes, but not impossible. In

developing nations like India the system of educa-

tion in Animal Science in general, and animal nutri-

tion in particular, requires a fundamental revamp.

The primary focus, need to increase efficiency of

animal production and marketing at local level;

extension and adoption of existing technologies;

applied research and empowerment of local women.

There is an urgent need to integrate and re-work

the curricula for the need of poor communities in

rural areas. These courses (animal sciences and

animal nutrition) should be organized with integrated

rural development as the over all objective and

should avoid purely academic approaches. People

in the field are asking for support and assistance in

improved livestock production through improved

management encompassing improved nutrition for

the livestock, which sadly is frequently ignored and

neglected in traditional curricula and rural develop-

ment program.

All too often we underestimate the time needed

to plan a good course of study. Furthermore, those

teaching the courses should also do extension work

to prevent their becoming isolated from the needs

and problems in the farmers’ fields. What is needed;

is practical hands-on training that supplements and

reinforces the more formal didactic approach of the

classroom. The course of study should begin by

arousing interest and motivating the participants to

try out innovation. Then it should make sure they

know enough to experiment successfully. Finally, it

should encourage them to teach others and show

them how to do it. Scotland was one of the first

countries to start ‘extension’ service when the uni-

versities decided to ‘extend’ their educational ef-

forts beyond the university boundaries, although the

term ‘extension’ was introduced in Cambridge Uni-

versity. The concept was then taken up in the USA,

particularly in the agricultural field. There, graduates

were employed to work in the rural areas under the

guidance of a nearby university. Their job was to

introduce new ideas and skills to farmers. Since

then, ‘Extension’ has spread to almost all countries

in the world. Many of the people in the farming

communities are suspicious of governmental work-

ers, so trust and friendship need to be built up.

A practical and more realistic approach will

encompass such know-how as nutrition, breeding,

feeding, management, and treatment of farm ani-

mals (cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry etc.). It

is useless to have such information stored or locked

up in files and inaccessible theses. Practical educa-

tion and training for the graduate and postgraduate

students, who will be working with the rural work-

ers must over come bureaucratic inertia and lack of

political will. There exists a general apathy among

the rural poor who often can see no leadership

showing them the way out of their unenviable situ-

ation. These problems should be replaced with an

enthusiasm engendered by learning practical meth-

ods for improvement, and inspired by those privi-

leged to assist them in making headway towards

their desired targets for production. There exists “a

serious gap in the myriads of volumes available is

any serious attempt to relate theories to practice

and address them to the practitioner in the field”. It

would seem that practitioners do not write and theo-

reticians remain in the abstractions of their theories

777


(Stoesz, 1972). It seems to be characteristics of

human nature that people learn more effectively from

mistakes, their own as well as others, than their

success.

Village people are interested in works that re-

sponds not to the general needs of the region, but

to their own specific needs. Having no experience

with large institutions, they tend to interpret bureau-

cratic inflexibility as an insult, a sign of indifference,

or an ultimate Refusal of help. It is usually the case

that general apathy among the rural poor is associ-

ated with abstruse documents that are too scientific

to be of practical use for farmers. This, along with

generally low literacy levels (Table 2) and poor skills

in English language, makes it vary hard for appro-

priate information and knowledge to be dissemi-

nated among farmers in rural areas.

If sufficient government funds are put in to the

proper and practical education for our students,

(who will be working with the rural farming com-

munities), the reward both the farming families and

to India will be huge. Responsible government sim-

ply can not afford to neglect it.

There are many tools that are used in, teaching

and research at our universities. One of the tools-

the National Research Council’s (NRC) nutrient re-

quirement series represents the primary publications

of the Committee of Animal Nutrition (CAN). These

publications have been used throughout most of this

century for research and education purposes. The

continued update of the reports in this series is critical

to our next generation of academics and scientists.

Whether they are of use to farmers is highly ques-

tionable.

Global situation

Within the next 25-30 years, the world’s popu-

lation will increase to nearly 8 billion people. All of

that increase will occur in the developing countries.

The overwhelming majority of undernourished people

live in Asia and Pacific. During seasonal food short-

ages and in times of famine and social unrest, the

number of undernourished people increases. Nearly

13 million children under 5 years of age die every

year from preventable diseases and infections such

as measles, diarrhea, malaria and pneumonia or from

some combination of these. According to some es-

timate, malnutrition is a factor in one-third of these

cases (Table 1 and 2).

Table 1. Major nutrition problems

l 30 % of children under five years of age are under-

weight;

l 199 million children suffer from protein energy mal-

nutrition;

l 40 million people suffer from vitamin A deficiency;

l 2 billion people are affected by or at risk from iodine

deficiency disorder;

l 2 billion people are affected by or at risk from iron

deficiency anemia.

Table 2. Under-nutrition, basic services and poverty

l 800 million people lack adequate access to food;

l 158 million children under five years of age are mal-

nourished;

l 800 million people lack adequate access to health

services;

l 1.2 billion people lack access to safe water;

l 1.3 billion people live below poverty line

l 2 billion people lack sanitation facilities;

l 1 billion people lack adequate shelter;

l 842 million adults are illiterate;

Past generation

Over the past few decades, at least spill over of

agricultural technology from rich countries to poor

countries demonstrated increased production and

food security for many parts of the developing world,

however, recent developments in both the devel-

oped and developing world means that poor coun-

tries may no longer be able to depend, as they have

in the past on spillovers of new agricultural tech-

nologies and knowledge from richer countries, es-

pecially advances related to enhanced productivity

of staple foods. And a consequence of these changes,

simply maintaining their current agricultural Research

and Development (R & D) policies may leave many

888


Chelated minerals and performance of sheep

developing nations as technological orphans in the

decades ahead. Developing countries may have to

become more self-reliant and perhaps more depen-

dent on one another for the collective benefits of

agricultural R & D and technology.

Many developing countries are facing serious

shortage of funding and institutional constraints that

inhibit the effectiveness of local R & D. Together

these factors may lead to serious food deficits. The

number of publications that have been used by past

generations of researchers and educators peaked in

the mid-70s and since that time the interval be-

tween revisions of the publications has increased

and the number of publications produced per year

has decreased.

These trends reflects the fact that the rapid

pace of science produces more material that must

be reviewed with each revision, which requires more

time and resources to put in to practical use – that

is, making practical use of the extended knowledge

at grass root level to benefit the rural communities.

The Indian agricultural research and education sys-

tems have a long and distinguished history that

evolved from a decentralized, imperial system into

a highly centralized one created to respond to the

food crisis in the 1960s. With the goal of increased

food production as the driving force, the system

grew rapidly, through both central and state fiscal

appropriations. The impacts of these investments

were impressive, India became self-sufficient in food,

and numerous studies have documented high pay-

offs.

Technology transfer

In the 1990s, new challenges arose, forcing

changes in the organizations and funding of educa-

tion and research in India. Food security is now

only one of several goals of the current education

and research system. Privatization and liberalization

of the economy and challenges of sustainable re-

source management and diversification are now

placing new demand on the system. Some lessons

can be learned from the past. First political com-

mitment through sustainability of public funds is

essential. Despite the transition at independence and

successive governments of different political ideolo-

gies thereafter, however, as the system expands and

becomes more complex, a number of organizational

and management problem emerge. These problems

could be addressed with appropriate management

leadership and willingness to learn from the past, as

well as from contemporary institutional develop-

ments in education and research systems around

the world.

Improved communication technology has re-

sulted in revisions of the reports on food-producinganimals. These reports have evolved from staticdocuments containing tables with numerical valuesto become more dynamic with the incorporation of

computer models, which should make the reports

more useful. These days there is a need to move

beyond using reports and text books to educate.

Now it makes sense to use hands-on education

and training to meet local needs, at the grass-root

level by:

1. Supplying adequate relevant materials which

can be easily understood by local groups;

2. Sufficient training of extension workers who

are able to communicate development infor-mation; and

3. Make available reliable materials which are not

expensive.

Deliberate action is needed:

l To ensure enabling political, social and eco-

nomic environment;l To eradicate/alleviate poverty and inequality;

l To pursue sustainable food, agricultural and

rural development policies;

l To ensure that food, agricultural trade and over-

all policies foster food security; and

l To meet emergency food requirements in waysthat encounter recovery, rehabilitation and de-

velopment.

999


Because of direct impact of the climatic

changes and increasing population in developing

nations, global food production and loss of arable

land has become one of the most urgent problems

facing humanity. Should climatic alteration from

greenhouse warming and enhanced ultraviolet levels

impose further stress on agricultural systems, the

prospects for increased food production would

become even less favorable than they are at present.

To make animal nutrition education relevant to

the local need we should aim to:

l Explain the range of livestock feeds and feed-

ing methods available for Animal production,

using accepted industry terminology, explain the

role of energy foods, including the sources and

functions of those foods in animal diets;

l Explain the functions of the major nutritional

group, including proteins, vitamins, minerals and

trace elements in animal diets;

l Explain on-farm methods used to evaluate feed-

ing including selection of feeds and feed di-

gestibility;

l Explain the dietary value of pastures, including

grasses, cereals, and other edible as well as

non-edible plants, and their by-products for

animal feeds;

l Explain the dietary value of seeds, including oil

seeds, legume seeds and their by-products and

food sources for animals;

l Evaluate the dietary value of fodder plants,

including trees and shrubs and their by-prod-

ucts, as a food source in animal production,

determine suitable feed rations for a farm ani-

mal maintenance program at a reasonable cost;

l Analyze the method(s) to determine suitable

feed rations in a farm animal production pro-

gram; and

l Explain the factors affecting the composition

of feed ration in animal production.

Course coverage

It is generally agreed that payoffs to agricul-

tural education could be higher with a stronger re-

search-extension interface. The weakness of cur-

rent system can be attributed to a number of fac-

tors. First, because adaptive research and technol-

ogy transfer is considered to be less challenging,

few scientists and educators are attracted to it.

Second, scientists working in technology assess-

ment and transfer are disadvantaged because per-

formance-evaluation criteria tend to emphasize the

number of research publications. Third, most scien-

tists lack the skills to assess farmers’ research needs

and design appropriate technologies; they also lack

operating expenses for on-farm research. Livestock

is one such opportunity, driven by increasing in-

comes in developing countries, the demand for live-

stock products- meat, eggs and dairy products is

increasing at a far greater rate than the demand for

staple crops.

India is a tropical country, having largest live-

stock wealth, with highest bovine population, and

second in sheep population and sixth highest in poul-

try. India’s large livestock population, considered

by some as an asset that is provided in plenty by

nature, but seen by others as burden. India is pres-

ently the world’s largest dairy producer (due to,

vast number of low producers-cattle and buffaloes).

Operation flood is an Indian scheme by which about

10 million small-scale producers, producing as little

as a couple of liters each day, have been integrated

into the market. However, in India many of the

poor farmers are land less, and many of these land-

less poor are women- women constitute about 70%

of the poorest of the poor.

A major key to managing change is proper

diagnosis of problems and situations, keeping in mind

that the performance of the whole is not the sum of

the individual parts, but is a sequence of the rela-

tionship of the performance between parts. Thus

problems cannot be solved separately, since they

are interdependent. Basically farming/agriculture is

101010


about human interference with nature in such a way

that animal and plant products can be harvested.

Yet this interference can cause serious problems to

the environment unless it is done carefully.

Pro-poor innovative systems

In developing countries, a major problem is

how to get new ideas and technologies to poor

people. Trying to implement new ideas and tech-

nologies has been expensive and traditional exten-

sion systems have failed to help rural poor. This

TROPNUTRICON-2007 Conference will be de-

liberating into how we can organize and get com-

munities involved in sharing knowledge. The old-

fashioned farmer field-school approach is now be-

ing tested as a way to disseminate information about

livestock innovations with an emphasis on animal

nutrition. It is a technique brings group of people

together around a common interest such as breed-

ing small ruminants. The farmers request informa-

tion about a particular topic or technology. Theymay be explicit about their concerns and what they

want a technology to accomplish for them. The

farmers themselves may initiate the research and

they help shape the innovation.

There are institutions, governmental as well as

non-governmental organizations and universities thatcan address policy and there are those that addresstechnology. They have the potential to move devel-

opment along a path that is beneficial for the poor

who rely on livestock for what little income they

have. This, however, requires a targeted effort. It

will not happen by default. Many of the issues are

international, are complex and require a wide range

of skills indicating that collaboration must transcend

institutional and national boundaries.

Australia’s role, the livestock revolution: A

pathway from poverty

The northern part of Australia is, where inten-sive research is done on tropical agriculture. Aus-

tralia is successful in livestock production. Particu-

larly important is the fact that researchers and edu-

cators are interested in understanding tropical ani-

mal diseases (Rathore, 2007a) both inside and out-

side Australia, because these livestock keepers have

the same problems. The Office International des

Epizootics (OIE) estimates that animal disease may

result in losses of up to 20% of production (OIE

1993). When dealing with livestock in the tropics,

Australia has first-hand experience that puts re-

searchers in a more advantageous position than, for

example, those working in Nordic countries.

Australia has developed interesting institutional

innovations in managing research, such as the Co-

operative Research Centers Programs – build links

between industry, universities and research agen-

cies to achieve world-class research and innova-

tion. It is attractive to consider how such innova-

tions can take on a more international role. Austra-

lia is closer than other developed countries to de-

veloping nation like India in South-East Asia. Aus-

tralia has valuable experience and assets to offer

that reach beyond trade exports. As Australia is a

model of successful tropical agriculture, opportuni-

ties will present themselves in areas such as training

and consulting, with possibilities of sharing and

passing on expertise that will benefit the entire re-

gion.

In the future Australia’s role will probably be

to build the livestock industry in the developing

world, providing knowledge, services, genetic re-

source training. Livestock research, development

and training promising opportunities for improve-

ment of the lives of poor farmers, helping them step

out poverty and offering broader benefits for all.

Since 1971, when ‘poverty eradication’ be-

came the main theme of development planning,

improving livestock has been recognized by the

Indian Government as an important tool for poverty

alleviation and funds were provided for develop-

ment and research programs. The focus of such

programs, however, has been improvement in the

production of livestock commodities for income

111111


generation, applying the western model and assum-

ing that ideal conditions would be provided. As a

result, the programs have had mixed results and

many reports on the impact of livestock develop-

ment programs concluded that ‘there is no clear

evidence to show impact on poverty’ and that ‘adop-

tion of western technology by the resource poor

has been negligible’. Agriculture has changed dra-

matically especially since mid 50s. Food and fiber

productivity soared due to new technologies, mecha-

nization, increased chemical use, specialization and

governmental policies that favor maximizing pro-

duction. These challenges allowed fewer farmers

with reduced labor, to produce the majority of food

and fiber in the developed nations like the U.S. and

Australia.

It is not necessary, nor even desirable, for

countries developing today to follow the same path

towards development as did the developed world.

Previously, as countries developed, people moving

into cities readily found employment as industrial-

ization was taking place on a large scale. Simulta-

neously, the number of people required to work in

the livestock industry was greatly reduced because

mechanization had taken over many jobs. Contem-

porary thinking is that by bolstering and developing

agricultural production beyond subsistence levels, it

will be possible for people to support more of the

population on the land. People not able to sustain

themselves on the land are drifting into cities. But

people who are now migrating into cities have little

prospect of employment and, without jobs; they

are forced into slums - at an enormous cost to

society. We need to take such potential dangers

into account as we work out our strategies.

In order to alleviate rural poverty we need our

future agricultural and veterinary graduates to be

better educated, but to be proactive, and well

equipped to assist rural communities. These gradu-

ates will be able help the rural communities by

extension of their knowledge so that the farmers

will be better equipped to manage their livestock.

As a result they will be more productive and will

improve their economic base on which rural com-

munities depend, especially with regard to local food

production (for humans as well as livestock). The

consequential growth of the rural economies can

lead to increased trade with other countries with

prospects of benefits flowing globally. A continuing

major effort in international research and education

in agriculture and natural resource management is

required to provide for the continuing increase in

world population. These efforts must extend to the

underlying reasons for poverty in developing coun-

tries, and to issues surrounding continuing environ-

mental degradation.

Improving the food supply: diet modification,

increasing demand for livestock and products

In 2030, it is estimated that out of the eight billion

people in this world, six billion will be in the devel-

oping world. That is where the population is grow-

ing, and it will continue to grow particularly rapidly

in Asia, where we expect 50% of that additional

growth. It is calculated and widely cited that 1.2

billion people are living on a cash income of less

than a dollar a day. Three-quarter of these people

live in rural areas.

The proposed Animal Welfare & Veterinary

Science Institute at Sam Higginbottom University

of Agriculture, Technology and Science (at

Allahabad, U.P. India) recognizes the importance

of agricultural education, research and development

in agriculture, forestry and natural resource man-

agement and will be a power-house for economic

progress in India where rural communities are de-

pendent on local food and livestock production and

resource management. It will be advancing India’s

national interest through poverty reduction and the

sustainable development for poor rural community.

The success of Green Revolution lay primarily

in its use of fossil energy for fertilizers, pesticides,

and irrigation to raise crops as well as in improved

seed. It greatly increased the energy-intensiveness

121212


of agricultural production, in some case by 100 fold

or more. The Green revolution was technologically

suited to special circumstances: relatively level land

with adequate water for irrigation and fertilizers,

and in nations that could acquire the other needed

resources. The green Revolution has been imple-

mented in a manner that has not proved to be

environmentally sustainable by better education. The

technology has enhanced soil erosion, polluted

groundwater and surface-water resources, and in-

creased pesticide use has caused serious public

health and environmental problems. Fossil fuels-

starting with oil – are now being depleted and will

not be available for a long to sustain the techniques

of the Green Revolution.

At the present time only 3, of 183 nations are

major exporters of grain, the United States, Austra-

lia and Canada. With the present patterns of dis-

tribution and consumption current food supplies

appear insufficient to provide satisfactory diets for

all. Although a recent FAO report indicates that

chronic under-nutrition in developing countries has

improved some what. It is generally agreed that

among a number of important global changes, eco-

nomics and social well-being must improve for that

large fraction of the world’s people now in poverty.

This includes better education, better infrastructure,

and more and better quality food.

Ruminant livestock like cattle, goat and sheep,

graze about half of the earth’s total land area (Dur-ing amd Brough, 1992). In addition, about one-quarter of the world cropland is devoted to pro-ducing grains and other feeds for livestock. About38% of the world grain production is now fed tolivestock. In the United States, for example, thisamounts to about 135 million tons/year of grain, ofa total production of 312 million tons/year. If devel-oped countries, moved toward more- vegetable-protein diet rather than their present diets, whichare high in animal foods, a substantial amount ofgrain would become available for direct human con-sumption. There are a number of ways by whichcropland productivity may be raised that do not

induce injury over the long term, that is, are sustain-

able. If these technologies were put into commonuse in agriculture, some of the negative impacts ofdegradation in the agro-ecosystem could be reduced

and the yields of many crops increased. These tech-nologies include:

Energy intensive farming: While continua-

tion of the rapid increases in yields of the GreenRevolution is no longer possible in many regions ofthe world, increased crop yields are possible by

increasing the use of fertilizers and pesticides in somedeveloping countries in Africa, Latin America andAsia. However, recent reports indicate a possible

problem of declining yields in the rice-wheat sys-tems in the high production areas of South Asia.And as depletion of oil and gas becomes more

severe, the production of fertilizers and pesticideswill become too costly to sustain

Livestock management and fertilizer

sources: Livestock serve two important functionsin agriculture and food production. First, ruminantlivestock convert grass and forages, which are un-suitable for human foods, into milk, leather/fiber,

blood and meat for use by humans. They also pro-duce enormous amount of manure and urine andother byproducts useful for crop production, biogas

and a number of innovative products.

Soil and water conservation: The loss ofproductive soil has occurred as long as crops have

been cultivated. This loss arises from soil erosion,salinization, water-logging, and urbanization. Nutri-ent depletion, over-cultivation, over-grazing, acidi-

fication and soil compaction contribute as well. Manyof these processes are caused or are aggravated bypoor agricultural practices. Soil erosion, a problem

throughout the world, is the single most serious causeof degradation of arable land. The high rate of soilerosion now typical of world agriculture land em-

phasizes the urgency of stemming this loss, which initself is probably the most threatening to sustainedlevels of food production. Improved conservation

of water can enhance rain-fed and irrigated cropyields.

131313


Crop varieties and genetic engineering: Theapplication of biotechnology to alter certain cropcharacteristics is expected to increase yields forsome crops, such as developing new crop varietieswith better harvest index and crop that have im-proved resistance to insect and plant pathogen at-tacks.

Maintaining biodiversity: Conservingbiodiversity of plants and animal species is essentialto maintaining a productive and attractive environ-ment for agriculture and other human activities.Greater effort is also needed to conserve the ge-netic diversity that exists in crops and animalsworldwide. This diversity has proven extremelyvaluable in improving crop productivity and willcontinue to do so in the field of animal breeding andgenetic improvement in the future (Rathore, 2007).

Improved pest control: Because insects, dis-eases and weeds destroy about 35% of potentialpre-harvest crop production in the world, the imple-mentation of appropriate technologies to reduce pestand disease losses would substantially increase cropyields and food supplies.

Irrigation can be used successfully to increaseyields, which also happens if abundant water andenergy resources are available. The problems facingirrigation suggest that its worldwide expansion willbe limited. Owing to developing shortages of water,improved irrigation practices that lead to increasedwater in plants’ root zones are urgently needed.

Constraints and challenges for educating live-stock industry personnel in India

A wide range of solutions would be needed to

address the many problems that have been identi-

fied. There is an urgent need for improved informa-

tion gathering, based on active surveillance and

quickly collection of reliable data. Information must

be able to be gathered and processes quickly so

that it is still relevant when it is used for decision

making.

There is great challenge to alleviate poverty,

produce more and safer food, especially of animal

origin, against shrinking animal bio-diversity and

increased global trade.

There must be a livestock revolution in devel-

oping world to meet the projected demands of more

than double the meat and milk consumption over

the next 20 years. This demand can not only be

met by an increased number of animals; increased

productivity is also required to avoid degradation

of natural resources.

The potential of indigenous breeds in develop-

ing countries is often inadequately documented and

under-utilized. Diversity in animal genetic resources

is invaluable for future development.

There is a need for conservation programs that

increase animal productivity and maintain the nec-

essary genetic diversity. Often past conservation

programs have failed. Good and simple examples

that demonstrate effective breeding strategies, which

take into account environmental, economic and in-

frastructure constraints, must be developed.

Research and capacity building at all levels is

required to improve the knowledge of indigenous

and alternate animal genetic resources in different

region of the developing world. The implementation

of sustainable breeding strategies in the developing

countries will be instrumental in increasing aware-

ness of the roles of livestock and their genetic di-

versity.

There is need to develop and sustain partner-

ships for international livestock research and edu-

cation, with priorities for development –oriented

livestock research that will increase outputs that

improve the wellbeing of poor people.

However, there are a number of difficulties in

expanding food supplies in developing nations, some

of these are:

1. There is a need to decrease global fossil-fuel

use and halt deforestation, in order to lessen

carbon emissions to the atmosphere. These

steps are in direct competition with the need

141414


to provide sufficient energy for intensive agri-

culture and for cooking and heating using fire-

wood. A major decrease in fossil-fuel use by

the industrial countries would require 25 years

at a minimum to implement fully, even in favor-

able circumstances. Yet a three-or fourfold

increase in effective energy services to the

earth’s people will be required to yield the

improvements needed in the quality of life in a

world of eight billion people.

2. Even assuming that sufficient fossil or other

fuels will be available in the future to support

energy-intensive agriculture in developing coun-

tries, several constraints appear to make this

difficult. These include: the high economic costs

of energy and problem associated with new

technologies.

3. Any solution must be able to be practically

applied and be appropriate for the situation in

which it will be used.

Research and educational priorities

l Crop-livestock integrated farming system;

l Feed resource utilization and improvement;

l Nutrient requirements and germplasm evalua-

tion;

l Socio-economic analysis, policy issues and

developing alternative technologies;

l Genetic evaluation, biological markers and

production and processing of quality male

germplasm and freezing technology;

l Development of latest diagnostics and vaccines

for augmenting animal health;

l Reproductive biotechnology;

l Improved reproductive efficiency;

l Rapid genetic up gradation of livestock;

l Scientific exchange, training and recruitment of

staffs;

l Resource management (sustainable).

Creation of public awareness and human re-

source development

No enterprise can be successful unless it is

accepted by the community. To improve the liveli-

hood and the livestock production of the under-

privileged families, we need to understand their way

of life and their perceptions about the role of live-

stock in their livelihood. Human societies all over

the world have developed social and cultural bonds

and affinities with certain species or breeds of ani-

mals. This has resulted in the integration of certain

breeds as a part of human life. Numerous religious

rituals, festivals and folklores are intimately con-

nected with native domestic animals. In some soci-

eties ownership of certain breeds confers on their

owners a status symbol and authority (Sahai, 1998).

It is now globally accepted that conservation of

animal genetic resources is essential, but overriding

economic consideration often jeopardize the attempt

to preserve them (FAO, 1999). The population of

farm livestock is markedly high in relation to the

land and other resources. The overall productivity

of farm animals in India is distressingly lower than

in America, Australia and Europe.

The multi-functionality of livestock and their

existence in developing countries, particularly in small

holder production systems - directly link them with

poor rural communities and concern millions of

resource poor landless agricultural laborers and small

and marginal farmers. While most of the livestock

are owned by underprivileged families, reliable sta-

tistics are not available on the number of livestock

owned by a family (neither for rural or urban popu-

lations). Recent statistics (Government of India 2004)

show that on an average 25% of households belong

to the under-privileged category. According to

Vidyanathan (1988, 1989), economics of bovine

production in relation to livelihood encompasses:

l Bovines are mainly maintained for animal power

and milk, cattle for bullocks and buffaloes for

milk;

l Buffaloes are mainly maintained for milk pro-

151515


duction but more buffaloes are reared by re-

source rich farmers and in feed surplus areas,

compared to cows;

l There is strong link between milk production

and feed availability;

l Milk production can generate employment andincome for smallholders and landless farmers.However, they need financial and institutional

support and better access to feed resourcesand livestock services;

l There is inadequacy of hard data on economic

related aspects;

l Requirement of bullocks is decreasing in someareas; and

l Buffaloes (and goats also) appear to be theanimal of the future and their population is in-creasing.

Women in livestock production

The role of women in livestock productionvaries among underprivileged groups and betweenregions. In tribal communities, women have a greater

role in livestock production as well as in the sale ofproduce, while pastoral women are generally in-volved in looking after the newly born and sick

animals. Amongst most of the other backward com-munities, women have a greater role with smallanimals and backyard poultry, while men manage

large animals (Rangnekar 1992). Within the contextof improving livestock production, it is crucial thatwomen’s involvement in livestock research and

development (R & D) is promoted.

In the context of livestock development, fol-lowing are suggested:

In the under-privileged rural sector improvedlivestock productivity knowledge and skills ofwomen - and their greater involvement in livestock

production and development - will quicken the rateof improvement both qualitatively and quantitatively;and

l When they are working in developed areas

where they have access to organizational sup-

port the under-privileged can adopt more ad-vanced livestock production systems;

l Under grain fed conditions, diversified crop-

livestock production systems, in which live-

stock and crop ‘niche’ well, together, are the

best way to improve sustainability and liveli-

hoods of the underprivileged.

Livestock wealth and its contribution to the

national GDP

Over 64% of population of India lives in rural

sector and is mainly dependent on land and ani-

mals. 69% of the farmers have less than 1.0 hector

land and 21% of farmers have between 1.0-2.0

hectors of land. According to 2005-2006 statistics

50% of rural labor force is landless farmers. Pov-

erty causes pronounced deprivation in human well-

being encompassing material deprivation, poor

health, literacy and nutrition, vulnerability to shocks

and changes, and having little or no control over

key decisions.

One billion can not read or write, 1.2 billion

lack access to safe drinking water, 35% of world’s

poor live in India (refer Table 2). The poorest of

the poor often do not have livestock, but if they

acquire animals, their livestock can help them along

a pathway out of poverty. Poor people should not

be regarded as burdensome to society. Rather, they

represent an economic opportunity needs to be

taped. India’s poverty ratio is disgracefully 28%.

Because despite spending enormous sums, the gov-

ernment has failed dismally to provide every village

with the five basics of growth: all weather roads,

electricity, telecom, functioning schools and func-

tioning health centers.

The low GDP indicates high level of ineffi-

ciency in the agricultural sector. However, if the

livestock production can be improved by selecting

livestock with higher productivity, it will provide

people with work, more food, income, traction,

fertilizer and fuel; but it will also act as catalyst to

161616


transform subsistence farming into higher income

generating enterprise, allowing poor to join the

market economy. The GDP for the current fiscal

year (2006-07) in India will touch 9.2%, hitting the

9.4% mark for the second successive year, bringing

close to magical double digit levels of 10%. Econo-

mists have said ‘high growth seem sustainable in the

future’. But what is the advantage of such eco-

nomic growth when our farmers in Uttar Pradesh,

Maharastra, Bihar and other states in India are still

committing suicide everyday as they do not get ad-

equate return from their produce? A liter of milk

costs same as a liter of bottled water in India. What

a paradox!

Policy, education, research, technologies and

innovations

What should we do? How can education and

research help? Research and education can influ-

ence policies in a number of ways. In India small

holder dairying has become an economic story,

farmers with only a small patch of land can keep a

cow by zero grazing it (by utilization of agricultural

waste and by-products), cash from this milk helps

pay school fee and provide for other needs of the

family. The conventional Western approach, as

found in many developing countries, is to enforce

pasteurization. But about 85% of the milk in India

and other developing countries is sold raw, this means

they are acting illegally. But they continue selling

their raw milk, and the practice goes on without

quality control. In general, people buying raw milk

traditionally boil it before consuming.

Throughout much of the developing world live-

stock are raised in mixed farming systems, where

animals very often have different functions. Live-

stock activities are normally integrated into the ex-

isting farming systems. Animals are kept mainly for

the purpose of food security and poverty allevia-

tion, which involves millions of small, landless and

marginal farmers. Livestock in India is character-

ized by very large numbers, across all species. In

2000, it had 218.18 million cattle, 93.77 million

buffaloes, 57.96 million sheep, 123 million goats,

16 million pigs and 402 million poultry. India ranks

first in cattle and buffaloes, second in goats, third in

sheep and seventh in poultry.

Livestock biodiversity is a valuable asset and

provide insurance and buffer in adverse situations.

The Indian sub-continent occupies a pre-eminent

position in so far as its animal genetic resources are

concerned. Over 140 breeds of livestock including

cattle (30), buffaloes (10), sheep (40), goats (20),

camel (4), horse (6), pigs, donkey, mule, yak and

mithun including poultry (18) have been distributed

over the large area spread in different agro-eco-

logical zones of the country. Livestock in develop-

ing countries contributes up to 25% of agricultural

GDP and 600 million rural people rely on livestock

related activities for their livelihood.

Animal production can be increased with or

without greatly increased feed consumption. Any of

the following scenarios or their combinations can

increase animal production:

l Increased use of feed;

l More efficient use of feed; and

l Improved animal breeds, proper management

and animal raising techniques.

Increased use of feed places further pressure

on the environment (unless new feed items can be

developed that will rely little on the natural re-

sources). However, more efficient use of feed, and

improved animal breeds and raising techniques, will

reduce feed use, or put in other word, will relatively

‘increase’ feed supply. Advances in these two areas

hold great potential to increase animal production

without much direct pressure on environment. For

example, improving the capacity of the rumen to

digest high-fiber diets could dramatically improve

prospects of animal production, particularly in ar-

eas with easy access to roughages with low feed

quality. In the case of pigs and poultry, feed-rates

have improved by 30-50 % over the past decade,

171717


in part through breeding and in parts through the

addition of enzymes to feeds. Still in mono-gastric

animals, only 25-35% of the nutrients consumed

are captured in the final products. Further under-

standing of digestive physiology and biochemistry

can be expected to improve feed utilization in these

animals (Bruinsma, 2003).

Access to capital and information (knowledge

and education)

In most countries in Asia, Africa and Latin

America, animal husbandry services are mainly ori-

ented towards men. Veterinary services and exten-

sion programs and advisory services have been

mainly designed by men for men. Extension per-

sonnel are often not trained to teach technical sub-

jects to women or to react to their specific ques-

tions. We need trained women, who will have

empathy to deal with this issue.

Trend in animal product consumption: role of

livestock in the household nutrition

The rapid rise in livestock production in devel-

oping countries has been confronted in recent years

by dwindling grazing resources for ruminant animals

and a pattern of effective demand largely centered

on rapidly growing mega-cities fueled by non-agri-

cultural development. The latter increases pressure

for rapid industrial approaches to satisfying urban

meat demand. Together this trends help explain the

large share of non-ruminants in the production in-

creases in both the North and the South. The feed-

ing of cereals to ruminants in the North has de-

clined, a consequence of increased cattle grazing.

This, along with the much larger increase in non-

ruminant production in the South, helps explain a

relatively shift to the South in the use of feed cereal.

China will double its consumption of meat by 2020,

while India and other South Asian countries will

lead the large overall increase in milk consumption.

China dominates the overall picture in both produc-

tion and consumption of meat (Table 3).

Table 3. Trend in the use of cereal as animal feed, 106T

Region 1983 1993 1997 2020**

China 40-49 78-84 91-111 226

India 2 3 2 4

South East Asia 6 12 15 28

Latin America 40 55 58 101

Sub-Saharan Africa 2 3 4 8

Developing world 128 194 235 444

Developed world 465 442 425 511

WORLD 592 636 660 954

(** The 2020 projections are from the July 2002 version

of the IMPACT model)

Because of taste factors and the relatively high

cost of handling perishable final products, most meat

and milk will be produced where it is consumed.

Developing countries will account for 63% of meat

production and 50% of milk production in 2020.

China alone will account for 31% of meat produc-

tion, but only 3% of milk production. The growing

population of the world needs not only more animal

proteins and products but specific constituents, and

there is pressure to multiply livestock species and

make improvements and conservation of dwindling

resources with modern biotechnologies.

The potential of livestock to reduce poverty is

enormous. Livestock contribute to food and nutri-

tional security. Animal products such as meat and

milk are sources of high-quality protein and certain

vitamins and minerals help promote general health

and alleviate poor growth and poor mental devel-

opment. The following table highlights inadequacy

of animal protein and calories available to people in

developing countries (source FAO 2002).

1990 2002

Calories Protein Calories Protein

Developed world 938 59.1 358.0 56.9

Developing world 253 14.8 87.3 21.0

Training in livestock management

Compared to women men have easier access

to technology and training, mainly due to their strong

181818


position as heads of the household and greater access

to off-farm mobility. In most developing countries,

research and planning activities in the livestock sec-

tor, such as breeding, handling, feeding and health

care, are largely dominated by men. Official live-

stock services are often controlled by men and

extension personal are primarily men who are not

accustomed or trained to teach technical subjects to

women. Extension programs and educational mate-

rials are mainly designed by, and oriented towards,

men at present. In many societies, women’s access

to information and training in modern livestock

management and dairying continues to be limited and

even indirect. Successful training should be oriented

towards those household members who execute these

tasks. Only through a carefully planned gender

approach can livestock production goal and suc-

cessful training of women and men be achieved.

Projects should identify and consider specific

socio-cultural conditions of women, their needs and

time constraints. Mobility of women is often limited

and illiteracy high. Successful training can only be

reached if these restrictions are considered and

activities, approaches, methods and materials

adapted according to meet the specific conditions.

Quality gender training should be practical and situ-

ational. Resource persons should be both males

and females. It is also important to consider the age

of the resource person.

Role of farmers’ organizations in education and

livestock development

There is little information on experience of

farmers’ organizations, their impact at the local and

regional level, and how they influence and impact

on gender-related issues. Farmers’ organization can

play a vital role in the livestock development pro-

cess. Input-supply organizations may grow and

become centers for services such as artificial in-

semination, bulls for breeding, veterinary assistance,

milk collection and processing, and marketing of

animal and animal products.

The experience of Andhra Pradesh in India

shows that the membership of dairy cooperatives

is largely dominated by men. Dairy cooperatives

offered opportunities to men from backward com-

munities to have access to benefits, emerge as

leaders and gain visibility. Women only achieved

symbolic representation and little opportunities for

them to assume positions as managers, planners

or director. In Orissa state (India) it seems that

participation in cooperatives benefits both men and

women in terms of marketing. But there is no

significant impact on increasing women’s decision

making or enhancing their leadership qualities.

However, in these societies women’s cooperatives

can only be successful if the husband first agrees

to his wife’s participation.

Nobel laureate Mohammed Yunus, with his

Grameen (Villagers’) Bank has rewritten the con-

ventional rules of banking where the poor were not

regarded as creditworthy. Over the years, the bank

has given loans totaling over $5 billion: small amount

of collateral-free, working capital to the poor for

self employment. The repayment rate is a healthy

98%. An internal survey by the bank showed that

58% of its borrowers had moved above the pov-

erty line. Women have been the greatest beneficia-

ries. Yunus says “we focused on women because

we found giving loans to them always brought more

benefits to the family”. (“Whereas, the technol-

ogy of the experiment stations has been over-

rated, that of local farmers has been under-

rated).

REFERENCES

Bruinsma, J. (2003) World Agriculture: Towards

2015/2030. An FAO Perspective. Earth scan,

London PP 169-170.

During, A.T. and Brough, H.B. (1992) Reforming

the livestock economy, in State of the World,

(Brown L.R. ed.). W.W. Norton & Co, New

York, P 66-82.

191919


FAO (1999) Global strategy for the management

of farm animal genetic resources – Exclusive

breed initiatives for domestic animal biodiversity

(IDAD) FAO, Rome.

FAO (2002) World Agriculture: Towards 2015/

2030. Summary Report. FAO, Rome.

OIE (1993) World Animal health. Paris, Office

International des Epizootics.

Rangnekar, S.D. (1992) Women in livestock pro-

duction in rural India. In: Proceedings of 6th

AAP Animal Science Congress held in

Bangkok, Thailand. pp 271-285.

Rathore, A.K. (2007) Endemic and emerging animal

diseases of economic importance and their

control and action plan to alleviate rural poverty

for the poor goats and sheep keepers in India.

In: National Conference on Emerging Diseases

of Small Ruminants and their Control under

W.T.O. Regime held in Makhdoom, Farrah,

Mathura , U.P. India, February 3-5, 2007.

Rathore, A.K. (2007a) Animal genetic resources:

Conservation and improvement. In: Proceed-

ings of National Symposium on Role of Animal

Genetic Resources in Rural Livelihood Secu-

rity, held at Ranchi, Jharkhand, India, Febru-

ary 8-9, 2007, pp 89-100.

Sahai, R. (1998) Domestic animals genetic resources

of India-Biodiversity and conservation; status

reported by National Bureau of Animal Ge-

netic Resources, Karnal, India.

Sommer. J.G. (1975) U.S. Voluntary Aid to the

Third World: What is its Future? Development

Paper 20, Washington D.C. Overseas Devel-

opment Council, December 1975. pp. 12.

Stoesz E. (1972) Beyond Good Intentions. New-

ton, Kansas, United Printing Inc. p. xii.

Vidyanathan, A. (1988) Bovine Economy in In-

dia. Oxford & IBH publishing Co., Pty Ltd.,

New Delhi.

Vidyanathan, A. (1989). Research in Livestock

Economy: An overview in livestock economy

of India. Indian Society of Agricultural Eco-

nomics. Oxford & IBH publishing Co., Pty

Ltd., New Delhi.

202020


In tropical regions there is intensive pressure

on land use caused by the increase in human popu-

lation. This influences the type of feeding systems

for ruminants, which are typically fed on low quality

roughages, some supplemental green fodder and

agricultural by-products. It is recognized that vol-

untary feed intake and digestibility of tropical grasses

are lower then temperate species. Straw based diets

are commonly used in the Indian sub-continent; they

have a poor digestibility ranging from 28-58% and

low nutritive value. This results in reduced feed

intake, often to levels below maintenance for sub-

stantial periods, severely limiting productivity.

Therefore, to overcome these deficiencies re-

search has concentrated on the development of feed

additives and mineral supplements specifically de-

signed for different regions. The application of feeding

systems (NRC 2001) and ration balancing programs

(Anon, 2003-2004), to assist dairy farmers in im-

proving productivity are in progress.

In recent years the development of rumen inert

or by-pass nutrient feed additives and macro/micro

mineral supplements have been a focus in India to

improve ruminant productivity. This paper will sum-

marize some of the recent developments.

Rumen by-pass (R-BP) proteins and amino

acids

In designing protein and or amino acid supple-

ments for lactating ruminants it is desirable to pro-

duce supplements with an amino acid content that

is complementary to microbial protein, which is con-

sidered to be the best available source of essential

amino acids for milk synthesis.

In India, by-pass protein feed supplements

have been developed by screening protein meals

for their amino acid composition and then develop-

ing suitable chemical treatment procedures. Com-

mercial by-pass protein plants have been estab-

lished at cattle feed plants Itola, Vadodara and

Godhra, Panchmahal, in Gujarat State; similar plants

in other locations are currently being developed.

Table 1 summarizes the results of feeding these R-

BP-protein feed supplements.

Biotechnological advances in animal production

S. K. Gulati1, M. R. Garg2, P. L. Sherasia2, B. M. Bhanderi2, T. W. Scott1

1Faculty of Veterinary Science (B19), University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia2National Dairy Development Board, Anand, India

Rumen by-pass (R-BP) fat

There are two fundamental reasons to develop

R-BP fat and apply the technology to ruminants,

these are:-

Table 1. Nutrient profile of protein meals

Sunflower meal Rapeseed meal

Natural Optimally Natural Optimally

By-pass By-pass By-pass treated

g/kg g/kg g/kg g/kg

Crude protein 330 330 400 400

RUP 99 248 160 304

RDP 321 82 240 96

EAA available for absorption

Cysteine 0.73 1.84 1.95 3.71

Methionine 0.52 1.31 1.14 2.17

Isoleucine 1.33 3.32 2.90 5.50

Leucine 2.02 5.06 6.10 11.58

Phenylalanine 1.25 3.12 2.76 5.28

Lysine 1.14 2.85 4.12 7.82

Hisidine 0.67 1.69 2.01 3.82

Arginine 2.34 5.85 4.26 8.09

Milk response, L 8.4 9.5 8.5 9.6

Net gain, Rs/animal/d

Cow 9.61 9.44

Buffalo 14.99 12.41

Gulati et al., 2002; Garg et al., 2005a

212121


l To increase the supply of bio-active essential

fatty acids that influence productivity, energybalance and nutrient partitioning.

l To improve the functional and nutritional prop-

erties of milk/meat fat.

In many dairy production systems the energydensity of rations is low and the high yielding dairy

animals loose body weight heavily in the first quar-ter of lactation. This not only affects the lactationyield but also reduce the reproductive efficiency;

for example in India the inter-calving period in dairyanimals is in the range 16-18 months. The use offat supplements is important not only for overcom-

ing the energy deficit, but is also gaining significancein relation to improving reproductive function andfertility (Staples, 1998). The fatty acid composition

of the fat supplement and the amount and type offatty acids absorbed from the small intestine appearto positively influence ovarian follicular number and

size, life of the corpus luteum and embryo survival- the overall effect being to improve herd fertility.Rumen protected fat supplements containing a high

proportion (50-60%) of linoleic acid were used toimprove pregnancy rates in Hereford cattle (Wilkinset al., 1996).

A recent development relates to the potentialrole of conjugated linoleic acids (CLA's) in lactat-ing ruminants; feeding dairy cows a R-BP CLA

mixture of isomers containing trans-10, cis-12, re-sulted in a reduction of milk fat content, increasedmilk production, improved tissue-energy balance and

nitrogen retention in cows during early lactation(Shingfield et al., 2004).

In recent trials, feeding a R-BP CLA mixture

containing 10g /d of the trans-10, cis-12 isomer for15 days to Jaffarabadi buffalo, reduced the milk fatcontent and fat yield by 27% and 22% (8.6 vs 6.3

% and 699 vs 547 g/d, for control vs R-BP CLArespectively); (Fig. 1).

Further long term studies are required to as-

sess the impact of RP-CLA on energy balance,nutrient re-partitioning, reproductive performance

(reduced inter-calving intervals) in buffaloes to al-

low a cost-benefit analysis.

Fig. 1 Effect of feeding R-BP CLA on the fat content and

yield of Jaffarabadi buffalo

The second reason to develop and use R-BP

fat supplements relates to the functional and nutri-

tional properties of milk fat. Majority of the dietary

fats are hydrogenated in the rumen and this together

with fatty acids synthesis in the mammary gland pro-

duce a milk, which has physically a hard fat e.g. poor

spreadability of butter and perceived to be nutrition-

ally undesirable because of the high proportion of

saturated fatty acids

The most effective procedure to protect di-

etary fatty supplements from ruminal hydrogenation

is to encapsulate the oils in a matrix of formalde-

hyde treated protein and these products contain

about 65-85% rumen inert or protected fat (Gulati

et al., 2005). Feeding these RP oilseeds supple-

ments to lactating dairy ruminants drastically alter

the fatty acid composition of milk and improves

butter spreadability and essential fatty acid content

(see Table 2).

Minerals

Supplementation of minerals helps in efficient

utilization of absorbed nutrients and in so many other

ways, for improving growth, milk production and

reproductive efficiency (McDowell, 1992). Surveys/

mineral mapping have been conducted by the Na-

tional Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and other

2

4

6

8

10

-1 0 3 6 9 12 16 22

Days

Milk F

at (%

)

400

500

600

700

800

Milk F

at Y

ield

(g

/d)

Milk Fat

Total Fat Yield

222222


Indian institutes in various states (Garg et al., 2005).Based on mineral deficiency in the ration of animalsin different agro-climatic zones, area specific min-eral mixture formulations have been developed.With the NDDB’s assistance, fourteen mineral mix-ture plants have been set up in cooperative sector,in the States of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Kerala, Punjab,Haryana, Maharashtra, Karnataka and AndhraPradesh (Table 3; Garg et al., 2007).

Rumen by-pass (R-BP) anthelmentics

Anti-parasitic agents are commonly given toruminants as an oral drench into the rumen. Ingeneral they are subjected to:

l chemical and bacterial degradationl losses of the active due to binding & associa-

tion with fibre

Table 2. Functional and nutritional properties of milk fat

Fat fed Melting Rumen by-pass bioactive fatty acids

g/d characteristics

Liquid at Liquid at C18:1 c C18:2 C18:3 C 20:5 C 22:6

50oC 200oC

Pasture - 35.3 68.3 24.1 1.3 0.7 - -

PCS 600 68.2 92.1 32.6 7.6 2.2 - -

PSFO 570 55.2 86.5 22.8 5.6 1.1 0.51 1.09

PSBLO 563 65.1 86.4 21.5 5.5 5.1

PCS-Protected canola /soybean; PSFO-Protected soybean /fish oil; PSBLA-Protected soybean /linseed oil Gulati, et al.

2005, 2002a

l uncontrolled absorption and excretion

l higher doses to be more effective against para-

sites

l resulting in higher costs

l contribute to accumulation of residues in ed-

ible tissue/milk

l residues in the environment

Studies have demonstrated that the most effi-

cient parasite chemotherapy relies on improved

modes of drug presentation. More specifically, thisis directed to “intelligent” formulations that target

the anthelmentic (i.e., ABZ-Albendazole) to sites in

the ruminant gut in a three stage release to maximise

parasite exposure (Figure 2; Table 4) (Hennessy

et al., 1992 and Gulati et al., unpublished data)

whilst minimizing the need for repetitive drug use

will be discussed.

Table 3. Mineral profiles of some feeds and fodders fed to dairy cows and buffaloes in different parts of India

Feedstuffs Macro, % Micro, ppm

Ca P Na S Cu Zn Mn Fe

Dry fodder* 0.10- 0.09- 0.10- 0.10- 1.50- 5.0- 15- 154-

0.30 0.20 0.20 0.15 7.0 38 109 691

Green fodder** 0.20- 0.15- 0.20- 0.06- 4.0- 14- 27- 237-

2.50 0.45 1.20 0.20 9.0 37 170 1500

Concentrate ingredients*** 0.01- 0.26- 0.04- 0.04- 4.0- 30.0- 7.0- 42.0-

0.27 1.62 0.10 0.34 25.0 98.0 74.0 701

Requirements 0.42 0.34 0.18 0.20 10 80 40 50

*Straws of rice, wheat, sorghum, maize, bajra , dry grasses etc.; **Sorghum, maize, oat, lucerne, berseem green grasses

etc.; ***Wheat, maize, bajra, sorghum, barley, cottonseed cake, groundnut cake, sesame cake, rice bran, wheat bran and

pulse chunies. Mineral mixture formulation for a particular zone is worked out, based on the levels of minerals in feeds and

fodder vis-à-vis requirement.

232323


Fig. 2 Quantity of ABZ released from protected particles

relative to ABZ added

Future challenges: Although substantial

progress has been made using many of the above

technologies, there is a need to transfer knowledge

at the village level to educate farmers to improve

feeding regimes in a cost effective way. In the future

Garg, M. R., Sherasia, P. L., Bhanderi, B. M.,

Gulati, SK, Scott, TW and George, PS (2005a)

Indian Diary Sci. 58, 420-425.

Garg, M. R., Bhanderi, B.M., and Sherasia, P. L.,

(2007) Indian Dairyman.

Gulati S. K., Scott T. W., Garg, M. R. and Singh,

D.K., (2002) Indian Dairyman, 54: 31-35.

Gulati S. K., May, C., Wynn, P. C. and Scott T.

W., (2002a) Anim. Feed Sci. Technol., 98:

143-152.

Gulati, S. K., Garg M. R. and Scott, T. W., (2005)

Austr. J. Exper. Agric., 45: 1190-1203.

Hennessy, D. R., Gulati, S. K., Ashes, J. R., Scott,

T. W., (1992) Targeting of albendazole to sites

of parasitism in the ruminant gastro-intestinal

tract. Joint conference of the New Zealand

and Australian societies for parasitology.

Auckland, NZ.

McDowell, L.R., (1992) Minerals in Animal and

Human Nutrition. Academic Press. San Di-

ego, CA pp. 49-51.

NRC (2001) Nutrient Requirements of Dairy

Cattle, 7th rev ed. National Academy of Sci-

ence–National Research Council, Washington,

DC.

Shingfield K. J., Beever D. E., Reynolds C. K.,

Gulati S. K., Humphries D. J., Lupoli B.,

Hervás G. and Griinari J. M. (2004) J. Dairy

Sci., 87: 635, 307.

Staples, J. R., Burke, J. M., and Thatcher, W. W.,

(1998) J. Dairy Sci., 81: 856-871.

Wilkins J. F., Hoffman W. D., Larsson S. K.,

Hamilton B. A., Hennessy D. W., Hillard M.

A., (1996) Protected lipid/protein supplements

improve synchrony of oestrus and conception

rates in beef cows. In: International Con-

gress Animal Reproduction, Sydney, New

South Wales, Australia, 13: 19.

Table 4. Efficacy of a staged release and a conventional

oral preparation

Parasites H. contortus T. colubriformis

Worm Efficacy Worm Efficacy

count (%) count (%)

Control 3088 0 5699 0

Valbazen 667 78 2122 62

S/R 358 88 633 89

S/R - A stage-release preparation of Albenazole (ABZ)

Valbazen® is an ABZ containing drench formulated by

Smith Kline & Beecham Animal Health unpublished data;

US Patent:5840324

more effort is required in extension /demonstration

models and it is obligatory for governments at all

levels to implement financial and organizational

policies to achieve this goal.

REFERENCES

Anonymous, (2003-2004) Annual Report of Bio-

technology Laboratory, National Dairy De-

velopment Board (NDDB), Anand, India. pp.

19-21.

Garg, M.R., Bhanderi, B.M. and Sherasia, P.L.

(2005) Anim. Nutr. Feed Technol., 5: 9-20.

242424


Cereal straws and agroindustrial by products

are available in larger quantities for feeding to rumi-

nants. These are poor in nutritional quality because

of low protein and high lignin contents, but are

potential source of cell-wall polysaccharides such

as cellulose and hemicellulose. The high lignin and

silica contents of these roughages reduce their di-

gestible energy contents. In particular, lignin pre-

vents close contact between the cell wall polysac-

charides and the rumen microorganisms. Thus, up-

grading of straw quality is still a central issue as a

strategy for improving ruminant livestock produc-

tion (Preston and Leng, 1987).

During the past few decades, researchers have

shown interest in physical and chemical treatment

of straws (Jackson, 1977; Sehgal and Punj, 1983).

Of the physical treatments, only chopping and soak-

ing were feasible under village conditions. Soaking

of chopped roughages, however, did not increase

the feed intake further than up to a constant level.

Wetting of crop residues was not useful in general,

but definitely improved the intake of mechanically

thrashed paddy straw, probably due to removal of

oxalates, dust, silica and pebbles, etc. The other

physical treatments like pelleting, steam processing,

ionizing irradiation, grinding etc. were not found to

be feasible at village level because of higher cost of

equipments, increasing cost of energy for running

the equipments, and for the cost of transportation

of cereal straws and sugarcane bagasse from farm

to plant and back.

Chemical treatment of wheat straw using so-

dium hydroxide increased voluntary intake of straw

by sheep (Alawa and Owen, 1984), goat (Sehgal

and Punj, 1983) and cattle (Ng'ambi and Campling,

1991; Flachowsky et al., 1996, 1999). However,

excess requirement of water, environmental pollu-

tion and high cost of sodium hydroxide limited the

use of this treatment of straws. The urea-NH3 treat-

ment received a major attention as an appropriate

technology of chemical treatment of straws (Owen

and Jayasuriya, 1989; Brown and Adjei, 1995;

Flachowsky et al., 1996, 1999; Celik et al., 2003;

Sharma et al., 2004) but the improvements in di-

gestibility of urea-NH3 treated wheat straw is tem-

perature and moisture dependent and can not be

used in temperate climate.

The main advantage of enzymic methods was

claimed to have a much greater control of the end

products formed after the treatment and a little or

no potential environmental pollution (Nakashima and

Orskov, 1989). The two main approaches to the

use of enzymes recently examined have been re-

lated to the use of cellulase, hemicellulase and lignase

enzymes. The enzyme treatment increased the ru-

men soluble fraction and the rate of degradation of

straws, though potential degradability remained

unaffected.

The advances in biotechnology have opened

up novel approaches for increasing the nutritive value

of cereal straws with microbes and allowing natural

fermentation processes to enhance their feeding

value (Langer et al., 1980, 1982; Pradhan et al.,

1993). The solid state fermentation of wheat straw

with aerobic white rot fungi was influenced by fac-

tors such as the species of fungi, substrate, tem-

perature, moisture and nitrogen contents. Though

the dry matter digestibility of straw increased, but a

Ruminal anaerobic fungi for improving digestion and

utilization of fibrous feeds in ruminants

J. P. Sehgal and Sanjay Kumar

Dairy Cattle Nutrition Division, National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal- 132 001, India

252525


huge loss of substrate dry matter during fungus

cultivation limited the applicability of this

technology.

Cereal straws treated with rumen bacterial

culture (Ruminococcus albus, Ruminococcus

flavefaciens and Fibrobacter succinogenes) in

solid state and liquid state was reported to enhance

the digestibility of nutrients (Lohakare, 1998).

Simultaneously, interests in the ruminal anaerobic

fungi were growing after their discovery by Orpin

(1975), especially on their capacity for fibre

digestion. These anaerobic fungi are unique and are

only known strictly anaerobic fungi in the bio-

sphere. The rumen fungi preferentially colonize

highly lignified thick-walled sclerenchyma and

vascular tissues. The fungal rhizoids penetrate deep

into the recalcitrant tissues and digest cell wall

components through enzymes, whereas bacteria act

on peripheral areas. Rumen fungi have a strong

fibrolytic activity, which helps in degradation of low

quality roughages. They can break the linkages

between lignin and hemicellulose. In vitro studies

with different fungal species on degradation of

cereal straws were found to improve dry matter

digestibility and cell wall constituents (Manikumar

et al., 2002, 2003, 2004 Thareja et al., 2006).

Direct administration of Orpinomyces sp, a supe-

rior fibrolytic fungus was reported to increase

growth rate, rumen fermentation, nutrient digestibil-

ity and nitrogen retention in sheep (Lee et al.,

2000, 2004) and crossbred calves (Dey et al.,

2004a,c) and buffalo calves (Tripathi et al., 2007a,b).

Also oral administration of Piromyces sp WNG-

12 isolated from wild buffalo (Tripathi et al.,

2007a,b) and Neocallimastix GR1 isolated from

grazing goats (Thareja et al., 2006) showed higher

growth rate in buffalo calves (Debanu Jit, 2006).

Direct administration of Orpinomyces sp c-14 and

Piromyces sp WNG-12 also showed higher milk

production in buffalos (Swati, 2006). Zoospores

of these anaerobic fungi have been developed in

deficient media and their incorporation in sugarcane

bagasse and sugarcane bagasse based TMR have

shown improvement in digestibility of nutrients and

rumen fermentation pattern in in vitro (Sachin,

2007).

Digestion and rumen fermentation of cereal

straws

Rumen fermentation of lignocellulosic feeds

occur in a complex system that is influenced by

many factors: (i) The physical and chemical nature

of the fibre, (ii) The rate of ruminal digestion, (iii)

The nature and population densities of the predomi-

nant species of fiber digesting microorganisms as

affected by the prevailing ruminal conditions.

Long back, Baker and Martin (1938) observed

bacteria within the lacunae (i.e., zones of digestion)

suggesting that adherence might be important in plant

fibre degradation. Plant tissue particles entering the

rumen are colonized by bacteria within 5 min, by

protozoa within 15 min and by fungal sporangia

and rhizoids within 2 hours (Demeyer, 1981). The

bacterial attachment with the damaged surfaces of

the substrate allows the microorganisms to control

the substrate and its surroundings, and decrease the

chance of being passed on to the omasum with the

fluid portion of the rumen contents, which passes at

a much faster rate than the solid fraction (VanSoest,

1982).

Rumen anaerobic fungi and their role in fibre

digestion

Until the discovery of the anaerobic fungi in

the sheep rumen by Orpin in 1975, the microbial

population of the rumen was believed to be made

up of bacteria and protozoa only. Since this

discovery rumen fungi have been isolated from a

wide range of herbivores (Gordon and Phillips,

1993; Ho et al., 1996; Ushida et al., 1997; Sehgal

et al., 2002; Paul et al., 2003; Tripathi et al.,

2007a,b, Thareja et al., 2006). They have a pH

optimum at 6.5 to 6.7 and a temperature optimum

at 39±1°C. It has been reported that these

262626


anaerobic fungi produce a wide range of hydrolytic

enzymes viz4. polysaccharidases (endo-glucanase,

exo-glucanase, xylanase, cellodextrinase, amylase),

glycosidase (- and - glycosidase, -fructosidase,

-xylosidase, -L-arabinofuranosidase, etc), esterase

(acetyl xylan esterase, p-coumaroyl esterase, feruloyl

esterase), pectin lyase and polygalacturonase

(Pearce and Bauchop, 1985; Joblin et al., 1990;

Kopecny and Hodrova, 1995; Dey et al., 2004

b) to utilize plant cell wall components. Rumen

anaerobic fungi have a strong fibrolytic activity and

preference for the thick-walled sclerenehyma and

vascular tissues, and are capable of digesting

various fibrous forages and various types of fibrous

crop residues (Akin et al., 1983; Ho et al., 1996;

Ushida et al., 1997; Manikumar et al., 2004; Dey

et al., 2004a Tripathi et al., 2007a,b; Debanu Jit

2006, Swati 2006). The fungal rhizoids penetrate

deep into the recalcitrant tissues and digest cell wall

by means of enzymes. Rumen fungi can solubilize

part of the lignin component of plant cell walls in

culture, though there was no evidence of fermen-

tation of lignin (Bernard-Vailhe et al., 1995).

During the non-motile stage, the fungi colonize and

degrade fibrous plant materials, thus enabling them

to play a role in the digestion of fiber in the rumen.

Orpin and Bountiff (1978) reported that rumen

fungi appear to release zoospores within 30 min

after feeding. Fungal zoospores swimming freely in

the rumen fluid, locate freshly ingested plant frag-

ments by chemotaxis of soluble carbohydrates

diffusing from the damaged plant tissues. Fry

(1986) observed that rumen fungi also have pro-

tease activities. Protease may have role in plant

cell wall degradation, because the plant structural

protein, such as extensin, increases the integrity of

plant cell wall. Wallace and Joblin (1986) and Asao

et al., (1993) also observed the protease activities

and reported that possession of protease is a

unique characteristic of rumen fungi, similar to

rumen cellulolytic organisms producing cellulases.

However, major ruminal cellulolytic bacteria are not

proteolytic.

After attachment of zoospores to the feed

particles, flagella are detached from zoospores, and

then encystment and germination occur, followed

by penetration of plant tissues by the rhizoids and

form sporangia. Fungal colonization weakens the

integrity of plant tissues and fragmentation of feed

particles would proceed, thus causing digestion of

feed particles (Calderon-Cortes et al., 1989; Akin

et al., 1990).

Influence of superior anaerobic fungi on ani-

mal performance

Hillaire and Jouany (1989) worked with a

continuous culture system (i.e., Rusitech), and ob-

served that addition of one strain of Neocallimastix

to the mixed rumen bacteria increased the degrada-

tion rate of wheat straw by 15 per cent. The elimi-

nation of rumen anaerobic fungi from rumen of sheep

by chemical means decreased the plant fibre diges-

tion (Gordon and Phillips, 1993). Ito et al. (1994)

studied sheep rumen fungi for degradability and di-

gestibility of rice straw and found that there was

significant decrease in lignin residue content result-

ing in increased digestibility of rice straw. Studies

indicated increased IVDMD and IVOMD, but a

decreased NDF, ADF and ADL contents of straw

with use of different anaerobic fungi, viz.,

Orpinomyces, Piromyces and Anaeromyces in com-

parison to control (Manikumar et al., 2002; Sehgal

et al., 2002). It was also reported that the molar

proportion of acetate increased with the simulta-

neous decrease in the production of propionate and

butyrate by rumen anaerobic fungi. Further, it was

observed that in both the rice and wheat straws,

Orpinomyces sp (C-14) with double log dose

(106CFU/ ml) showed the maximum hydrolytic

activity and thus was found to be the most prom-

ising isolate than compared to others, i.e., Piromyces

and Anaeromyces (Manikumar et al., 2002, 2003,

2004). Similarly, incubation of cereal straws, viz.,

wheat, paddy and chickpea straws with ruminal

mixed fungal population increased dry matter, NDF,

272727


ADF and cellulose degradation in cattle and buffa-

loes (Sangwan et al., 2002). It has also been re-

ported that the addition of anaerobic fungal culture

Piromyces communis significantly increased not only

the total bacteria, cellulolytic bacteria and anaero-

bic fungi but also the enzymetic activities of avicelase,

CMCase and xylanase compared to the control

(Lee et al., 2004)

Gordon and Phillips (1998) reported an in-

crease in voluntary intake of straw based diet from

7 to 12 percent, when the sheep were dosed

through mouth with cultures of monocentric fungi

isolated from herbivores other than sheep. Lee et

al., (2000) isolated polycentric fungus Orpinomyces

strain KNGF-2 from Korean native goat and ad-

ministered to sheep @ 200 ml culture incubated for

7 days. Nutrient digestibility and nitrogen retention

in fungus-supplemented group was found to be more

than non-supplemented group (Table 1).

Table 1. In vivo nutrients digestibility in sheep dosed

intraruminal fungal medium, fungal enzyme or

whole fungal culture

Item fungal fungal fungal

medium enzyme culture

DM 71.5 70.8 75.2

CP 68.6 69.1 71.9

EE 69.2 68.8 70.5

NDF 65.1 62.8 68.9

ADF 57.3 57.0 62.9

Hemicellulose 75.1 71.2 77.1

Cellulose 68.4 70.9 79.0

Cell contents 72.3 73.5 74.4

(Lee et al., 2004)

No effect on feed intake was observed when

growing crossbred calves were dosed with poly-

centric rumen fungus Orpinomyces sp C-14 cul-

ture (160 ml @106CFU/ml/calf/week). However,

the growth rate and nutrient digestion was improved

(Table 2) in fungus administered group in growing

crossbred calves (Dey et al., 2004a). Also the TDN

content of whole diet based on wheat straw was

increased by 14.1per cent, which clearly indicated

the improvement in nutritive value of wheat straw

(Dey et al., 2004a). There was also a two and half

fold increase in the fungal count in fungus-adminis-

tered group of animals in this study.

Studies conducted by Tripathi et al., (2007a,b)

to investigate the comparative efficacy in improving

the performance of buffalo calves following adminis-

tration of anaerobic fungal culture (160 ml

@106CFU/ ml/ calf on every 4th day) isolated from

domestic cow (Orpinomyces sp C-14) and wild blue

bull (Piromyces sp WNG-12) showed 29.7 per cent

increased in growth rate of buffalo calves adminis-

tered with Piromyces sp WNG-12 as compared to

Table 2. Performance of crossbred calves fed wheat straw

based complete feed mixture without or with fun-

gal culture (Orpinomyces sp) culture administration

Particulars Control Fungal

cultural

administered

Growth rate, kg

Initial BW 131.0 128.7

Final BW 186.3 192.5

Gain in BW 55.3 63.8

Gain in BW, g/d 614.8 709.3

Total DMI 366.8 363.8

DMI, kg/d 4.1 4.0

FCR 6.6 5.7

Digestibility of nutrients, %

DM 53.9 60.0

CF 50.3 55.9

NDF 44.4 55.2

ADF 42.9 52.0

Nutritive evaluation, %

DCP 9.1 9.8

TDN 55.3 60.8

(Dey et al., 2004a); a = after 90 days; Figures with different

superscripts differ significantly P<0.05.

20.6 per cent to calves administered with

Orpinomyces sp C-14 than the control animals.

Feed efficiency of wheat straw based complete feed

mixture was enhanced by 31.5 per cent following

dosing of Piromyces sp WNG-12 to calves. The

nutrient digestibility of wheat straw based complete

feed mixture was increased by administration of both

the fungal culture (Table 3).

282828


Table 3. Effect of administration of Orpinomyces sp C-14

and Piromyces sp WNG-12 on growth rate, feed

efficiency, nutrients digestibility and rumen fer-

mentation pattern in buffalo calves

Parameters Control +Orpino- +Piromy-

myces sp ces sp

Gain/calf/d 494.2a 595.8b 641.2b

FCR 9.7a 11.7b 12.7b


D M 53.5 60.3b 62.1b

NDF 46.3a 54.1 b 56.5b

ADF 41.5a 53.1b 55.7b

Rumen fermentation pattern, mg/dl

pH 7.1a 6.9b 6.9b

TVFA, mM/dl 7.4 10.5b 11.6b

NH3-N 17.2a 10.7b 9.1b

TCA ppt N 47.7a 72.3b 78.1b

No of zoospore (105/ml) 1.0 3.0 4.2

(Tripathi et al., 2007b) ; Figures with different superscripts

differ significantly P<0.05.

Similarly, Swati (2006) found an increase in milk

production, nutrient digestibility and %TDN contents

of a wheat straw based total mixed ration in fungal

culture administered groups (250 ml @ 106cfu/ml/

animal on every 7th day) of lactating buffalos than

control (Table 4).Table 4. Effect of administration of elite Orpinomyces sp

C-14 isolated from domestic cattle and Piromyces

sp WNG-12 isolated from wild blue bull on milk

production, % feed efficiency, nutrients digest-

ibility and nutritive value of wheat straw based

total mixed ration in lactating buffaloes

Parameter Control +Orpino- +Pirom-

myces yces

Total milk yield,kg 1446.2 1516.7 1527.1

Milk yield, kg/d 8.0 8.4 8.5

6% FCM yield, kg/d 9.6 10.3 10.5

Feed efficiency* 67.1 73.0 81.1


DM 52.8a 58.9b 62.7b

NDF 42.9a 53.1b 57.0 b

ADF 39.9a 48.9b 52.8 b

Nutritive value, %

DCP 6.7 7.2 7.7

TDN 51.8 a 59.0 b 61.7 b

# 180 days; Figures with different superscripts differ

significantly P<0.05; *kg milk yield/100 kg DMI

Oral administration of elite Neocallimastix

sp GR1 isolated from grazing goats (250 ml @

106 cfu/ml/buffalo calf on every 4th day) showed

an increase in growth, nutrient digestibility, feed ef-

ficiency and %TDN contents of a wheat straw

based total mixed ration than on control (Table 5).

Table 5. Effect of administration of Neocallimastix sp

GR1 isolated from grazing goats on growth,

nutrient evaluation and rumen fermentation of a

wheat straw based ration in buffalo calves.

Parameter Control +Fungal

culture

Production performance

DMI, kg/d 4.1a 4.1a

Gain, g/d 520.2 a 659.8 b

Feed efficiency, % 12.6 a 16.2 ab

Nutrient evaluation, %

TDN 52.8 a 59.6 b

DCP 6.7 a 7.2 b

Rumen fermentation pattern, mg/dl

Total VFA, mM/dl 10.3 a 13.4 b

NH3-N 13.3 a 8.7 b

TCA - N 52.7 a 71.1 b

Fungal zoospore, 105/ml 1.36 a 3.83 b

No. of bacteria, 1010/ml 1.47 a 1.79 b

No. of protozoa, 106/ml 1.76 a 1.22 b

(Debanu Jit, 2006); Figures with different superscripts differ

significantly P<0.05.

Looking towards strategies for improvement/

enrichment of cereal straws especially for the fod-

der scarcity period or for dry season of the year

the straws can be treated with urea- NH3 or can be

supplemented with urea- molasses mineral blocks

so as to enhance their digestible energy and protein

value for meeting the nutritional requirements of

ruminants in places where water supply is sufficient

and temperature is optimum to degrade urea in to

NH3. In the coming years biotechnological ap-

proaches like administration of superior rumen

anaerobic fungi viz. Orpinomyces sp (C-14),

Neocallimastix sp GR1 or Piromyces sp (WNG-

12) being isolated from domestic and wild rumi-

nants (Sehgal et al., 2002; Tripathi et al., 2007;

Thareja et al., 2006) into ruminants fed with cereal

straw based diets would enhance their digestible

292929


energy for higher productivity. Thus Orpinomyces

sp. (C-14) , Neocallimastix sp GR1 and

Pyromyces sp. (WNG-12) being isolated from the

domestic cattle, goats and wild blue bull are found

to be promising fungi to break down the lignified

material through their enzymes viz. p-coumaroyl and

feruloyl esterases and can increase digestible en-

ergy contents of the fibrous feeds for ruminants.

Recently zoospores of the these anaerobic fungi

have been developed to incorporate in complete

feed blocks so that these elite fungi can enter in to

the rumen of animals those subsists on low grade

roughages for enhancing digestibility of ruminants.

Sachin (2007) produced Zoospores of

Neocallimastix Sp GR-1 and Piromyces Sp.

WNG-12 in a deficient media and showed that

their incorporation enhanced the digestibility of nu-

trients of sugarcane bagasse and sugarcane bagasse

based total mixed ration. All these experimental

results indicate that these elite fungi could be ex-

ploited as probiotics. Further research is carried

out to produce economically viable fungal zoospores

of these isolated elite ruminal fungi to incorporate

these into value added complete feed blocks con-

sisted mainly of low grade roughages such as straws,

stovers, sugar cane bagasse and small quantity of

concentrate mixture for ruminants.

Feeding ruminants with these high quality

probiotic of elite fungal incorporated complete feed

blocks can improve feed intake, nutrient digestibil-

ity, growth and milk production of a low-grade

roughage based complete feed mixture for higher

productivity.

REFERENCES:

Akin, D.E., Gordon, G.L.R. and Hogan, J.P. (1983)

Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 46: 738-748.

Akin, D.E., Rigsby, L.L., Lyon, C.E. and Windham,

W.R. (1990) Crop Sci., 30: 990-993.

Alawa, J.P. and Owen, E. (1984) Anim. Feed Sci.

Tech., 11: 149-157.

Asao, N., Ushida, K. and Kojima, Y. (1993) Lett.

Appl. Microbiol., 16: 247-250.

Baker, F. and Martin, F. (1938) Nature, 141: 877.

Bernard-Vailhe, M.A., Besle, J.M. and Dore, J.

(1995) Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 61: 379-

381.

Brown, W.F. and Adjei, M.B. (1995) J. Anim.

Sci., 73: 3085-3093.

Calderon-Cortes, J.F., Elliot, R. and Ford, C.W.

(1989) Influence of rumen fungi on the nutrition

of sheep fed forage diets. In: The Role of Pro-

tozoa and Fungi in Ruminant Digestion (J.V.

Nolan, R.A. Leng and D.I. Demeyer, eds.).

Penumble Books, Armidale, Australia, pp.181-

187.

Celik, K. Ersoy, I.E. and Savran, F. (2003)Pak. J.

Nutr., 2: 258-261.

Debanujit (2006) Influence of anaerobic fungal cul-

ture (neocallimastix sp) administration growth,

ruminal fermentation and nutrient digestion in

buffalo calves. M.V.S. Thesism HDRI, Karnal,

India.

Demeyer, D.I. (1981) Agril. Environ., 6: 295-337.

Dey, A., Sehgal, J.P., Puniya, A.K. and Singh K.

(2004a) Asian-Aust. J. Anim. Sci., 17: 820-

824.

Dey, A., Puniya, A.K., Sehgal, J.P. and Sing, K.

(2004b) Microbial Biotechnology (P.C.

Trivedi, ed), Aavishkar Publishers, Distributors,

Jaipur, Rajasthan, Chapter 13: 283-296.

Dey, A., Sehgal, J.P. and Puniya, A.K. (2004c) Ef

Indian Vet. Med. J., 28: 325-327.

Flachowsky, G., Kamra, D.N. and Zardazil, F.

(1999) J. Appl. Res., 16: 105-118.

Flachowsky, G., Ochrimenko, W.I., Schneider, M.

and Richter, G. (1996) Anim. Feed Sci.

Technol., 60: 117-130.

303030


Fry, S.C. (1986) Ann. Rev. Plant Physiol., 37:

165-186.

Gordon, G.L.R. and Phillips, M.W. (1993) Lett.

Appl. Microbiol., 17: 220-223.

Gordon, G.L.R. and Phillips, M.W. (1998) Nutr.

Res. Rev., 11: 1-36.

Hillaire, M.C. and Jouany, J.P. (1989) Effects ofrumen anaerobic fungi on the digestion of wheat

straw and the end products of microbial me-

tabolism studies on a semi-continuous in vitro

system. In: The Roles of Protozoa and Fungi

in Ruminant Digestion (J.V. Nolan, R.A.

Leng and D.I. Demeyer, eds.). PenumbleBooks, Armidale, Australia, pp.269-272.

Ho, Y.W., Abdullah, N. and Jalaludin, S. (1996)

Asian-Aust. J. Anim. Sci., 9: 519-524.

Ito, K., Morita, Z., Kamel, H.E.M., Oura, R. and

Sekine, J. (1994) J. Faculty of Agri. Tottori

Univ., 30: 117-125.

Jackson, M.G. (1977) Anim. Feed Sci. Technol.,

2: 105-130.

Joblin, K.N., Naylor, G. and Williams, A.G. (1990)

Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 56: 2287-2295.

Kopecny, J. and Hodrova, B. (1995) Lett. Appl.

Microbiol., 20: 312-316.

Langer, P.N., Sehgal, J.P. and Garcha, H.S. (1980)Indian J. Anim. Sci., 50: 942-946.

Langer, P.N., Sehgal, J.P., Rana, V.K., Singh, M.

and Garcha, H.S. (1982) Indian J. Anim. Sci.,

52: 634.

Lee, S.S., Ha, J.K. and Cheng, K. (2000) Anim.

Feed Sci. Technol., 88: 201-217.

Lee,S.S., Choi, C.K., Ahn, B.H., Moon, Y.H., Kim,

C.H. and Ha, J.K. (2004) Feed Sci. and

Technol., 115: 215-226.

Lohakare, J. (1998) Use of ruminal cellulolytic

bacteria to improve the nutritive value of

cereal straws. M.Sc. Thesis, National Dairy

Research Institute (Deemed University), Karnal,

India.

Manikumar, B., Puniya, A.K. and Sing, K. (2002)

Indian J. Microbiol., 42: 133-136.

Manikumar, B., Puniya, A.K. and Sing, K. (2003)

Indian J. Anim. Sci., 73: 312-314.

Manikumar, B., Puniya, A.K., Sing, K. and Sehgal,

J.P. (2004) Indian J. Exp. Biol., 42: 836-

838.

Nakashima, Y. and Orskov, E.R. (1989) Anim.

Prod., 48: 543-551.

Ng'ambi, J.W.W. and Campling, R.C. (1991) J.

Agri. Sci., UK, 117: 251-256.

Orpin, C.G. (1975). J. Gen. Microbiol., 91: 249-

262.

Orpin, C.G. and Bountiff, L. (1978) J. Gen.

Microbiol., 104: 113-122.

Owen, E. and Jayasuriya, M.C.N. (1989) Recent

developments in chemical treatment of rough-

age and their relevance to animal production in

developing countries. In: Feeding Strategies for

Improving Productivity of Ruminant Live-

stock in Developing Countries. International

Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, pp.205-230.

Paul, S.S., Kamra, D.N., Sastry, V.R.B., Sahu, N.P.

and Kumar, A. (2003)Lett. Appl. Microbiol.,

36: 377-381.

Pearce, P.D. and Bauchop, T. (1985) Appl.

Environ. Microbiol., 49: 1265-1269.

Pradhan, K., Singh, S. and Bhatia, S.K. (1993)

Predominant ruminal bacterial isolates of cattle

and buffalo fed gram straw-mustard cake diet.

In: Proc. 6th Animal Nutrition Research Work-

ers' Conference, Bhubaneshwar, pp.98-99.

Preston, T.R. and Leng, R.A. (1987) Matching

ruminant production systems with available

313131


resources in the tropics and subtropics.

Penambul Books, Armidale, Australia.

Sachin (2007). In -vitro biodegradation of sugar-

cane bagasse based ration using zoospores

of different fungi. M.V.Sc Thesis. National

dairy Research Institute. Karnal-132001. India.

Sangwan, D.C., Shiv Kumar, Bhatia, S.K. and

Singh, S. (2002) Indian J. Anim. Sci., 72:

174-179.

Sehgal, J.P. and Punj, M.L. (1983) Anim. Feed Sci.

Technol., 9: 155-168.

Sehgal, J.P., Punia, A.K., Kishan Singh and Prasad,

K.S.N. (2002) Use of ruminal anaerobic fungi

to improve the nutritive value of cereal

straws. Annual Report, NDRI, Karnal. pp.14.

Sharma, K., Dutta, N. and Naulia U. (2004) Live-

stock Res. Rural Develop., 16, 245-251

Thareja A, Puniya AK, Goel G, Nagpal R, Sehgal

JP, Singh K. (2006) Arch. Anim. Nutr. 60:

412-417.

Swati, S. (2006) Nutrient utilization and milk

production in buffaloes fed wheat straw

based ration supplemented with isolates of

rumenanaerobic fungi. Ph.D. Thesis, NDRI,

Karnal, India.

Tripathi, V.K., Sehgal, J.P., Puniya, A.K. and Singh,

K. (2007a) Anaerobe.13: 36-39

Tripathi VK, Sehgal JP, Puniya AK and Singh K.

(2007b) Arch. Anim. Nutr. 61: 416-23.

Ushida, K., Matsui, H., Fujino, Y. and Ha, J.K.

(1997). Asian-Aust. J. Anim. Sci., 10: 541-

550.

VanSoest, P.J. 1982. Nutritional ecology of the

ruminant. O&G Books, Corvallis, Oregon.

Wallace, R.J. and Joblin, K.N. (1986) FEMS

Microbiol. Lett., 29: 19-25.

323232


According to an estimate by FAO, the human

demand for food fish is expected to touch 110 million

metric tones by 2010 from the current level of con-

sumption of about 90 Mtn. This, along with the

'Livestock revolution' taking place, especially in de-

veloping countries, coupled to continued human

population growth, urbanization and income growth

are imposing a huge burden on the environment and

resources. Livestock production is under tremen-

dous political and social pressure to decrease pol-

lution and environmental damage arising due to

animal agriculture. Some antibiotics and growth

promoters such as monensin, avoparcin, flavomycin,

virginiamycin and somatotropin have been shown

to be effective in enhancing feed conversion effi-

ciency and increasing livestock productivity and in

reducing environment pollutants. However, these

antibiotics and growth promoters have been banned

in the EU since 2006, mainly because of antibiotic

resistance being passed on to human pathogens and

risk to humans of chemical residues in animal prod-

ucts. As a result of this, scientists have intensified

efforts in exploiting plants, plant extracts or natural

plant compounds as potential natural alternatives

for enhancing livestock productivity. The Plant King-

dom might provide a useful source of new pharma-

ceutical entities, medicines and bioactive compounds

that may be used for enhancing animal production

and health; and food safety and quality, whilst con-

serving environment. This paper discusses work on

the effects of various phytochemicals in ruminant

and fish species.

1. Plants containing anthelmintic compounds

The gastrointestinal nematode parasitism is one

of the major constraints to livestock production,

especially when the animals have a poor nutritional

status. Subclinical infections of gastrointestinal nema-

todes such as Ostertagia circumcinta, Trichostrongy-

lus colubriformis, and Haemonchus contortus de-

crease feed intake, body weight gain, and milk and

wool production. There is a growing realisation that

chemical anthelmintic treatment, on its own, may

not provide a long-term strategy for managing para-

sites in grazing animals. The widespread develop-

ment and prevalence of resistant strains of nema-

tode parasites and public concern over drug resi-

dues excreted in animal products have stimulated

efforts to identify and use plant-based anthelmintic

compounds.

Studies conducted on calves in Bangladesh

showed that pine apple (Ananas comosus) and

neem (Azadirachta indica) leaves have anthelm-

intic effects (Akbar and Ahmed, 2006). Fresh pine

apple leaves (1.6 g/kg body weight) and fresh neem

leaves (1 g/kg body weight) (both leaves on dry

matter basis were 200 mg/kg body weight) given

as a single dose were compared with that of

albendazole given at a rate of 7.5 mg/kg body

weight. On day 7, the efficacy of albendazole (100

% reduction in faecal worm egg count) was signifi-

cantly (P <0.01) higher than those of pine apple

and neem leaves (76 and 55 % reduction respec-

tively); and on day 14, the percent reduction in

faecal worm egg counts for albendazole and pine

Bioactivity of phytochemicals in some lesser-known plants and

their effects and potential applications in livestock and

aquaculture nutrition

Harinder P. S. Makkar

Institute for Animal Production in the Tropics and Subtropics (480b)

University of Hohenheim, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany

333333


apple (88 and 82 % reduction) were significantly (P

<0.05) higher than that for neem leaves (56 %

reduction). In the same study, urea molasses

multinutrient block was used as a vehicle for giving

these plant materials to dairy cows kept on re-

search station. Freeze dried leaves were incorpo-

rated in the blocks so that the intake of these leaves

is 200 mg dry matter/kg body weight of animals.

The intake of the blocks was 500 g per day per

cow (40 mg dry matter/kg body weight of animal/

day) and the blocks were fed for a total of 5 days.

After 15 days of consumption, pine apple leaf con-

taining blocks decreased faecal worm egg counts

by 72 % and the one containing neem leaves de-

creased by 45%. On the other hand, the block free

of these leaves reduced the count by only 5 %.

These values after 60 days post-treatment were

84, 63 and 18 % respectively. Similar results were

obtained when these blocks were tested in milking

cows in farmers' houses. Both the herbal remedies

when incorporated into the block significantly in-

creased milk yield (26 %) and live weight of ani-

mals (15 %) compared to non-medicated blocks.

The feeding of blocks containing pineapple and neem

leaves increased net profit by 122 % and 33 %

respectively (Akbar and Ahmed, 2006). These ef-

ficacy data of all three treatments indicate that pine

apple leaves are better herbal anthelmintics than

neem leaves. In Vietnam and Myanmar, leaves of

pine apple and Momordica charantia (bitter gourd)

have also been found to have potential in control-

ling intestinal parasites and increasing productivity

(Doan et al., 2006; Daing and Win, 2006). The

extent of use of these blocks, cost : benefit ratio

and increase in income of farmers on using these

medicated blocks have been summarised in Makkar

(2006). Although cysteine proteases (bromelain)

present in pine apple plant is considered to have

some anthelmintic properties, there is a need to

identify active principle in pine apple leaves and to

investigate its presence in various germplasm exist-

ing in Asia and Africa and in different countries

within Asia. Another plant which seems to have

direct effect on gastrointestinal nematodes is Euca-

lyptus. It has been shown to be effective against

Trichostrongylus colubriformis, and Haemonchus

contortus (Lorimer et al., 1996). These effects are

attributed to the presence of tannins/polyphenols in

Eucalyptus.

2. Plants containing saponins

Saponins are steroid or triterpene glycoside

compounds found in a variety of plants. The sapo-

nin-rich plants having potential for exploitation in

ruminant and fish production systems are presented.

Effects on ruminants

Rumen fermentation: Various saponins affect

gas and microbial mass production to different ex-

tents in the in vitro gas system containing buffered

rumen microbes and feed. For example, Acacia

saponins decreased gas production, but increased

microbial protein without affecting true digestibility.

On the other hand, addition of Quillaja saponins

did not affect gas production, but increased micro-

bial protein and truly degraded substrate. The ef-

fects of Yucca saponins differed from those of

Quillaja or Acacia saponins. Yucca saponins de-

creased gas, increased microbial protein and in-

creased true digestibility, suggesting that the saponins

affected partitioning of degraded nutrients such that

higher microbial mass was produced at the cost of

gas, and/or short chain fatty acids (SCFA) produc-

tion (Makkar, 2005). These saponins increased ef-

ficiency of microbial mass synthesis. Liu et al.

(2003) showed an increase in microbial protein

synthesis in the presence of tea saponins in an in

vitro fermentation. However, Wang et al. (2000a)

showed that microbial protein synthesis increased

at a low level of Yucca saponin (15 µg/mL) but

decreased at higher concentrations (75 µg/mL).

Other in vitro studies using the RUSITEC system

did not show any significant effect of sapindus sa-

ponins (Hess et al., 2003a) or of Yucca saponin

(100 mg sarsaponin/kg feed) (Eliwiniski et al.,

343434


2002) on microbial protein synthesis. At low con-

centrations Panax ginseng, Yucca and Quillaja sa-

ponins have been shown to stimulate growth of

Escherichia coli and rumen Prevotella (Bacteroi-

des) ruminicola (Sen et al., 1998a; Wallace et al.,

1994).

Abreu et al. (2004) found an increase in

duodenal flow of microbial-nitrogen in sheep fed

Sapindus saponaria fruit. However, Hristov et al.

(1999) did not obtain a significant effect of Yucca

saponin on mcrobial protein flow to the intestine in

heifers. An increase of microbial nitrogen supply,

efficiency of microbial-nitrogen supply, and fecal-

nitrogen excretion with increasing levels of Sapindus

rarak extract was observed, but this increase was

not significant. Effects of various saponins on am-

monia levels and SCFA production have been re-

cently reviewed (Wina et al., 2005a). The decrease

in rumen ammonia concentration may be due to an

indirect result of the decreased protozoa caused by

the added saponins. Fewer protozoa would mean

less predation and lysis of bacteria, hence, less

release of the products of protein breakdown.

Reduction in ammonia may also be due to the fewer

protozoa in the rumen since protozoa contribute a

substantial amount of the total rumen nitrogen. Sa-

ponins also form complexes with proteins and could

decrease protein degradability. Quillaja saponins

decreased protein degradability of the concentrate

but not of hay (Makkar and Becker, 2000). These

observations suggest that the nature of diet plays a

considerable role in determining the effects of sa-

ponins. It may be noted that saponins could also

decrease rumen proteolytic activity. The addition of

S. saponaria fruit to a sheep diet decreased plasma

urea suggesting that less ammonia was absorbed

from the rumen (Abreu et al., 2004). This would

also decrease the energy lost in detoxification of

ammonia by liver and its discharge in urine as urea,

contributing to the higher productivity. In addition,

saponin addition would provide environmental ben-

efits due to lesser discharge of feed nitrogen to the

environment.

Rumen ecology: Some information is avail-

able on the effects of saponins on specific rumen

bacteria. Using pure culture, Wallace et al. (1994)

observed that the saponin fraction of Y. schidigera,

when added at a concentration of 1 % to the

medium, stimulated the growth of Prevotella

ruminicola, did not affect the growth of Selemonas

ruminantium, suppressed the growth of Strepto-

coccus bovis and completely inhibited the growth

of Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens. The same fraction at

much lower concentrations (0-250 µg/ml) in pure

culture exhibited anti-bacterial activity towards non-

cellulolytic bacteria, i.e. Streptococcus bovis,

Prevotella bryantii B14 (formerly P. ruminicola)

and Ruminobacter amylophilus (Wang et al.,

2000b). Fibrobacter succinogens were unaffected

but Ruminococcus albus and Ruminococcus

flavefaciens were virtually unable to digest cellu-

lose in the presence of Yucca saponins. Wang et al.

(2000b) concluded that Yucca saponin negatively

affected the Gram-positive bacteria more than the

Gram-negative bacteria. The concentration of RNA

from Fibrobacter sp. remained constant and was

not affected by S. rarak extract either in vitro or

in vivo (Wina et al., 2005b). Using RUSITEC, the

number of cellulolytic bacteria was reduced by 30

% when 0.5 mg/ml Yucca extract was added to

alfalfa hay. It was also demonstrated that cellulolytic

bacteria are more susceptible to Yucca extract than

amylolytic bacteria (Wang et al., 2000b).

In an in vivo study, Diaz et al. (1993) ob-

served a significant increase in cellulolytic and total

bacteria in the rumen of sheep fed with S. saponaria

fruit. Thalib et al. (1996) also reported that total

cellulolytic bacteria increased when sheep were fed

with a methanol extract of S. rarak. However, a

dramatic decrease in the RNA concentration of

Ruminococci in short term feeding of S. rarak ex-

tract and disappearance of this effect upon long

term feeding indicated that there may be an adap-

tation of Ruminococcus sp to S. rarak saponins.

The mechanism of adaptation of bacteria to sapo-

nin still needs to be clarified. An increase in the

353535


thickness of their cell wall was observed when

Prevotella bryanti in pure culture was adapted to

Yucca saponins (Wang et al., 2000b).

Anaerobic fungi are important in the rumen for

digesting fibre, but they only comprise a small pro-

portion of the total mass of the rumen microflora.

There is little information on the effect of saponins

on ruminal fungi. In pure culture, Wang et al.

(2000b) demonstrated that fungi, Neocallimastix

frontalis and Pyromyces rhizinflata are highly sen-

sitive to Yucca schidigera saponins from, and even

at a low concentration of these saponin (2.25 µg/

ml), the growth of both fungi was completely inhib-

ited. However, Muetzel et al. (2003), using a

membrane hybridization technique showed that fun-

gal concentration was not significantly reduced when

increasing levels of saponin containing Sesbania

pachycarpa were included in an in vitro fermenta-

tion system. The fungal population was significantly

higher when sheep were fed with 25-50 g/day of S.

saponaria (Diaz et al., 1993) for 30 days. An

adaptation of fungi may occur during long term

feeding.

Studies on the effect of saponins and their

products on methanogens (archaea) have attracted

a lot of attention lately because of the potential for

improving the environment by decreasing the pro-

duction of 'greenhouse gases'. However, these stud-

ies concentrated more on the measurement of meth-

ane emission than on the methanogens themselves.

As some methanogens (10-20 % of total) live in

association with protozoa (Newbold et al., 1997;

it was expected that reducing protozoa would also

reduce methanogens, thus reducing methane pro-

duction. The addition of Yucca extract to a high

roughage diet or to a mixed diet containing hay and

barley grain did not reduce methane emission in the

RUSITEC (Sliwinski et al., 2002a, b). However,

reduced methane emissions in an in vitro system

were obtained by adding sarsaponin, extracted from

Yucca to a starch diet and to a mixed diet (Lila et

al., 2003). Pen et al. (2006) also reported de-

crease in methane production by Yucca extract when

incubated with a roughage based diet in an in vitro

system. In this study, a decrease of protozoal num-

ber and increase in microbial population were ob-

served by both Yucca and Quillaja extracts; how-

ever, the latter did not reduce methane production.

Suppression of methane emission was also achieved

by the supplementation of S. saponaria fruit (con-

taining high levels of saponins) in the RUSITEC

(Hess et al., 2003b). The occurrence of glycosides

of diosgenin (steroidal saponin) in Fenugreek seeds

has been well recognized for several decades. Sa-

ponins may kill or inactivate protozoa, resulting in a

lower predation of bacteria by protozoa which will

result in a larger bacterial population and a slower

protein turnover in the rumen, leading to an increase

in bacterial nitrogen flow to the duodenum and in-

crease in productivity (Makkar and Becker, 2000.

As mentioned above, Yucca, Quillaja and Acacia

saponins enhanced both microbial mass production

and efficiency of microbial protein synthesis

(Makkar, 2005).

Methane emission was also suppressed when

sheep were fed S. saponaria fruit. However, the

suppression of methanogenesis was not associated

with decreased methanogen counts, suggesting a

suppression of activity per methanogen cell. Simi-

larly, saponin in S. rarak extract did not reduce the

archaeal or methanogen RNA concentration either

in vitro or in vivo studies (Wina et al., 2005a). In

most studies, methanogens have been measured

using the anaerobic culture technique and cell counts

of methanogens were measured as colony-forming

units or methanogens have been measured using in

situ hybridisation technique, and these studies are

limited to the effects of various oils and individual

fatty acid supplementation. The methanogen cell

count determination using culture-based techniques

has disadvantages of non-specificity and that not all

microorganisms can be cultured (Makkar and

McSweeney, 2005). Recently Goel et al. (2007a)

found that saponin rich plant materials such as

363636


Sesbania (Sesbania sesban) and Knautia (Knautia

arvensis) leaves and seeds of Fenugreek (Trigonella

foenum-graecum L.) increase the partitioning of

the nutrients to microbial mass and decrease mar-

ginally the methane production per unit of feed

degraded. The saponins isolated from these plants

also did not reduce the methane production; how-

ever, Fenugreek saponin rich material seemed to

have the potential to increase: the rumen efficiency

in terms of lowering C2:C3 molar proportion, am-

monia uptake without adversely affecting substrate

true degradability and total bacterial population as

indicated by lower Ct values observed using quan-

titative PCR. On the other hand, these saponins

had negative effect on fungal population with ten-

dency to increase fibre degrading bacterial popula-

tion (Ruminococcus flavefaciens and Fibrobacter

succinogens). The decrease in methanogens and pro-

tozoal numbers did not lead to reduction in meth-

ane by saponin rich materials, which highlight lack

of correlation between the protozoal reduction with

methanogenesis. A closer look on the association of

methanogens to protozoa and interspecies hydro-

gen transfer mechanisms among different microbial

communities could explain the mechanism behind

these observations (Goel et al., 2007b).

Persistency of effects: It has been observed

that some plant products lose their effects on con-

tinuous ingestion of the plants by animals. Their

effects are short-lived due to microbial adaptation.

This calls for development of strategies to beat the

microbial adaptation. A negative effect of saponin-

containing Sesbania sesban on protozoal counts or

activity was evident in the in vitro studies but not in

sheep fed S. sesban since the protozoal counts in

the rumen increased markedly after several days of

feeding (Newbold et al., 1997; Ivan et al., 2004).

Based on these results, Newbold et al. (1997)

suggested feeding saponins intermittently to prevent

a quick increase in protozoal counts in the rumen.

Thalib et al. (1996) showed that feeding saponin

extract every third day kept the protozoal counts

low even after 3 weeks. On the other hand, S.

rarak saponins did not lose their defaunating activ-

ity until 27 days of feeding to sheep (Wina et al.,

2005a). Machmueller et al. (2000) also reported

persistent effect of coconut oil and oilseeds on

methane suppression up to 7 weeks. A challenge

would be to develop those approaches for using

plants, plant extracts or plant products, which sus-

tain their effects in the rumen microbial ecosystem.

Evidence exists on the hydrolysis of saponins to

sapogenin and epimerization and hydrogenation of

sapogenin in the rumen. The relative efficacy of

original saponins and that of aglycon (sapogenin)

and its epimerized and hydrogenated products to-

wards various effects reported above is not known.

Other effects: Saponin levels (as diosgenin)

of 0.07-1.64 % have been observed in seeds

Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) of (Tay-

lor et al., 2002). In our laboratory 3 % saponin (as

diosgenin) were recorded in fenugreek seeds (Goel

et al., 2007b). The seeds are known to reduce

blood cholesterol and produce lower concentra-

tions of cholesterol in milk and also to improve the

profile of functional fatty acids (Shah and Mir, 2004).

Antiviral activity of saponins from Glycyrrhiza ra-

dix, immunostimulant activity of saponins from

Quillaja saponaria Molina, and hypo-glyceamic

and anti-diabetic activity of saponins from Fenugreek

(Francis et al., 2002c) have also been demonstrated.

Yucca, Quillaja, S. rarak and Enterolobium

cyclocarpum saponins have been shown to increase

productive parameters such as wool production,

growth and milk production in animals on roughage

based diets (Wina et al., 2005c). The effect of

Quillaja saponins was concentration and sex de-

pendent. The growth rate was significantly higher

for male lambs at 40 ppm level, and at 60 ppm the

growth rate was higher than the control but the

increase was not significant. On the other hand,

inclusion of Quillaja saponins at these levels de-

creased the growth rate of female lambs (Makkar,

2000). These effects seem to be mediated by hor-

mones. Further studies are needed in this area.

Supplementation of steroidal saponins in feeds has

373737


also been shown to be beneficial to fattening lambs

and steers and monogastrics (Makkar, 2000).

Saponins have also been implicated in toxicity

to ruminants. The major symptoms are photosensi-

tization, gastroenteritis and diarrhea. Some forages

which contain saponins and produce these toxic

symptoms are Brachiaria decumbens grass, species

of the Panicum genus, and Drymaria arenaroides

and Tribulus terrestris weeds (Wina et al., 2005b).

Toxicity of other saponin-containing plants such as

Narthecium ossifragum, Tribulus terrestris, Agave

lecheguilla and Nolina texana has also been de-

scribed (Flaoyen et al., 2004).

Effects on fish

Fish mortality: Saponins have been reported

to be highly toxic to fish because of their damaging

effect on the respiratory epithelia. It was reported

that the oxygen uptake of perch, Anabas testudineus,

increased with a concomitant increase in the red blood

cells, hemoglobin and hematocrit levels, after the fish

had been in water containing 5 mg per litre Quillaja

saponin for 24 h. Penaeus japonicus that had been

previously exposed to concentrations of 20 mg per

litre of saponin for 24 h increased both respiration

rate and metabolism (measured as increase in oxy-

gen uptake and ammonia excretion) during a 6 h

detoxification process (Chen and Chen, 1997). Bu-

reau et al. (1998) observed that Quillaja saponins

damaged the intestinal mucosa in rainbow trout and

Chinook salmon at dietary levels above 1500 mg per

kg. The condition of the intestines of these fish was

similar to that of fish fed a raw soybean meal diet

indicating the role of saponins in causing the damage.

Krogdahl et al. (1995), however, did not find any

negative effects when soya saponins were included

in the diet of Atlantic salmon at levels similar to those

likely to be found in a soybean meal (30-40 %) based

diet. In the same study, an alcohol extract of soybean

meal caused growth retardation, altered intestinal

morphology, and depressed mucosal enzyme activ-

ity in the lower intestine.

Quillaja and Yucca saponins did not have any

lethal effects on common carp. Addition of Quillaja

saponaria saponins (No. 2149; Sigma, St. Louis,

USA) at a level of 40,000 ppm in aquaria contain-

ing carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) did not lead to death

of the carp in 18 h and feed consumption was not

affected. On the other hand, yucca saponins (DK

sarsaponin 30TM, Desert King International, Chula

Vista, CA 91911, USA) at 10,000 ppm did not

cause mortality in the first 3 h, but all fish were

found dead after 18 h. These results showed that

Quillaja and Yucca saponins are not highly toxic to

fish (Makkar and Becker, 2000).

Feed intake and behaviour: Common carp

(Cyprinus carpio) and tilapia (Oreochromis

niloticus) consumed standard fish meal-based di-

ets mixed with up to 1000 mg/kg of all the saponin

concentrates (QS: Quillaja saponaria saponins, No.

2149; Sigma, St. Louis, USA; YS: DK sarsaponin

30TM, Desert King International, Chula Vista, CA

91911, USA) without any hesitation. There was no

mortality or abnormal behaviour of fish fed up to

this concentration of saponins. On the other hand,

standard diets containing 2000 mg/kg of the Quillaja

saponin concentrate induced high mortality in first-

feeding tilapia larvae (Steinbronn, 2002).

Fish growth: Common carp and Nile tilapia ju-

veniles fed diets containing QS (150 and 300 mg/kg

in the diet) had significantly higher rate of body mass

gain, and the growth-promoting effects of QS were

most pronounced during the initial period of feeding

(Francis et al., 2001b). The growth promoting ef-

fects of QS was most pronounced at 150 mg/kg diet

for carp; whereas, the dietary level of 300 mg/kg in-

duced maximum effects in tilapia. The absolute in-

crease in weight was higher compared to control even

at higher dietary levels of 700 mg/kg in Nile tilapia.

Concentrated steroidal yucca saponins (YS) at

levels of 50 and 100 mg/kg also did not affect

growth of common carp significantly. Here the 50

mg group seemed to perform better than the 100 mg

group and the control group at the end of a 10-week

383838


feeding experiment. The hemolytic triterpenoidGypsophila saponins (GS) concentrated using chro-matography also did not significantly increase growth

rate at levels of between 5 and 250 mg/kg in dietsof common carp after eight weeks of feeding eventhough absolute growth was higher in all the saponin

fed groups compared to control (Francis, Makkar

and Becker, unpublished data). The addition of QSto the diet also reduced the amount of feed required

for the synthesis of tissue protein. The food conver-sion ratio (FCR) was lower in carp fed a diet con-taining 150 mg/kg and tilapia fed 300 mg/kg of QS

compared to the respective controls. Common carpfed diets containing GS and YS did not differ sig-nificantly from controls in regard to FCR.

The mechanisms contributing to growth-pro-moting effects of saponins, especially QS which in-duced significant growth increases, are yet to be

fully clarified. Diverse effects of dietary saponinsinclude an increase in the permeability of intestinalmembranes to dietary nutrients (Francis et al.,

2002c) and/or a stimulation of the activity of diges-

tive enzymes, which increases the efficiency of feednutrient utilisation. Dietary QS significantly increasedthe activity of carp gut enzymes, amylase and trypsin

and liver enzymes, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)and cytochrome c-oxidase (CO). This shows thatit could stimulate digestion of proteins and carbo-

hydrates in the gut and promoted both the respira-tory chain and lactate fermentation. The ratios ofLDH to CO decreased with QS supplementation

indicating the promotion of aerobic metabolism. Inaddition, initial investigations into the effects of sa-ponins on membrane transport reveal an increase in

paracellular transport of inert markers on applica-tion of QS to the mucosal side of isolated tilapiaintestinal membrane (Francis, Makkar and Becker,

unpublished observations).

It also remains to be determined whether thesaponins themselves or their breakdown products

(e.g. sapogenins) in the intestines enter the blood ofthe fish and cause their effects systemically. From the

extent of effects that saponins have on various physi-

ological processes it is expected that either saponins

or their breakdown products enter the body through

the intestinal membranes. We have described the

ability of saponins to influence serum hormone levels

(Francis et al., 2002c). However, some dietary com-

ponents may produce systemic effects even without

actually entering the body (Tschöp et al., 2000). It is

to be seen whether saponins induce the synthesis and

release of such hormonal intermediaries in the diges-

tive system. Even though the results seem to indicate

a stimulatory effect of saponins, particularly QS, on

fish growth, gaps exist in our understanding of the

mechanism of action of the saponins in fish. Future

research in this area should concentrate on under-

standing the physiological mechanisms by which di-

etary saponins increase growth and feed conversion

efficiency in carp and tilapia.

Tilapia reproduction: Sexually mature female

tilapia consuming a diet containing 300 mg/kg of

QS did not spawn over a period of more than three

months. Regularly spawning adult tilapia when put

on a diet containing 300 mg/kg of QS stopped egg

laying from the next ovulation cycle onwards (Francis

and Becker, unpublished observations). In another

experiment the sex ratio of tilapia larvae fed a diet

containing 700 mg/kg of QS continuously over a

six-month experimental period deviated significantly

from the normal 50:50 ratio in favor of males

(Francis et al., 2002b). This deviation from the

normal sex ratio in favor of males was also evident

(but not statistically significant) in the treatment

groups receiving lower quantities of QS (150 mg/

kg diet) in the diet. Continued observations revealed

that production of fry was completely suppressed

in ponds where fish from the 2000 mg/kg saponin

group were stocked even after the removal of sa-

ponins from the diets (Steinbronn, 2002). This could

point to a sterility of either males or females, which

implies a potential for control of reproduction in

tilapia using QS. Normal fry production was ob-

served in fish that previously received 150 and 500

mg/kg of QS.

393939


Saponins have been previously reported to

affect the release of hormones, such as leutinizing

hormone (LH), from the pituitary (Benie et al.,

1990) and hence this hormone is considered to

regulate all aspects of teleost reproduction (Suzuki

et al., 1988a), particularly final oocyte maturation

and ovulation (Suzuki et al., 1988b). It was there-

fore postulated that induction of changes in LH

secretory pattern by QS or its degraded products

absorbed from the intestine might be responsible

for the observed effects on reproduction. Quillaja

saponins was found to stimulate LH release from

dispersed tilapia pituitary cells in vitro (Francis et

al., 2002c). The retarding effects on egg production

in adult females and the capacity for sex inversion

in tilapia fry fed saponin-containing diets indicate

effects at the hormonal level. Data from

gonadosomatic index measurements also support

this contention. Efforts to identify any saponin-in-

duced change in the level of one of the key hor-

mones in reproductive functioning, the LH, did not

reveal any dose dependent patterns. The effect of

saponins on levels of reproductive hormones should

be further studied by monitoring of hormones such

as 11-keto-testosterone, estrogen, testosterone and

gonadotropic hormones in vivo. Once the optimum

dietary level of saponins that produces complete

sex inversion in tilapia fry or prevents egg produc-

tion in female tilapia is determined, this effect of

saponin will have considerable potential in tilapia

aquaculture where one of the major problems is

over production of fry that do not grow to market-

able size. Other effects. Saponins also have mollus-

cicidal activity. Acacia saponins had a strong mol-

luscicidal activity and Quillaja and Yucca saponins

very low (Makkar and Becker, 2000). As men-

tioned above in context to rumen fermentation,

protozoa are highly susceptible to some saponins.

The use of saponin-containing plants for possible

control of fish protozoal diseases such as White

Spot Disease, Costiasis and Trichodiniasis needs

investigation. Fish are also highly susceptible to some

saponins. A challenge would be to identify saponins

which affect protozoa causing these diseases and

do not adversely affect fish.

3. Plants containing tannins

The multiple phenolic hydroxyl groups in tannins

lead to the formation of complexes primarily with

proteins and to a lesser extent with metal ions, amino

acids and polysaccharides. Although research on

tannins has a long history, considerable additional

research must be carried out to fully exploit benefits

of incorporating tannin-rich plants and agro-indus-

trial by-products in livestock feed and to develop

strategies to manage these resources effectively so

that tannins do not produce adverse effects. Some

of the beneficial effects of tannins are enhancement

of rumen undegradable protein and making feed

protein available post-ruminally for production pur-

poses, enhancement of efficiency of microbial pro-

tein production, and protection of ruminants from

bloat. Some tannins are also known to have strong

anti-carcinogenic and anti-oxidant activities.

Protection of protein from degradation in the

rumen. The potential benefits of tannins containing

temperate forages, e.g. Lotus corniculatus, Lotus

pedunculatus, and Hedysarum coronarium have

been demonstrated in numerous studies in New

Zealand Min et al., 2003). Lately few studies have

appeared showing beneficial effects of strategically

feeding of tannin-rich tropical plants.

Feeding of 100 g of air-dried Acacia

cyanophylla leaves with 200 g of soya bean meal

increased daily gain of lambs, offered oaten hay-

based diets, by 55 %, possibly as a result of pro-

tection of soya bean protein from degradation in

the rumen by the leaf tannins and an increase in

protein availability post-ruminally. To achieve such

effects, soya bean meal should be offered after

consumption of the acacia leaves. Under these

conditions, diet total phenols (as tannic acid equiva-

lent) : diet protein, and total tannins (as tannic acid

equivalent): diet protein ratios were 0.043 and

0.021 respectively. Inclusion of higher amounts of

404040


Acacia leaves to the concentrate had adverse ef-

fects on productivity (Ben Salem et al., 2005).

Similarly, Bhatta et al. (2000) showed inclusion of

7.5 % of tamarind (Tamarindus indica, Linn) seed

husk in the concentrate diet (0.75 % tannin content

in the diet) increased milk production and growth

rate, which was attributed to the protection of di-

etary protein from degradation in the rumen. Nsahlai

et al. (1999) also demonstrated the potential use of

tropical tanniniferous shrub/tree foliage to increase

the proportion of rumen undegradable protein in

sheep diets. They ascribed the increased growth

rate in sheep fed on teff straw and supplemented

with oilseed cakes with small amounts of Acacia

albida pods, rich in condensed tannins, to increased

organic matter and nitrogen intake and/or to a more

efficient use of nutrients. A simultaneous benefit

obtained in these studies was the partitioning of

excreted nitrogen in a manner that lower nitrogen

was excreted in the urine and higher in the faeces,

thus making available manure with higher level of

nitrogen for crop production. In the tropical coun-

tries, up to 70 % of urine-nitrogen can be lost to

the environment. Lower release of nitrogen in urine

by tannins will decrease environmental pollution.

Increase in efficiency of microbial protein syn-

thesis. Microbial protein synthesis in vitro, expressed

as 15N incorporation into microbes per unit of short-

chain fatty acid production is higher in the presence

of tannins. Although tannins decrease the availability

of nutrients, they cause a shift in the partitioning of

nutrients so that a higher proportion of available

nutrients is channelled to microbial mass synthesis

and lesser to short-chain fatty acid production

(Makkar, 2003). These results suggest that the in

vivo beneficial effects of tannins, at low levels of

intake, could also be due to higher efficiency of

microbial protein synthesis in the rumen.

Decrease in the protein degradability of feed

protein in the rumen and increase in the efficiency

of microbial protein synthesis are beneficial for ru-

minants, since they increase the supply of non-am-

monia nitrogen to the lower intestine for production

purposes. In addition, these effects lead to protein-

sparing effects in ruminants and decrease methane

emission and nitrogen excretion to the environment,

thereby reducing emission of environmental pollut-

ants besides producing more meat, milk and wool.

It is important to know the levels of tannins for such

positive effects to realise. The concentration of tannins

should not be too high so that the true digestibility

of the substrate is appreciably decreased. At these

high concentrations of tannins, the advantage pro-

vided by the higher efficiency of microbial protein

synthesis (higher proportion of truly degraded sub-

strate leading to microbial mass synthesis) will be

offset by the absolute lower amount of truly de-

graded substrate. Feeding strategies need to be

designed to exploit the beneficial effects of tannins.

Other beneficial effects of tannins. Tannins also

protect ruminants from bloat and have anthelmintic

effects (Kahn and Diaz-Hernandez, 2000). In the past

decade, many reports have emerged showing anthel-

mintic effects of tannins/polyphenols and the benefits

they could provide to livestock by decreasing nema-

tode load in extensive production systems based on

grazing (Singh et al., 2003). These effects on nema-

tode are attributed to an improved protein supply due

to increased rumen undegradable protein and their

availability postrumen and to the direct action of

tannins against nematodes. Recently in Tunisia, it was

shown that Acacia cyanophylla foliage, a tannin-rich

legume shrub species, has an anti-parasitic effect in

sheep. The faecal worm egg count in Barbarine lambs

fed previously on oaten hay reduced by 68 % on

feeding Acacia foliage for 25 days. However, inclu-

sion of the legume did not affect the composition and

the structure of the parasite genera recovered after

copro-culture (Akkari et al., 2006).

Legume tannins could also enhance quality of

the silage by preventing excessive degradation of

feed proteins. Tannins from browses are also effec-

tive against Clostridium perfingens and can be used

to control C. perfingens mediated diarrhoea in pigs

during the change of feed from liquid to solid feed

(Makkar, 2003).

414141


Hydrolysable tannins, 4,6-0-isoterchebuloyl-D-

glucose and isoterchebulin present in terminalia

macroptera bark have antimicrobial activity against

Pseudomonas fluorescens and Bacillus subtilis

(Conrad et al., 2001). Another hydrolysable tannins,

punicalagin present in some Ethiopian medicinal

plants was active against Mycobacterium tubercu-

losis strains (Asres et al., 2001). Tannins from

Vaccinium vitis-idaea could be used for treatment

of periodontal diseases since they have antimicro-

bial activity against Porphyromonas gingivalis andPrevotella intermedia (Ho et al., 2001). Tanninsfrom bearberry and cowberry have also been shownto have antibacterial effects against Helionactor

pylori (Annuk et al., 1999), Syzygium jambos,

Styaphyloccus aureus and Yersinia enterocolitica(Djipa et al., 2000). The use of tannins for controlof mastitis should be considered. This is of particu-lar importance in organic animal agriculture.

Proanthocyanidins (condensed tannins), bothin free form and bound to proteins, have beenshown to have free radical scavenging abilities anddecreased the susceptibility of healthy cells to toxicagents. Tannins isolated from leaves of various

multipurpose trees and browses haveanticarcinogenic activity (Perchellet et al., 1996).Most polyphenols have strong antioxidant proper-

ties and inhibit lipid peroxidation and peroxygenases.Pistafolia A, a gallotannin has strong free radicalscavenging properties (Wei et al., 2002). A num-

ber of hydrolysable tannins including ellagitanninsand 1-o-galloyl castalagin and casuarinin (presentin Eugenia jambos) have been shown to have ac-

tivity against cell carcinomas and tumor cell lines(Yang et al., 2000). Catechins, polyhydroxylatedflavonoids are widely present in browses and tree

leaves. These undergo considerable microbial andtissue biotransformations, which are present inblood. Efforts need to be directed on evaluation of

these novel compounds for enhancing animal health.

Tannins have also been found to affect meatcolour. Feeding of tannin-containing acacia or sulla

leaves or carob pulp has been found to produce

meat of lighter colour. The addition of tannin-inac-tivating agent, polyethylene glycol reversed this ef-fect, suggesting that the lighter colour produced is

due to tannins (Priolo et al., 2005). Decrease inblood heamoglobulin and iron utilization by tannins(Garg et al., 1992) could contribute to the lightness

of the meat. The lighter meat produced as a resultof tannin feeding could have consumer preferencein some regions. Fatty acid composition is associ-

ated to the risk or the prevention of several humanillnesses. Tannin-containing feeds could also increase

n-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid, and

lower n-6 fatty acids in meat, thus enhancing its

nutritional properties for human consumption. This

change possibily results from the inhibition of rumi-

nal biohydrogenation (Priolo et al., 2005).

Skatole exerts negative effects on meat flavour

and quality. Skatole is originated by deamination

and decarboxylation of the amino acid tryptophan

by rumen microbes. In vitro studies have shown

that condensed tannins from Lotus corniculatus

reduced the production of skatole, which was at-

tributed to decreased rumen protein degradation by

Lotus tannins (Schreurs et al., 2004). Tannins could

play a role in decreasing fat skatole in meat from

animals allowed to graze good quality grass and

other pastures containing high protein content (Vasta

and Priolo, 2006).

Toxicity by tannin-containing plants: The

presence of tannic acid, a hydrolysable tannin at a

level of 2 % in the fish (common carp; Cyprinus

carpio L.) diet produced adverse effects after day

28 of feeding. No such adverse effect was ob-

served in common carp on inclusion of 2 % que-

bracho tannin (a condensed tannin) in the fish diet.

In carp, toxicity of tannic acid is higher than of

quebracho tannin. Protein sources of plant origin

containing high amounts of tannins and in particular

hydrolysable tannins should be used with caution as

fish meal substitutes in carp diets (Becker and

Makkar, 1999). Oak poisoning from the consump-

tion of oak leaves and yellow-wood toxicity from

the leaves of Terminalia, Clidemia, and Ventilago in

424242


livestock have been attributed to the presence of

hydrolysable tannins, in particular gallotannins

(McSweeney et al., 2003). Rumen microbes are

capable of degrading hydrolysable tannins. The

toxicity, therefore, appears to be due to absorption

of degraded products of hydrolysable tannins and

higher load of phenols in the blood stream, which

is beyond the capability of liver to detoxify them.

4. Plants containing multi-bioactive com-

pounds

Two widely occurring tropical plants, Moringa

oleifera and Jatropha curcas are discussed in this

section.

Moringa oleifera

Moringa oleifera Lam (synonym: Moringa

pterygosperma Gaertner) belongs to a monogeneric

family of shrubs and trees, Moringaceae. It is con-

sidered to have its origin in the northwest region ofIndia, south of the Himalayan Mountains.

Moringa seeds contain between 30-42 % oil,

which is edible and the press cake obtained as aby-product of the oil extraction process contains avery high level of protein. Some of these proteins(approximately 1 %) are active cationic polyelec-

trolytes having molecular weights between 7-17 K

Dalton. The cationic polyelectrolytes proteins have

antibacterial properties and bind strongly with ru-

men microbes. At high levels of their incorporation,

rumen fermentation is inhibited, but at low levels

these protect feed proteins from degradation in the

rumen (Makkar and Becker, 1998 and hence can

be used to enhance rumen undegradable protein.

Gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria patho-

genic for humans showed only a slight reduction of

viability with the Moringa protein (Suarez et al.,

2005), while viability of E. coli was inhibited by

four orders of magnitude. The use of antibacterial

Moringa proteins for controlling mastitis is also being

investigated by us.

Moringa seeds have several compounds like

4-(á-L-rhamnopyranosyl-oxy)benzyl glucosinolate,

4-(4’-O-acetyl-á-L-rhamnopyranosyloxy) benzyl

isothiocyanate, 4-(á-L-rhamnopyranosyl-oxy)benzyl

isothiocyanate, Niazimicin, and Pterygospermin,

Flavonoids (quercetin and kaempferol, quercetin,

kaempferol, rhamnetin, isoquercitrin, and kaemp-

feritrin) etc. with interesting activities. These com-

pounds are known to have anticancer, antibacterial

and hypo-tensive activities. Antioxidant activity of

these compounds has also been reported (Wim and

Jongen, 1996). These compounds also have the

potential to control agricultural and public health

insect pests (Tsao et al., 1996). Helicobacter py-

lori is a major cause of gastric and duodenal ulcers

and a major risk factor for gastric cancer. This bac-

terium was found to be highly susceptible to 4-(a-

L-rhamnopyranosyloxy) benzyl isothiocyanate and

various other isothiocyanates, which are degraded

products of glucosinolates (Fahey et al., 2002;Haristoy et al., 2005).

Pal et al. (1995) have reported that the metha-

nol fraction of moringa leaf extract possesses anti-

ulcer activity against induced gastric lesions in rats.

Flowers of Moringa are considered to possess

medicinal value as a stimulant, aphrodisiac, diuretic,

and cholagogue, and they have been also reported

to contain flavonoid pigments such as quercetin,

kaempferol, rhamnetin, isoquercitrin, and

kaempferitrin (Nair and Subramanian, 1962). The

administration of extracts of Moringa leaves along

with high-fat diet to rats decreased the high-fat diet

induced increases in serum, liver and muscle cho-

lesterol levels (Ghasi et al., 2000). Studies con-

ducted in our laboratory show that Moringa leaves

have very strong antioxidant activity. The flavonoids

such as quercetin and kaempferol were identified

as the most potent antioxidants in Moringa leaves.

Their antioxidant activity was higher than the con-

ventional antioxidants such as ascorbic acid which

is also present in large amounts in Moringa leaves

(Siddhuraju and Becker, 2003). Moringa leaves have

also been shown to increase breast milk produc-

tion. In Philippines, women consume Moringa leaves

434343


to enhance breast milk production. In India, tribal

and indigenous people use fresh leaves as a natural

antioxidant in buffalo and cow ghee (butter oil)

preparation, which is considered to enhance shelf

life of ghee. The extracts of these leaves also ap-

pear to have cancer preventive effect, which was

assayed by the differentiating activity against human

promyelocytic leukaemia cells (HL-60) (Siddhuraju

and Becker, 2003).

Moringa seeds contain phytate, cyanogens and

glucosinolates. The pods of M. oleifera contain a

glycoside niazine possessing an o-nitrile

thiocarbamate group alongwith thiocarbonate, car-

bamate, and isothiocyanate glycosides, which are

considered to have hypotensive effects (Faizi et al.,

1997).

Jatropha curcas

Jatropha curcas (L), although a native of tropi-

cal America, is now available throughout Africa and

Asia. Various parts/products of the plant hold po-

tential for use as bio-fuel, animal feed, inclusion in

medicinal preparations and source of honey. Jatro-

pha plants have been mainly investigated as a source

of oil. The seed kernel of the plant contains about

60 % oil that can be converted into biodiesel. The

seed cake remaining after oil extraction is an excel-

lent fertilizer. The level of essential amino acids of

the defatted kernel meal are higher than that of

FAO reference protein except for lysine (Foidl et

al., 2001). However the presence of high levels of

antinutrients (trypsin inhibitor, phytate and lectins)

and a toxic factors (phorbol esters) prevent its use

in animal feeding (Makkar and Becker, 1997a; Goel

et al., 2007c).

The Carp (Cyprinus carpio L) were found to

be highly susceptible to phorbol esters present in

the seed meal of the toxic variety of Jatropha curcas.

The threshold level at which phorbol esters caused

adverse effects was 15 ppm (15 µg/g) in the diet(Becker and Makkar, 1998). Carp could be a useful

species for bioassay of phorbol esters.

The phorbol esters are effective bio-pesticides

against diverse fresh water snails. Snails act as in-termediate hosts of schistosomes in many tropical

countries. Extracts from J. curcas L. was found to

be toxic against snails transmitting Schistosoma

mansoni and S. haematobium (Rug and Ruppel,

2000). The phorbol esters from the Jatropha plant

could become an affordable and effective compo-

nent of an integrated approach to schistosomiasis

control. Jatropha oil or methanol extract of Jatro-

pha oil containing phorbol esters has also been

shown to have strong insecticidal (Mengual, 1997),

and pesticidal effects (Solsoloy and Solsoloy, 1997).

Jatropha seeds are also a good source of

phytate (Makkar and Becker, 1997b). Several ben-

eficial effects of phytate including cancer preven-

tion, reduction in iron-induced oxidative injury and

reversal of initiation of colorectal tumorigenesis, and

prevention of lipid peroxidation have been reported

(Singh et al., 2003).

Jatropha leaves are used to cure various dis-

eases. A novel cyclic octapeptide named as

curcacycline has also been isolated from Jatroph

latex. This cyclic octapeptide has been shown to

inhibit classical pathway activity of human comple-

ment, and proliferation of human T-cells (van den

Berg et al., 1995). Anti-inflammatory compounds

isolated from leaves are flavonoids apigenin and its

glycosides vitexin and isovitexin, the sterols stig-

masterol, beta-D-sitosterol and its beta-D-gluco-

side (Chhabra et al., 1990). The Jatropha latex

has a proteolytic enzyme, curcain which was found

to better wound healing properties than nitrofura-

zone (Nath and Dutta, 1997).

5. Conclusions and future perspectives

In the last decade there has been changing per-

ceptions regarding the therapeutic potential of vari-

ous plant secondary metabolites, which traditionally

have been termed as antinutrients. It is hoped that

the information collated and discussed here would

lead to further exploration and usage of plants or

444444


natural plant products as a sustainable and environ-

mentally friendly approach (clean, safe, and green ag-

riculture) for decreasing environment pollutants and

enhancing animal productivity, which will be a 'win-

win' situation for both farmers and the society.

Levels of phytochemicals are both environ-

mentally induced as well as genetically controlled.

The concentrations of plant secondary metabolites

and their activities in biological systems vary with

maturity of the plant and plant parts, in addition

to soil conditions, water and light availability and

other environmental conditions in which the plant

is growing. This poses a challenge in the use of

plants or plant products in livestock, food or

cosmetic industry, because of batch-to-batch varia-tion in the product quality. This demands the

availability of a simple but robust bioassay to

evaluate the quality of the product, based on the

property for which it will be used. A robust

bioassay could enable the estimation of the bio-logical activity of a batch/product in a defined unit,and different batches could be harmonized toproduce a product containing the same number ofunit every time. Another challenge, particularly for

ruminants, would be to beat the microbial adap-

tation and develop supplementation strategies to

obtain persistent effects. The activities of

phytochemicals are also diet dependent. Equally

challenging would be to integrate the use of plants

containing bioactive compounds in livestock and

aquaculture production systems.

6. Acknowledgement

The suggestions and inputs of Drs. George

Francis and Klaus Becker on the effects of sa-ponins on fish growth and reproduction are thank-fully acknowledged.

REFERENCES

Abreu, A., Carulla, J. E., Lascano, C. E., Diaz, T.

E., Kreuzer, M. and Hess, H. D. (2004) J.

Anim. Sci., 82: 1392-1400.

Akbar, M.A. and Ahmed, T.U. (2006) Improving

animal productivity and reproductive effi-

ciency: development and testing medicated

urea- molasses multi-nutrient blocks in ru-

ral farms of Bangladesh. IAEA-TECDOC

1495, pp. 13-27, IAEA, Vienna, Austria.

Akkari, H., Dargouth, M.A., Ben Salem, H., Abidi,

S., (2006) Anim. Feed Sci. Technol. (In

press).

Annuk, H., Hormo, S., Turi, E., Mikelsaar, M.,

Arak, E. and Wadstrom, T. (1999) FEMS

Microbiol. Lett., 172: 41-45.

Asres, K., Bucar, F., Edelsbrunner, S., Kartnig, T.,

Hoger, G. and Theil, W. (2001) Phytother.

Res. 15: 323-326.

Becker, K. and Makkar, H.P.S. (1998) Vet Hu-

man Toxicol, 40: 82-86.

Becker, K. and Makkar, H.P.S. (1999) Aquacul-

ture, 175: 327-335.

Benie, T., El-Izzi, A., Tahiri, C., Duval, J., Thieulant,

M.L., (1990) J. Ethno. Pharmacol., 29: 13-

23.

Ben Salem, H. Makkar, H.P.S., Nefzaoui, A.,

Hassayou, L. and Abidi, S. (2005) Anim Feed

Sci. Technol., 122: 173-186.

Bhatta, R., Krishnamoorthy, U. and Mohammed,

F. (2000). Anim Feed Sci. Technol, 83: 67-

74.

Bureau, D.P., Harris, A.M. and Cho, C.Y. (1998)

Aquaculture, 161: 27-43.

Chhabra, S.C., Mahunnah, R.L.A. and Mshiu, E.N.

(1990) J. Ethnopharmacol., 28: 255-283.

Chen, J.-C. and Chen, K.-W. (1997) Aquacul-

ture, 156: 77-83.

Conrad, J., Vogler, B., Reeb, S., Klaiber, I.,

Papjewski, S., Roos, G., Vasquez, E. , Setzer,

M.C. and Kraus, W. (2001) J. Nat. Prod.,

64: 294-299.

Daing, T. and Win, Y.T. (2006). IAEA-TECDOC

1495, pp. 77-90, IAEA, Vienna, Austria.

454545


Diaz A., Avendano, M. and Escobar, A. (1993)

Livestock Res. Rural Dev., 5: 1-6.

Djipa, C.D., Delmee, M. and Quetin-Leclercq, J.

(2000) J. Ethnopharmcol., 71: 307-313.

Doan, D.V., Nguyen, V.T., Nguyen, N.T. and Ha,

T.K.L. (2006) Development of urea-molas-

ses multi-nutrient block (UMMB) and medi-

cated UMMB (MUMB) for ruminants in

Vietnam. IAEA-TECDOC 1495, pp. 139-

150, IAEA, Vienna, Austria.

Eliwiniski, B. J., Soliva, C. R., Machmuller, A. and

Kreuzer, M. (2002) Anim. Feed Sci. Technol.,

101: 101-114.

Fahey, J.W., Haristoy, X., Dolan, P.M., kensler,

T.W., Scholtus, I., Stephenson, K.K., Talalay,

P., and Lozniewski, A. (2002) Sulforaphane

inhibits extracellular, intracellular, and antibiotic-

resistant strains of Heliobacter pylori and pre-

vents benzo[a]pyrene-induced stomach tumors.

Proc. National Acad Sci., USA, 99: 7610-

7615.

Faizi, S., Siddiqui, B.S., Saleem, R., Noor, F. and

Husnain, S. (1997) J. Nat. Prod., 60: 1317-

1321.

Flaoyen, A., Wilkins, A.L. and Sandvik, M. (2004).

The metabolism of saponins from Yucca

schidigera in sheep. In Poisonous plants and

related toxins (T. Acamovic, C.S. Stewart and

T.W.Pennycott, eds.), pp. 210-214, CABI

Publishing, UK.

Foidl, N., Makkar, H.P.S. and Becker, K. (2001).

The potential of Moringa oleifera for agri-

cultural and industrial uses. The miracle tree

(ed. Lowell J. Fuglie), CTA Publication, p. 45-

76.

Francis, G., Levavi-Sivan, B., Avitan, A. and Becker,

K. (2002b) Comp. Biochem. Physiol, 133:

591-601

Francis, G., Kerem, Z., Makkar, H. P. S. and

Becker, K. (2002c). Brit. J. Nutr., 88: 587-

605.

Francis, G., Makkar, H.P.S. and Becker, K. (2005)

Anim. Feed Sci. Technol., 121: 147-157.

Garg, S.K., Makkar, H.P.S., Nagal, K.B., Sharma,

S.K., Wadhwa, D.R. and Singh, B. (1992)

Vet. Human.Toxicol., 34: 161-164.

Ghasi, S., Nwobodo, E. and Ofili, J.O. (2000) J.

Pharmacol., 69: 21-25.

Goel, G., Makkar, H.P.S. and Becker, K. (2007a)

Anim. Feed Sci. Technol. (In press).

Goel, G., Makkar, H.P.S. and Becker, K. (2007b)

J. appl. Microbiol. (submitted).

Goel, G., Makkar, H.P.S., Francis, G. and Becker,

K. (2007c) Int. J. Toxicology, 26: 279-288.

Hristov, X., Fahey, J.W., Scholtus, I. and

Lozniewski, A. (2005) Planta Med., 71: 326-

330.

Hess, H. D., Kreuzer, M., Diaz, T. E., Lascano, C.

E., Carulla, J. E., Soliva, C. R. and Machmuller,

A. (2003a) Anim. Feed Sci. Technol., 109:

79-94.

Hess, H.D., Monsalve, L.M., Lascano, C.R.,

Carulla, J.E., Diaz, T.E., and Kreuzer, M.

(2003b) Aust. J. Agric. Res., 54: 703-713.

Ho, K.Y., Tsai, C.C., Huang, J.S., Chen, C.P., Lin

T.C. and Lin, C.C. (2001) Antimicrobial ac-

tivity of tannin components from Vaccinium

vitis-idaea L. J. Pharm. Pharmacol., 53: 187-

191.

Hristov, A. N., McAllister, A., Van Herk, F. H.,

Cheng, K. J., Newbold, C. J., Cheeke, P. R.

(1999). J. Anim. Sci., 77: 2554-2563.

Ivan, M., Koenig, K.M., Teferedegne, B., Newbold,

C.J., Entz, T., Rode, L.M. and Ibrahim, M.

(2004) Small Rum. Res., 52: 81-91.

Kahn, L.P. and Diaz-Hernandez, A. (2000) Tannins

with anthelmintic properties. In: Tannins in Live-

stock and Human Nutrition. (Brooker, J.D.

Ed.), ACIAR Proceedings No., 92: pp. 130-

139.

464646


Krogdahl, A., Roem, A. and Baeverfjord, G. (1995)

Effects of soybean saponin, raffinose and soy-

bean alcohol extract on nutrient digestibilities,

growth and intestinal morphology in Atlantic

salmon. In: Quality in aquaculture. (Svennevig,

N., Krogdahl, A. eds.), Proc. Intl. Conf. Aquac-

ulture. Eur. Aquacult. Soc. Spec. Publ. No.

23, Gent, Belgium, pp. 118-119.

Lila, Z.A., N. Mohammed, S. Kanda, T. Kamada

and H. Itabashi (2003) J. Dairy Sci., 86: 3330-

3336.

Liu, J. Y., Yuan, W. Z., Ye, J. and Wu, Y. (2003)

Effect of tea (Camellia sinensis) saponin addi-

tion on rumen fermentation in vitro. In Match-

ing herbivore nutrition to ecosystems

biodiversity. Tropical and subtropical

agrosystems. Proc. the Sixth International Sym-

posium on the Nutrition of Herbivore;

Camacho, J. H., Castro, C. A. S., Eds.;

Merida, Mexico, 2003; Vol. 3, pp 561-564.

Lorimer, S.D., Perry, N.B., Foster, L.M. and Bur-

gess, E.L. (1996) J. Agric. Food Chem., 44:

2482-2845.

Machmueller, A., Ossowski, D.A. and Kreuzer, M.

(2000) Anim. Feed Sci. Technol., 85: 41-60.

Makkar, H.P.S. (2000) Roles of tannins and sa-

ponins. In: Effects of antinutrients on the

nutritional value of legume diets (Krogdahl,

A., Mathiesen, S.D., and Pryme, I.F., eds.),

p. 103-114, COST 98, Volume 8, Brussels,

EU.

Makkar, H.P.S. (2003) Small Ruminant Research,

49: 241-256.

Makkar, H.P.S. (2005) Anim. Feed Sci. Technol.

123-124: 291-302.

Makkar, H.P.S. (2006) Improving animal produc-

tivity through meeting nutrient deficiencies

with multinutrient blocks, enhancing utili-

zation efficiency of alternate feed resources,

and controlling internal parasites: a sum-

mary. IAEA-TECDOC 1495, pp. 1-9, IAEA,

Vienna, Austria.

Makkar, H.P.S. and Becker, K. (1997a) J. Agri.

Sci., Camb., 128: 311-322.

Makkar, H.P.S. and Becker, K. (1997b) Jatropha

curcas toxicity: identification of toxic

principle(s). In: Toxic plants and other natu-

ral toxicants (Garland, T , Barr A. C. eds),

Proceedings 5th International Symposium on

Poisonous Plants, San Angelo, Texas, USA,

May 19-23, CAB international, New York,

pp 554-558.

Makkar, H.P.S. and Becker, K. (1998) Moringa

oleifera seed meal and protreins on rumen

fermentation in vitro. Annual Report, Insti-

tute for Animal Production in the Tropics and

Subtropics, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart,

Germany.

Makkar, H.P.S. and Becker, K. (2000). Beneficial

effects of saponins on animal production. In:

Saponins in food and feedstuffs and medici-

nal plants (Oleszek, W. and A. Marston Eds.),

Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht. 281-

286.

Makkar, H.P.S. and McSweeney, C.S. (2005)Methods in gut microbial ecology for rumi-

nants, Springer Science+Business Media,

Inc.New York, pp. 237.

Mengual, L. (1997) Extraction of bioactive sub-

stances from Jatropha czrcas L. and bioassays

on Zonocerus variegatus, Sesamia calamistis

and Brusseola fusca for characterisation of

insecticidal properties. In: Biofuels and indus-

trial products from Jatropha curcas (Gübitz,

G.M., Mittelbach, M., Trabi M., eds.), Dbv-

Verlag für Technische Universität Graz, Graz,

Austria,

McSweeney, C.S., Makkar, H.P.S. and Reed, J.D.

(2003) Modification of rumen fermentation for

detoxification of harmful compounds. Interna-

tional Symposium on Nutrition of Herbivores,

pp. 239-270, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, 20-

24 October.

474747


Min, B.R., Barry, T.N., Attwood, G.T. and

McNabb, W.C. (2003). Anim. Feed Sci.

Technol., 106: 3-19.

Nair, A.G.R. and Subramanian, S.S. (1962) Curr.

Sci., 31: 155-156.

Nath, L.K. and Dutta, S.K. (1997) Acute toxicity

studies and wound healing response of curcain,

a proteolytic enzyme extracted from latex of

Jatropha curcas Linn. In: Biofuels and indus-

trial products from Jatropha curcas (Gübitz,

G.M., Mittelbach, M., Trabi M., eds.), Dbv-

Verlag für Technische Universität Graz, Graz,

Austria, p. 82-86.

Newbold, C.J., El Hassan, S.M., Wang, J.M.,

Ortega, M.E., and Wallace, R.J. (1997) Brit.

J. Nutr., 78: 237-249.

Nshalai, I.V., Umunna, N.N. and Osuji, P.O. (1999)

Livest. Prod. Sci., 60: 59-69.

Pal, S., Mukherjee, K. and Saha, B.P. (1995)

Phytother. Res., 9: 463-465.

Pen, B., Sar, C., Mwenya, B., Kuwaki, K.,

Morikawa, R. and Takahashi, J. (2006) Anim.

Feed Sci. Technol., 129: 175-186.

Perchellet, E.M., Moutaseb, H.U., Makkar, H.P.S.

and Perchellet, P. (1996) Int. J. Oncology, 9:

801-809.

Priolo, A., Bella, M. Lanza, M., Galofaro, V.,

Biondi, L., Barbagallo, D., Ben Salem, H. and

Pennini, P. (2005) Small Ruminant Research,

59: 281-288.

Rug, M. and Ruppel, A., (2000) Tropica Medicine

and International Health. 5: 423-430.

Sen, S., Makkar, H.P.S. and Becker, K. (1998a)

Letters in Appl. Micribiol., 27: 35-38.

Shah, M.A. and P.S. Mir (2004) Can. J. Anim.

Sci., 84: 725-729.

Steinbronn, S. (2002) Impact of dietary Quillaja

saponins on growth, sex ratio and repro-

duction of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus

L.) under field conditions in Bangladesh.

Master Thesis, University of Hohenheim,

Stuttgart, Germany.

Siddhuraju, P. and Becker, K. (2003) J. Agric.

Food Chem., 51: 2144-2155.

Singh, B, Bhat, T.K. and Singh, B. (2003) J. Agric.

Food Chem., 51: 5579-5597.

Sliwinski, B.J., Soliva, C.R., Machmuller, A. and

Kreuzer, M. (2002a) Anim. Feed Sci. Tech.,

101: 101-114.

Sliwinski, B.J., Kreuzer, M., Wettstein, H.R. and

Machmüller, A. (2002b) Arch. Anim. Nutr.,

56: 379-392.

Solsoloy, A.D. and Solsoloy, T.S. (1997) Pesticidal

efficacy of formulated Jatropha curcas oil on

pests of selected field crops. In: Biofuels and

industrial products from Jatropha curcas

(Gübitz, G.M., Mittelbach, M., Trabi M., eds.),

Dbv-Verlag für Technische Universität Graz,

Graz, Austria, p. 216-226.

Suarez, M., Canarelli, S., Fisch, F., Chodanowski,

P., Servis, C., Michielin, O., Moreillon, P. and

Mermod, N. (2005) Antimicrob. Agents

Chemother., 49: 3847-3857

Suzuki, K., Kawauchi, H. and Nagahama, Y.

(1988a) Gen. Comp. Endocrinol., 71: 292-

301.

Suzuki, K., Kawauchi, H. and Nagahama, Y.,

(1988b) Gen. Comp. Endocrinol., 71: 302-

306.

Taylor, W.G., Zulyniak, H.J., Richards, K.W.,

Acharya, S.N., Bittman, S. and Elder, J.L.

(2002) J. Agric. Food Chem., 50: 5994-5997.

Thalib, A., Widiawati, Y., Hamid, H., Suherman, D.

and Sabrani, M. (1996) J. Ilmu Ternak dan

Veteriner., 2: 17-20.

Tsao, R., Reuber, M., Johnson, L. and Coats, J.R.

(1996) J. Agric. Entomol., 13: 109-120.

Tschöp, M., Smiley, D. L. and Heiman, M. L.

(2000) Nature, 407: 908-913.

484848


van den Berg, A.J.J., Horstein S.F.A.J., Ketternes-

van den Bosch, J.J., Kroes, B.H., Beukelman,

C.J., Leeflang, B.R., and Labadie, R.P. (1995)

FEBS Letter, 358: 215-218.

Vasta, V. and Priolo, A. (2006) Meat Sci., 73:

218-228.

Wallace, R.J., Arthaud, L. and Newbold, C.J.

(1994) Appl. Environ, Microbiol. 60: 1762-

1767

Wang, Y., McAllister, T. A., Yanke, L. J., Xu, Z. J.;

Cheeke, P.R. and Cheng, K. J. (2000a) J. Sci.

Food Agric., 80: 2214-2122.

Wang, Y., McAllister, T.A., Yanke, L.J. and Cheeke,

P.R. (2000b) J. Appl. Microbiol., 88: 887-

896.

Wei, T., Sun, H., Zhao, X., Hou, J., Hou A., Zhao

Q. and Xin, W. (2002) Life Sci., 70: 1889-

1899.

Wim, By and Jongen, F. (1996) Porc. Nutr. Soc.,

55: 433-446.

Wina, E., Muetzel, S. and Becker, K. (2005a) J.

Agric. Food Chem., 53: 8093-8105.

Wina, E., Muetzel, S., Hoffman, E., Makkar, H.P.S.

and Becker. K. (2005b) Effect of secondary

compounds in forage on rumen microorganisms

qualified by 16S and 18S rRNA. In: Applica-

tions of gene-based technologies for improv-

ing animal production and health in devel-

oping countries, (Makkar, H.P.S. and G.J.

Viljoen eds.), Springer Science and Business

Media, Inc., New York, 2005, pp. 397-410.

Wina, E., Muetzel, S., Hoffmann, E., Makkar,

H.P.S. and Becker, K. (2005c) Anim Feed

Sci. Technol., 121: 159-174.

Yang, L.L., Lee, C.Y. and Yen, K.Y. (2000) Can-

cer Lett., 157: 65-67.

494949


Combined strategies guarantee mycotoxin control

Devendra S. Verma

Biomin, India

Numerous strategies are evolving for control

of mycotoxins, some clearly more practical and

effective than others. Novel approaches

combining different strategies that counteract

mycotoxins through diverse biological and

dietary interventions show greatest promise.

Mycotoxins are toxic chemical products formed

by fungal species, mainly those belonging to the

genera Fusarium, Aspergillus and Penicillium, that

colonise crops in the field or after harvest and thus

pose a potential threat to human and animal health.

There are hundreds of mycotoxins known, but few

have been extensively researched and even fewer

have good methods of analysis available. The major

classes of mycotoxins, in terms of agricultural

relevance, are aflatoxins, zearalenone, trichothecenes

(e.g. deoxynivalenol, T-2 toxin), ochratoxin A,

fumonisins and the ergot alkaloids. In farm animals

a mycotoxin-contaminated diet may lead to

substantial economic losses due to feed refusal, poor

feed conversion, diminished body weight gain,

immune suppression, interference with reproductive

capacities and residues in animal products.

Mycotoxins exhibit a great variety of biological

effects in animals: specific tissue damage, central

nervous system effects and digestive disorders, to

name a few. However, mycotoxin-related losses in

performance, reproductive disorders and immune-

suppression, resulting in a higher susceptibility to

disease, are of major concern.

Even though recommended agricultural

practices have been implemented to decrease

mycotoxin production during crop growth,

harvesting and storage, the potential for significant

contamination still exists. According to the Food

and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), at least 25%

of the world’s crops are contaminated with

mycotoxins, despite increased efforts of prevention.

The significance of these unavoidable, naturally

occurring toxicants to human and animal health are

reflected in the increase in mycotoxin regulations

and global trans-shipment of agricultural commodities

and highlight the need to provide successful

counteracting strategies.

No single treatment

Certain treatments have been found to reduce

levels of specific mycotoxins. However, no single

method has been developed that is equally effective

against the wide variety of mycotoxins which may

co-occur in different commodities. Moreover,

detoxification processes that appear effective in

vitro (i.e. in the laboratory) do not necessarily retain

their efficacy when tested in vivo (i.e. in feeding

trials).

The efficacy of physical treatments (e.g.

washing, separation, roasting, UV irradiation, solvent

extraction) depends on the level of contamination

and the distribution of mycotoxins throughout the

grain. Subsequently the results obtained are uncertain

and often connected with high product losses.

Moreover, some of these physical treatments are

relatively costly and may remove or destroy essential

nutrients in feed.

Chemical methods require not only suitable

reaction facilities but also additional treatments

(drying, cleaning) that make them time consuming

and expensive. Only a limited number of tested

chemicals are effective without diminishing the feed’s

nutritional value or palatability. Treatment of

contaminated feed with ammonia was once the most

505050


attractive method. Although early studies showed

this technique to be safe and effective, ammoniationhas not been approved by the US Food and DrugAdministration due to the potential toxicity andcarcinogenicity of the resulting products.

Over the course of several extensive research

projects involving scientists from all over the world,a unique, continuously improved concept has beendeveloped to successfully deactivate agriculturallyrelevant mycotoxins present in feed. The newconcept is based on three different mycotoxin-

counteracting strategies: (1) elimination of the toxin

(adsorption), (2) elimination of the toxicity (biotran-

sformation) and (3) elimination of toxin-related

effects.

Adsorption eliminates aflatoxins

The most well-known approach to

detoxification of mycotoxins involves the use of

nutritionally inert adsorbents with the capacity to

tightly bind and immobilise mycotoxins in the

gastrointestinal tract of animals, thus reducing their

bioavailability. In several independent scientific

studies, hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicates

(HSCAS) have proven to be the most promising

adsorbents. Mixed into feed they markedly diminish

aflatoxin uptake by the blood and distribution to

target organs, thus avoid aflatoxin-related diseases

and the carryover of aflatoxins into animal products.

Unfortunately the efficacy of these adsorbing

substances is quite limited against zearalenone

(ZEA), ochratoxin A (OTA) and fumonisins (FUM)

and totally ineffective for trichothecenes such as

deoxynivalenol (DON), T-2 toxin and diacetox-yscirpenol (DAS).

However, today adsorption is not only an

economically feasible, but a well-established and

scientifically proven approach to prevent

aflatoxicoses in farm animals. The efficiency of

aflatoxin-adsorption mainly depends on the chemical

properties of the adsorbent used. Several screening

studies carried out in cooperation with Austrian

universities in order to find the best adsorbents with

regard to aflatoxin-deactivation and safe application

showed that a synergistic blend of minerals afforded

maximum, pH-independent activity at an inclusion

rate as low as 0.5 kg/t without removing essential

nutrients from the diet.

Biotransformation of trichothecenes, ZEA and

OTA

In the course of extensive research activities in

the field of biological detoxification (1988 – 2004),

“biotransformation” has been shown to be a unique

practical method to successfully counteract less- and

non-adsorbable mycotoxins. Defined as the

enzymatic degradation of mycotoxins leading to non-

toxic metabolites, biotransformation has been

successfully applied since 1991. Continuous

research finally led to the most recent development

of patented microbial supplements able to detoxify

all kinds of trichothecenes, zearalenone and

ochratoxin A.

A safe bacterial strain (Eubacterium sp.) was

found to have trichothecene-detoxifying activity and

was named BBSH 797 after the research team that

discovered it in July 1997: During its metabolism

BBSH 797 produces specific enzymes that eliminatetoxicity of trichothecenes by selective cleavage of

their toxic 12,13-epoxy group. Both in vitro and

in vivo efficacy of the strain were scientifically

proven.

In the course of a several-year research project,

the efficacy of the live yeast species Trichosporon

mycotoxinivorans, named after its unique property

to “eat” and thus detoxify both, zearalenone and

ochratoxin A was established. Incubation

experiments with the strain and subsequent cell

culture studies at the University of Utrecht in the

Netherlands proved successful in the degradation

of 1 ppm ZEA. Additional in vitro studies with

OTA-concentrations as high as 5 ppm revealed a

complete detoxification within a maximum of 1 hour.

In vivo activity of T. mycotoxinivorans was

515151


investigated at the University of Gödöllö in Hungary.

Addition of the yeast strain to the diet clearly

improved weight development and feed conversion

rate of animals. Moreover, animal losses and cases

of diarrhea were lower in control and trial groups

(A, C, D, E, F) than in the toxin group (B).

A feeding trial conducted at the University ofMaribor in Slovenia revealed that the negative

influence of high OTA-doses (1 ppm) on the

performance of broilers could be totally neutralised

by addition of T. mycotoxinivorans. The final

weight of the trial group (toxin and yeast added)

was on average 83 g higher than that of the positive

control (toxin, no additive) and even better than the

negative control.

Elimination of toxin-related effects

The total number of mycotoxins is not known,

but toxic metabolites of fungi could potentially

number in the thousands. The number of mycotoxins

actually known to be involved in diseases is

considerably less, but even this number is difficult

to assess, due to the diversity of their effects on

animal systems.

Natural intoxications by mycotoxins are often

more complex than can be related to those

experimental studies utilising one mycotoxin.

Therefore, natural responses may be the result of

two or more toxins. The immune system, for instance,

is not only a key target of the major classes of

mycotoxins, but also of ergot and fescue alkaloids,

citrinin, patulin and gliotoxin, to name a few.

Hepato-toxic effects are not exclusively attributed

to aflatoxins, ochratoxins and fumonisins, but also

to sporidesmin (New Zealand, Australia: facial

eczema), rubratoxins and phomopsins (Australia,

New Zealand, South Africa, USA: lupinosis). All

of these will produce significant liver damage when

given to animals.

Finding successful detoxification strategies for

agriculturally relevant mycotoxins is not an easy task;

several years of intense research were necessary to

the develop methods described above. However,

finding respective strategies for minor classes of

mycotoxins, that might act synergistically and

contribute to various mycotoxicoses, is probably

impossible. Thus, different methods are advised for

non-adsorbable and non-degradable toxins.

A blend of scientifically studied and carefully

selected plant and algae extract are have been

studied that are able to eliminate toxin-related effects

such as immune suppression, liver-damage or

inflammation. Herbs that support immune function

are general immune-system-stimulators

(immunostimulants). They increase resistance by

mobilising “effector cells” which act against all foreign

particles rather than just one specific type. Immune-

stimulating extracts have been selected using different

in vitro test systems. Numerous preparations of

plant and algae origin were compared in a

macrophage activation assay. Macrophages are one

of the major cells of the unspecific immune system

responsible for consuming invading microbes (i.e.

for phagocytosis of pathogens). Thus, substances

which are able to enhance the activity of

macrophages lead to enhanced phagocytic activity

and subsequently to a strengthened immune system.

A synergistically acting blend of plant and algae

extracts finally gave the best results. The immune

stimulating effects of these substances were further

confirmed in a lymphocyte proliferation test.

The liver-protecting effect of some plant derived

substances was demonstrated in a broiler feeding

trial carried out at the National University of

Colombia. A total of 144 chicks were fed a

commercial starter mash ration which contained the

hepato-protective additive and/or two hepato-toxic

substances: pyrrolizidine alkaloids and aflatoxin B1

(200ppb). A clear difference (52.5 g) in body weight

gain was observed between the toxin and the trial

group. Feed intake and relative liver weights

followed a similar trend, indicating that the birds

completely overcame the adverse effects caused by

the hepato-toxic substances.

525252


Conclusion

The isolation and characterisation of

microorganisms that are able to bio-transform

mycotoxins in the intestinal tract of animals is a

major breakthrough in successful mycotoxin control.

The biological methods described above may

become the technology of choice, as enzymatic

reactions offer a specific, irreversible, efficient and

environmentally friendly way of detoxification that

leaves neither toxic residues nor any undesired by-

products. Research teams working in this field are

convinced that combinations of selected adsorbing

agents and bio-transformation methods will ensure

an effective control against mycotoxins taken in with

contaminated feeds. Selected plant and algae extracts

that counteract effects of non-degradable and non-

adsorbable toxins complete the picture for control

of mycotoxins to bare minimum possibility.

535353


Use of antibiotics as growth promoters (AGP)

in pig and poultry feeds started with from their dis-

covery in the late 40’s. The exact mechanism as to

how AGP’s promote growth is not entirely clear. It

is widely assumed that AGP’s act mainly through

their effect on intestinal flora. With less than 10% of

intestinal microflora identified, there has been little

chance of fully understanding AGP’s mode of ac-

tion. It is postulated that AGP’s allow the animal to

express their natural potential for growth which is

achieved through their direct influence on bacteria

in the gut ( Bedford 2005). AGP’s benefit the live-

stock by reducing the total number of intestinal

micro-organisms and /or creating a more favourable

balance between beneficial and non-beneficial ones.

AGP’s are directly responsible in depressing the

microbial growth in the gastro-intestinal tract which

in tern results in reduced gut motility, reduced mu-

cin secretion, reduced toxin (eg ammonia and bio-

genic amune from protein formulation) production,

increase digestive enzyme output, the uptake of nu-

trients along the alimentary canal hereby improving

the dig. and reduce the opportunity for harmful bac-

teria to establish in the gut.

The overall outcome of use of AGP’s is the

availability of more nutrients for growth and produc-

tion. Antibiotics as routine feed additives are used at

low concentration which appears to prevent some

diseases. Over use of antimicrobials may diminish their

effectiveness and the strains of resistant bacteria

would arise. Of the 1,415 micro-organisms known

to cause diseases in humans 60% are ZOONOTIC.

The situation become more alarming as resistant

genes, through the food chain, are flowing freely be-

Nutritional challenges for poultry and pigs in the

post antibiotic era

S. S. Sikka and Jaswinder Singh*

Department of Animal Nutrition, *Department of Veterinary & Animal Husbandry Extension,

Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana-141004, India

tween animal and human bacteria. Of great concern

was the possibility that resistance generated on the

farm could lead to a loss of effectiveness of key anti-

biotics in human medicine. Therefore EU has banned

the most of AGP’s in the feed from 2006. Ban on use

of AGP’s has created the need to explore the alter-

natives that can improve the general health status and

enhance the immunity to fight against disease (Bosi

& Trevisi, 2006).

Barriers: Prevention of harmful bacteria from

entering the intestines by the oral route is the first

line of defence. Acidic conditions of the stomach

due to the secretion of hydrochloric acid acts as a

powerful antimicrobial barrier. This mechanism is

inadequately developed in the newly weaned pig-

lets. Lactic acid originating from the fermentation of

lactose by lactic acid bacteria (naturally occurringand probiotic additives) is helpful but limited by therelatively small amount of bacterial activity in thestomach and proximal small intestine. Anything that

increases acid production post weaning (PrebioticSCFA, Probiotic Lactic Acid) can enhance antimi-

crobial competence and improve the barrier to orallyacquired pathogens.

Bacterial metabolism: The main end prod-

ucts of bacterial carbohydrate metabolism are ac-ids, short chain fatty acids (SCFA) mainly acetic,

propionic and butyric acids. SCFA are weak or-

ganic acids with bacteriostatic properties in com-mon with the organic acids used as preservatives.SCFA play an important role in the prevention of

potentially harmful bacteria escaping the stomach

545454


and migrating forward through the small intestine,

but more important is the reverse flux of harmful

bacteria from hind gut to small intestine. The pres-

ence of fermentable carbohydrates in the pigs diet

reduce protein fermentation, reducing toxic sub-

stances such as ammonia, amines, skatol and in-

dole. Higher butyrate concentrations contribute to a

healthier intestine because butyric acid is a strong

stimulator of the gastrointestinal cell growth, not only

for the colonocytes, but also for the enterocytes of

the small intestine. (Pouillard 2003). Immune cells

form part of the intestinal epithelial lining who’s

function is to monitor, react and coordinate a re-sponse to the components of the intestinal microf-

lora. Pre and probiotics increase the chances of a

favourable response to the monitoring process,

minimising immune activation with its highly benefi-

cial impact on appetite and nutrient partitioning to

growth. Growth responses to Pre and Probiotics

achieve statistical significance during the first 14 days

after weaning of piglets which confirms they can be

fast acting in their influences. (Corrent, 2002).

Balance of gut microflora: There is a deli-

cate balance between the beneficial bacteria (Lac-

tobacilli, Bifidobacteria and Eubacteria) and the

potential pathogenic bacteria (E Coli, Salmonella,

Staphylococci, Listeria, Shigella, Veillonella,

Brachyspiro (Serpulina), Clostridia and

Coliforms) in the gut . The ideal ratio between

beneficial and pathogenic bacteria should be 9:1

which is subject to alteration due to factors like

drug administration, stress, environmental and man-

agemental changes, spoiled feed or change in gas-

tric pH. The pig monitors what bacteria are within

its gut and reacts to what is there. Pigs grow faster

or slower according to what it ‘sees’ in its gut!

The digestion efficiency in poultry and pigs de-

pend upon the microorganisms which live naturally inits digestive tract. The microbial population presentin the intestine of chicken comprises more than 90%of all the living cells in the bird. At least five hundred

bacterial species colonise the pigs intestine ( 1011 cfu/

g intestinal contents). This is ten times more cells than

the number of cells in the pig body. The intestinal mi-

croflora have important and differing effects, includ-

ing regulation of epithelial cell turnover, competition

for ingested nutrients, modification of digestion, com-

petitive exclusion of pathogens, metabolism of mu-

cus secretions and modulation of mucosal immunity

(Hooper et al., 2002). To make the environment con-

ducive for the beneficial bacteria pre and probiotics

are added in the feed. These are beneficial nutritional

modifiers for monogastrics. The use of the AGP’s is

declining and the recent trends are to use their alter-

native (Table 1).

Table 1. Potential alternatives to AGP

Compound Relative Comments

effecti-veness

AGP +++++ Standard for comparison

Zinc oxide ++++ Decrease in scoured & im-proved performance

Plasma protein +++ Increased feed intake and im-proved growth performance.

Specific antib- ++ Limited data but potentiallyodies (egg yolk) promising

Organic acids +++ Most effective in newlyweaned pig and grower chick

DFM ++ Promote beneficial bacteria inthe gut

Prebiotics ++ Promote beneficial bacteria inthe gut

Enzymes ++ Improve digestibility of feedingredients and subsequentimproved gut health

Botanicals/ + Many potential productsnutraceuticals which promotes growth

Essential oils + Improve growth

The search for replacements has been severely

hampered by a lack of understanding of how AGP’s

work. The interest of nutritionists is increasing to-

wards natural substances like botanicals, herbs,

nutraceuticals, enzymes etc. During the recent past,

research activities were focused on the area of use

of phytogenic feed additives and botanicals / herbs.

Several foods/feeds contain certain compounds

that improve the growth and production efficiency

555555


by providing either the nutritional balance, improv-

ing the metabolism or preventing the disease. More-

over at the same time there is increased interest

over the food safety, environmental contamination

and the general health risks which have made

NATURAL the norm, promoting the trend towards

alternative strategies to manage and feed the poul-

try birds and pigs without reliance on antibiotics.

Such foods are labeled as pronutrients, adaptogens,

dietetics, nutracines, nutraceuticals or multifunctional

additives.

Nutraceuticals: The term nutraceuticals is a

combination of nutrients and pharmaceutical. Theiruse is not a newer concept, but it is an example of

history which is repeating itself.

Year Prevailing medical advice

2000 BC Here eat this root

1200 AD This root is heathen , say this prayer

1500 AD Prayer are superstitious, drink this potion

1900 AD This potion is snake oil, Swallo this pill

1950 AD This pill is ineffective, take this antibiotic

2000 AD This antibiotic is synthetic, eat this root.

Word ‘Nutraceutical’ was first coined by

Stephen Defelice, the founder Chairman of “Foun-

dation for Innovation in Medicine (FIM)”. Booth

(1997) defined veterinary nutraceuticals as a non

drug substance that is produced in purified or ex-

tracted form and administered orally to provide

agents required for normal body structure and func-

tion with the intent of improving health and well

being of animals.

Recently, Sarah (2003) reported that

nutraceuticals must improve the performance effec-tively & economically, with little therapeutic use,

without causing cross resistance to other antibioticat actual use level, without involving with transfer-

able drug resistance, without causing any deleteri-

ous disturbance to the normal gut flora and should

not create environmental pollution. Moreover these

must be non toxic to the animals and its handlers.

Nutrition based health (NbH):- A new con-

cept, according to this concept feed and feeding

programmes must be designed to reduce stress and

to assist the animals in resisting disease challenges

(Adams, 2005). Judicious use of various nutrients

and bioactive feed components like acidifiers, anti-

oxidants, bacterial inhibitors, enzymes, flavours etc.

to support animal health is the right approach of

NbH.

A term ‘pronutrient’ i.e. a micro ingredient

included in the formulation of animal feed in rela-

tively small amounts with specific physiological and

microbiological functions different from any other

nutrient is included in the feed additive list. Many

active ingredients from plants must be considered

pronutrients due to their effects against the coloni-

zation of different pathogenic organism and stimu-

lation of beneficial bacteria eg zinger for the treat-

ment of dysentery.

Broadly nutraceuticals / natural therapy is clas-

sified as Herbs & Botanicals, Antioxidants (Vita-

mins C, A, beta carotene), Enzymes and Prebiotics

and Probiotics or Direct Fed Mcrobials (DFM).

Herbs/botanicals: Vegetative parts of the

plants (leaves, bark, fruit, roots, seed and their ex-

tract) containing a variety of chemical compounds

that are used as body restoratives are called herbs.

While drugs are made from any part of plant,

(root, leaves, bark etc) essential oils or any of a

class of volatile oils obtained from plants, possess-

ing the odour and other characteristic properties of

the plant, used chiefly in manufacture of perfumes,

flavours and pharmaceutical extract after hydro dis-

tillation.

These chemical compounds are active in alter-

ing the physiological and biochemical processes in

the body. Herbs and spices have compounds with

antibacterial effects for example garlic contain alli-

cin and ajoene which exhibits broad spectrum anti

microbial properties (Naganawa et al., 1996) and

is effective in reducing cholesterol of liver, breast

and thigh muscle (Kopnjufca et al., 1997). Another

example is of Yucca Schidiger which improve growth

& FCR (Headon et al. 1991).

565656


Botanicals / herbs help in improving the per-

formance by several ways like reducing the stress

associated with handling, transport and poor health

by providing nutrients and or active principles which

act as anti stress agents, Being adaptogenic manage

stress and improve egg production in birds, Increase

the feed consumption due to the flavours present,

Ensure the normal gut functioning, Improve the di-

gestion by activating digestive secretions, Improve

the feed conversion efficiency there by growth and

production, Improve the liver functioning, Act as

toxin binder and reduce the risk of mycotoxicosis,

Normalize the kidney functioning, Improve the im-

munity as an immune modulater, Antioxidant, Act as

coccidiostat and anti helminthic, Stimulate endocrine

system, Stimulate intermediate nutrient metabolism,

Stabilize gut environment, Ameliorate the effect of

ANF’s present in the feed, Used for the treatment

of bacterial (Yuan et al., 1993), viral (Yu & Zhu,

2000) and parasitic diseases (Pang et al., 2000),

Reducing ammonia and other noxious gases in the

GI tract through their binding to the saponins and

excreted in the excreta and Reducing the ascitic

mortality in broilers (Menocal, 1995).

These properties of various herbs are due to

the active secondary metabolites which belong to

class of isoprene derivatives, flavonoides and

glucosinolates. Intercation between different active

components within and between extract may have

either cummulative or antagonistic effect. Use of

herbs in poultry and pig feeds are now gaining

momentum as it claim to have no side effect, safe

and eco friendly. A term botanical / natural broiler/

pig can be used when only botanical / natural materials

are used for enhancing performance and prevention

of disease. Use of some herbs in poultry feeds is

recently reviewed by Sikka and Singh, (2007).

Activity of herbs: Do the herbs have always

the same activity? No, the desired activity of herbs

is not always same due to variability of the compo-

sition of plant secondary metabolites, environmental

conditions, different harvesting time, stage of matu-

rity, method of extraction and conservation, anti nu-

tritional factor and nature of diet in which it is supple-

mented because it have to compete with nutrients

present in the feed.

Prebiotics: Prebiotics are short chained non-

digestible compounds present in feed ingredients.

These are mainly oligosaccharides (2-20 units of

monosaccharides) and are found in soybean and

rapeseed meal. Legumes, cereals and yeast cell walls

contain respectively á-galactooligosaccharides

(GOS), fructooligosaccharides (FOS) and

mannanoligosaccharides (MOS). Some prebiotics

are selectively fermented by Lactobacilli,

Bifidobacteria and Eubacteria. Whilst being poorly

utilised by the potentially harmful bacteria listed

above. Both pre and probiotics modify the gut

microbial population balance by promoting the

growth of beneficial flora in the intestines (Flickinger

& Fahey 2002) thereby providing a healthier intes-

tinal environment.

It is generally accepted that high villi : crypt

depth ratios are indicators of a healthier and more

efficient intestinal mucosa. Prebiotics have a benefi-

cial effect on the gut integrity especially in the distal

end of small intestine, the area with the greatest

levels of fermentation. In a recent experiment, it

was observed that ratios were enhanced in distal

area, with enhanced fermentation along the entire

small intestine (Decuypere, 2003).

Through a variety of mechanisms prebiotics

are thought to increase resistance to infection. Vari-

ous proposed modes of action are enhancement of

the physical barrier (modulation of paracellular per-

meability, mucosal trophic action), Improved

functional barrier (mucosal immunity), Competitive

adhesion to epithelial receptors. Increased SCFA

production along the gastro-intestinal tract, Induc-

ing a shift to a more saccharolytic (carbohydrate

fermenting) flora, Reduction of intestinal pH and

reducing the colonization of harmful bacteria, Ex-

creting harmful bacteria, Competitive exclusion

(colonisation resistance).

575757


Galacto-oligosaccherides (GOS), Mannanolig-

osaccharides (MOS), Fructo- oligosaccharides

(FOS) are frequently used in poultry (Ishihara et

al., 2000, Zhang et al., 2003) diets. FOS (deriva-

tive of inulin) stimulate the growth of Bifido bacte-

ria, improve the mucosal morphology of the colon

(Howard et al., 1995) and inhibit the growth ofpathogenic microorganism such as clostridia and

salmonella(Wang & Gibson 1993). Chen et al.,

(2005) revealed the increase in egg production and

feed efficiency of layer with the use of dietary

oligofructose and inulin. The inulin is required for

the growth of Lactobacilli (Gibson, 1999). FOS

has been reported to improve growth in the weaned

pigs by 5.1 % and feed efficiency by 2.0% (Mul &

Perry, 1994) On the other hand MOS found to

improve daily weight gain by 7.4% and feed utili-

zation by 5.2 % in nursery pigs. Spring and

Privulescu (1998) revealed that oligosaccharides

stimulate the secretion of cytokine and there by

enhance the immune system of the pig to resist

pathogenic bacterial challenge.

Probiotics : The live microbial food supple-

ment which when fed improve the intestinal micro-

bial balance of the host are called probiotics or

Direct Fed Microbials (DFM’s). Probiotics im-prove the survival with better growth, better feed

conversion and inhibition of diarrhea in piglets. Lac-

tobacilli, Streptococci, Bi-fidobacteria, Bacillus,

Bacteriods, Pediococcus, leuconostoc, Propionibac-

terium, and some yeast (Saccharomyces cerevesiae)

and fungi (Asperzillus oryzae) are commonly used

DFM’s. B Subtilis and B licheniformis are com-

monly used in nursery pig rations as they are spore

forming and are able to resist the environmental

conditions of high temperature and moisture occur-

ring during the pelleting process. Probiotics should

be given once or twice, after which the bacterium

should establish itself in the alimentary canal and

replace disease-promoting micro-organisms but

results are not convincing. Furthermore, it is prac-

tically impossible that probiotic bacteria could es-

tablish themselves in a stable alimentary canal sys-

tem. Therefore these must be added to the feed on

a daily basis. Use of probiotic bacterial cultures

have greater effect during the early stages of growth,

when, the gut is sterile and when the alimentary

flora of pigs are unstable, viz after weaning and

subsequent to an extended period of treatment with

antibiotics. Probiotics, improve health and growth

by modifying intestinal microbial balance by several

ways given below.

Competitive exclusion, Adhering to intestinal

mucosa (Jonsson and Conway, 1992), Preventing

attachment of pathogens, (Green & Sainbury, 2001),

Production of antimicrobial compunds (Hentges,

1992) such as bacteriocins and organic acids,

Competition with pathogens for nutrients (Freter,

1992), Stimulation of intestinal immune responses,

affect the permeability of the gut and Increase up-

take of nutrients; Lee et al., 1999).

Some bacterial cultures when fed in single or

multiple (few doses) to newly hatched birds estab-

lish an intestinal flora quickly and it prevents colo-

nization by pathogenic bacteria. For example lacto-

bacilli acidophilus produces lactocidin which has an-

tibacterial effects on E Coli. Lactobacilli modify gut

pH, competition for nutrients and absorption sites,

boost cell immune response, inhibition of bacterial

growth by hydrogen peroxide production and cell

signaling to turn off pathogenic function (Fuller,

1999). Competitive Exclusion(CE) preparations are

not always pure cultures of bacteria and their mi-

crobial composition may not be completely known.

Some CE cultures have proven effective in protect-

ing chicks from Salmonella infections.

Interest in the use of probiotics in poultry and

pig diets is to curtail sub-therapeutic doses of an-

tibiotics in feed. Like antibiotics, probiotics appear

to have a more pronounced effect on farms where

housing and hygiene are not optimal. Thomke and

Elwinger, 1998). Supplementation of probiotics

containing Lactobaccilus acidophilus, Streptococ-

cus faecium and yeasac @ 0.025% in the diets of

broilers were found to be beneficial in early stage

585858


of growth. Supplementation of yeast culture at 0.1

% level increased the body weight and performance

of broilers due to quantitative and qualitative alter-

ation in the digestive tract flora with better nutrient

utilization. Use of combination of several strains at

a time improved the weight gain and feed efficiency

in broilers (Mazurkiewicz et al. 1992) and in chicks.

Feeding of mixture of S. Cerevisae, L.Bulgaricus

and S. thermophilus did not show any effect on the

production of layers (Svetic et al. 1996).

In pigs the intestinal microflora is capable of

resisting the establishment of certain intestinal patho-

gens (Lopez & Marquez 1994). Bera & Samanta

(2005) fed probiotics ( alone or in combination) to

the piglets and reported superior growth perfor-

mance in the pre and post weaning periods with

yeast+MOS (YMOS), followed by Yeast + lacto-

bacillus (YL) and control (C) with higher profit.

Better FCR in pigs with yeast+lactobacillus and

yeast+MOS was observed (Bera & Samanta, 2005.

Inconsistent results reported earlier (Bhatt et

al., 1995, Bolder et al., 1993; Yadav et al., 1994,

Ramarao et al., 2004 and Panda et al., 2005) for

chicks ,broilers and layers, Mohan et al. 1996)

with the use of probiotics were due to variations in

bacterial cultures used, age, factors related to feed

composition and management practices adopted.

Variability in the results may be due to difference in

strain of organism used, dose levels, diet composi-

tion, feeding strategy, feed form and interaction with

other dietary feed additives (Chesson 1994)

Antioxidants : Nutrients in the body on oxi-

dation release energy for various metabolic processes

and physiological activities and to transform dietary

nutrients into body tissue along with generation of

heat. Autooxidation results in the production of free

redicals which damage the cellular tissue and cause

many disorders. To prevent autooxidation antioxidants

are frequently used. Nutritional antioxidants are very

helpful in reducing physiological stress both at an or-

gan and cellular level due to free radical formation.

Feed antioxidants help the birds and pigs by

protecting the feed nutrients during storage, Helping

the absorption of the oxidation sensible substancesin the GIT, Reducing aging by keeping the mem-brane intact, Enable the system for better exploita-

tion of genetic potential, Improving the meat qualityof broilers and pigs.

In poultry diets mostly vitamins A, beta- caro-

tene, E, C and its calcium and sodium salts,ethoxyquin, lecithin, butylated hydroxytoulene(BHT), propyl gallate, chelated metal ions are used

as antioxidants. The beneficial effects of antioxi-dants are due to their scavenging nature for freeradicals (Bulger & Hilton, 1998), maintaing the

potency of dietary vitamins and stimulating bird’simmuno- responsiveness to infections. Antioxidantdefence system includes the enzyme superoxide

dismutase, catalase, & glutathione peroxidase. Dur-ing stress free radicals in the body increase whilethe level of these enzymes decrease. Ascorbic acid

also play a role in collagen synthesis, carnitine syn-

thesis along with its primary function of antioxidants

(Gross et al., 2000). It scavenges neutrophill oxi-

dants, hydroxyl radicals, hydrogen peroxide and hy-

pochlorous acid (Bulger & Hilton, 1998). Raju et

al. (2005) revealed that herbal Vit C (0.025%)

improve the performance of bird by alleviating the

effect of aflatoxicosis. Similarly the primary physi-

ological role of Vitamin E is to act as antioxidant

(Matthai, 1996). Many studies have shown that

supplementation of Vitamin C, E & A can attenuate

the side effects due to extreme environmental stress

(Njoku, 1986). Brahma Rasayana a polyherbal an-

tioxidant was found useful in ameliorating the ef-

fects of free redicals generated due to heat stress

(Ramnath et al., 2007). Herbs like garlic, green

tea, amla also posses antioxidant properties.

Organic acid/acidifiers: Organic acids pos-

ses antibacterial, anti mould activity and therefore

have long been used as preservative to prevent

spoilage of by checking microbial growth and are

also used to maintain the proper gut health. Gener-

ally two types (Feed and Gut) of acidifiers are used

in the feed industry. Feed acidifiers lower the pH of

595959


the feed and inhibit the growth of pathogenic mi-

croflora. This inhibition reduces the micro flora

competing for the host nutrients and prevent the

occurrence of diseases which results in better growth

and performance. On the other hand gut acidifiers

(organic acid) acidify the intestinal tract and modu-

late the intestine bacterial population in a positive

and natural way. Since many harmful bacterial

species have pH optimum for their growth around

7 where as useful bacterial species such as Lacto-

bacillus and Enterococcus have their best growth

pH around 6., Maintenance of healthy gut for

proper productivity is of utmost importance.

Amongst various options available to poultry and

pig feed industry, short chain fatty acids have shown

tremendous promise in maintaining gut health through

their varied modes of action.

Acidifiers have various functions in monogas-

tric animals like help in maintaining an optimum pH

in stomach, Stimulate feed consumption, Inhibit the

growth and colonization of pathogenic bacteria,

Prevents damage to epithelial cells of intestines,

Reduce microbial competition with host for nutri-

ents, Reduce endogenous nitrogen losses, Lower

the incidence of sub clinical infections, Reduce the

production of ammonia and other growth depress-

ing microbial metabolites, Increase pancreatic se-

cretions, Increase protein and amino acid digestibil-

ity by correcting activation and function of pro-

teolytic enzymes, Improve energy digestibility, In-

crease mineral digestibility as acid ion complex with

minerals, Serve as substrates in intermediary me-

tabolism and have energy content, Check problem

of Salmonella, E. coli, entritis and diarrhoea in pigs.

Supplementation of organic acids improve the

weight gain, feed consumption and feed utilization

(Denli et al., 2003) reducing the production of toxic

components by pathogenic bacteria and reduces the

colonization of pathogens on the intestinal wall, thus

preventing the damage of the epithelial cells (Langhout,

2000). In poultry diets organic acids are mainly used

in order to sanitize the feed to avoid the problems

releated with salmonella (Berchieri & Barrow,1996).

However, the inability of citric acid at the dietary con-

centration up to 1 % to prevent the salmonella colo-

nization of the caeca. In poultry nutrition organic acid

have not gained as much attention as in swine nutri-

tion (Langhout, 2000). Edwin (2000) reported that

addition of 2% lactic acid to the diet without growth

promoters increased the weight gain by 2.6 % with

improved FCR. Propionic acid based products were

found effective in alleviating the enteritis and mortal-

ity syndrome in turkey poults ( Roy et al. 2002).

Several organic acid like citric acid, fumaric acid,

formic acid, propionic acid were tried on pig for their

impact on the growth performance (Partanen &

Mroz, 1999). Their supplementation in weaning pig

diets give most pronounced impact on the growth

performance (Roth & Kirchgessner, 1998). The in-

corporation of organic acids into nursery pig rations

has been shown to reduce bacterial load and increase

the digestibility of energy and amino acid in the ileum,

resulting in improvement in feed efficiency and re-

duction in the incidence of diarrhea. These pigs often

suffer from digestive problems due to infection of E

coli. An insufficient production of HCl, digestive en-

zymes and feeding of high protein pre starter diets

are another reasons for the digestive upset at this stage.

Supplementation of organic acid increases the gas-

tric proteolysis, protein and amino acid digestibility.

The acid anion has been shown to complex with Ca,

P, Mg, and Zn which results in an improved digest-

ibility of these minerals. Kirchgessner and Roth (1988)

also revealed the role of organic acid as substrates in

the intermediary metabolism. Supplementation of

1.5% citric acid to control diets did not significantly

effect the pH, concentration of VFA’s / non VFA or

microflora (total anarobes, Lactobacilli, Clostridia,

E. coli) in the contents from the stomach, jejunum,

caecum or lower colon of weanling pigs. Similar re-

sults were reported for the Fumaric acid. Sodium fu-

marate when added to a control pig diet at a level of

0.3%, no significant effect of acid on the concentra-

tion of SCFA and the density of lactobacilli or E coli

along the GI tract was observed. Supplementation

606060


of 1 % lactic acid lower the gastric pH (Thomlinson

& Lawrence, 1981) and reduced the level of E coli

in the duodenum and jeunum of 8 week old piglets

(Cole et al. 1968). The addition of formic acid or

potassium diformate reduces the pH, (Fevrier et al.

2001) and number of coliform bacteria in stomach,

duodenum, jejunum and rectum of growing pigs

(Overland et al., 2000). It was reported the reduc-

tion of caecal pH with the addition of a formic acid/

propionic acid blend in a concentration of 1% in the

broiler chicken. Supplementation of benzoic acid

though not approved as an additive or preservative

in the pig or poultry feed but it is extensively used as

food preservative in human nutrition. The preliminary

results from the experiment with broiler chicken indi-

cate the positive influence on growth. It seems that

these short chain fatty acids can nearly compensate

for the effects of antibiotic growth promoters in pigs

, although these effects are less consistent.

Excess level of strong dietary acid can reduce

the pH too quickly after feed ingestion but the stom-

ach may not develop its parietal secretary cells that

produced HCl. This inhibits the normal gut devel-

opment. Therefore use of organic acids must be

done judiciously.

Essential oils: Essential oils are highly con-

centrated extracts produced by further refinement

of botanicals by hydro-distillation. Essential oils are

used as flavouring agents to increase their attrac-

tiveness of the feeds. Essential oils have antimicro-

bial, antioxidant, coccidiostatic and even antiviral

properties. (Wenk, C, 2003). Claims are also made

for increased digestive enzyme secretion and im-

proved immune function.

Essential oils are standardised products, often

based on a blend of plant metabolites such as

allylisothiocyanates, thymol, carvacrol, cinnama-

ldehyde, capsaicin, piperin etc. Use of Essential oils

in pig diets have improved performance with in-

creased appetite (Janroz,et al., 2003). There are

reports of synergy between organic acids and es-

sential oils. The synergy is thought to come from the

ability of the essential oils to weaken bacterial cell

walls, increasing its permeability to the organic acids.

Enzymes: Non starch poysaccahrides or NSP

( cellulose, glucans and xylans etc) ) of the cereal

grains (Henry, 1985) like wheat, rye, oats possess

antinutritive activity (Annison & Choct, 1991) which

leads to the formulation of viscous gel in the gut that

intrferes the proper absorption of nutrients (Choct

& Annison, 1992) and also produces sticky drop-

pings in poultry. Similarly phytic acid and its salts as

phytates present in the feedstuffs also binds minerals,

carbohydrates, proteins and form insoluble com-

plexes which make these nutrients especially miner-

als like phosphorus unavaiable to the birds and pigs

and are excreted in faeces. The supplementation of

exogenous enzymes in the diets decrease gut viscos-

ity and improve the availability of nutrients from

feed, lower the feed cost and help in reducing the

environmental pollution by minimizing the waste ex-

cretion. Exogenous enzymes in the diets young

animal complement the endogenous enzymes. Their

use in the poultry and pig feed industry has become

a routine (Sikka, 2003).

The enzymes in pig and poultry feeds are

added to counter ANF’s present in feed, To in-

crease the availability of dietary nutrients, To im-

prove the AME level of the feeds, To release the

bound nutrients, To supplement the enzymes pro-

duced by young chicks/piglets due to immature di-

gestive system, Pre treatment of certain feeds / in-

gredients such as feathers and offals.

Phytase enzyme was found to improve the

availability of phyatate phosphorus as well as other

organic nutrients. Eeckhout et al. (1992) revealed

that supplementation of phytase at 1000U/kg diet

increases P digestibility by 36-55% in maize soy

bean and 54-68% in wheat soybean diets given to

5 week old weaner. The supplementation of phytase

improve performance and mineral retention.

Similarly supplementation glycosidase has been

found to increase the energy utilization in birds.

Higher body weight gain and better feed efficiency

616161


in Japanese Quails with supplementing of 0.05%,

non starch polysaccharidase (Edwin et al., 2004)

and in broiler Srivastava et al. (2005) with en-

zymes mixture of amylase, cellulose, lipase and

protease and in weaner pigs (Owsley et al. 1986)

with diminsihing digestive disturbance (Partridge &

Hazzledine,1997). The improvement was more in

young pigs than older one. The use of beta glucanase

and xylanase are beneficial with high fiber grains

like wheat, barley and their by products (Sikka &

Chawla 2002).Thomke et al. (1980) also reported

that b-glucanases could improve performance in

barley fed pigs. Alpha galactosiadse is used to

breakdown the galactose units in raffinose and

stachyose found in soyabean. The efficacy of en-

zyme supplementation depends upon types of diet,

animals, chemical linkage in the substrate that need

to be cleaved etc.

Augmentation of immunity - immuno modu-

lators: Nutrition and disease have close connec-

tion as the nutritional status of animal influence im-

munological function and resistance to disease.Health

status of the organism is influencing the animals

nutritional requirements. Many nutrients like protein

& energy (Praharaj et al. 1999), methionine (Swain

& Johri 2000), Vitamin A (Friedman & Sklan 1997),

Vitamin E &Se, Singh et al. 2006), Vitamin C and

trace element like Zn, Fe, Cu & Mn (Derdone

2002) have the immuno modulating ability. In pigs

nucleotides, B glucans (Diluzio & Jacques 1985),

vitamins, PUFA, antibodies from products such as

blood derivatives (eg, plasma protein), freeze dried

eggs containing pig related antibodies and possibly

some whey protein products have been reported

to improve the immune response. Reduced immune

activity promotes growth by increasing appetite and

partitioning nutrients to growth.

Idea concept: Immuno modulation through

nutrition gave birth to a new concept the ‘IDEA’

which stands for Impulse, Digestibility, Economic

and Advance. The IDEA concept seeks to enhance

immunity development, Giving opportunity for bet-

ter nutritional management of birds, Reduce feed

costs, Reduce intestinal challenges by coccidia and

bacteria without the use of drugs, Conditioning the

gut for better coccidiosis management especially in

broilers. The IDEA concept is simple but an inno-

vative approach to feed management which rede-

fines the birds nutritional and management needs

during critical phases.

Supportive dietary modification: Bacterio-

static approach is supported by alteration in the diet

to reduce the amount of substrate available to the

intestinal microflora. Diets must be modified to re-

duce “By-Pass Nutrients”! This is best achieved

through increased digestibility of ingredients by the

addition of enzymes, herbs, probiotics, acidifiers etc.

The aim is to reduce the protein and carbohydrate

fraction of the diet which can escape digestion and

absorption and remain available as a food source for

microbial fermentation by intestinal microflora. Bac-

terial fermentation of indigestible protein produces

ammonia and biogenic amines which are toxic and

increase the risk of diarrhoea. Piglet starter diets must

be highly digestible and must encourage a shift to

protein fermentation in the hind gut by being ‘carbo-

hydrate’ deficient. The addition of fermentable car-

bohydrates (prebiotics) to pig diets reduces protein

fermentation through increased carbohydrate fermen-

tation in the hind gut. The reduced efficiency of bile

salts can be countered by adding emulsifying agents

(lecithin) directly to the diet and by improving the

saturated to unsaturated fatty acid ratio in the diet to

aid absorption. Alterations such as switching from

DL-Methionine to Liquid MHA-FA, an organic acid,

is another small change which can increase the anti-

microbial status of a pig diet. The efficiency of the

intestinal epithelium structure and function can be

upgraded with the use of Betaine

REFERENCES

Adams, C. A. (2005) Feed International 26: 25-27.

Annison, G. & Choct, M. (1991) World Poultry

Sci. J. 47: 232-42.

626262


Bedford, M. (2005). Antimicrobial Growth Pro-

moters. Worldwide Ban on the Horizon. p 49.

Bera, J. & Samanta, G. (2005) Indian J. Anim.

Nutr., 22: 156-159.

Bhatt, R. S., Katoch, B. S., Dogra, K. K., Gupta,

R., Sharma, K. S. and Sharma, C. R. (1995)

Indian J. Poult. Sci. 30: 117-121.

Bolder, N. M., VanLith, L. A. J. T., Putirulan, F. F.

and Mulder, R. W. A. W. (1993) In. Proc,

probiotics and pathogenicity (J fjensen, M. H.

Hinton and R.W.A.W. Mulder, eds.)

CONPDLO, Beekbergen, Netherlands,

pp115-122.

Booth, D. M. (1997) Pract. Vet:1248-1255.

Bosi, P. and Trevisi, R. (2006) Immune response

and nutrient intake. Biology of Nutrition in

Growing Animals.343-363

Berchieri, A., Jr. and Barrow, P.A. (1996) Poult.

Sci. 75: 339-341.

Bulger and Hilton (1998). Gastroenterol Clin.

North Am., 27: 403-419.

Chen, Y. C., Nakathong, C. and Chen, T. C.

(2005) Indian J. Poult. Sci., 4: 103-108.

Chesson, A. (1994) probiotics and other intestinal

mediators. In Principles of pig science (DJA

Cole, J wisemann and MA varley ed) pp197-

214. Nottingham University Press. Nottingham.

Choct, M. & Annison, G. (1992) Br. Poult. Sci.

33: 821.

Cole, D.J.A., R. Beal, M. & Luscombe, J.R.

(1968) Veter. Rec. 459-464.

Corrent, S. (2002). Nutreco trial report, p 172.

Decuypere, J. (2003). Western Nutrition Confer-

ence. Canada.

Denli, M., Ferda Okan, & Kemal Celik (2003)

Pakistan J. of Nutrition, 2: 89-91.

Derdane, M. (2002) Zinc and immune function.

European J. Clin. Nutr., 3: 20-23.

Diluzio, N.R. and Jacques, P. (1985) Glucans as

immuno modulators. In Advances in

immunopharmacology. (L Chedid, JW

hadden F Spreadico, P Dukor, and Willoughby

ed) Pub Permagon Press. NY. P-369-375.

Edwin, S. C., Viswanathan, K., Mohan, B., &

Purushothaman, M. R. (2004) Indian J. Poult

Sci., 39: 241-245.

Edwin, M.R. (2000) Feed Mix 8: 15-17.

Eeckhout, W., De palpe, M. & Depalpe, M. (1992)

revue de L’ Agril, 45: 183-193,209.

Fevrier, C., Gotterbarm, G., Jaghelin-Peyraud, Y.,

Lebreton, Y., Legouevec, F. and Aumaitre, A.

(2001) Effect of adding potassium diformate

and phytase for weaned piglets. In digestive

physiology of pigs. (Lindberg, J.E., Ogle B,

ed) CABI publishing. 136-138.

Flikinger, E. A. and Fahay, G. C. (2002) Br. J.

Nutr., 2: 297-300.

Freter, R. (1992) In: Probiotics. The Zcientific

basis (R. Fuller, ed.), Chapman Hall, London,

UK. 111-144

Friedman, A. and Sklan. D. (1997) World Poultry

Sci. J. 48: 101-11.

Fuller, R. (1999) Probiotics for farm animals. In

probiotics – Acritical review (Tannock, g.w.,

ED) Horizon Scientific Press. Wymondhan UK.

Pp-15-22.

Gibson, G. R. (1999) J. Anim. Sci., 73: 82.

Green, A. A. and Sainsbury, D.W.B. (2001) The

role of probiotics in producing quality poultry

products. XV European Symposium on the

quality of poultry meat. 9-12. Sep-2001.

Kusadasi/turkey 245-251.

Gross, K. I., Wedekind, K. J., Cowell, C. S. et al.

636363


(2000) Nutrients in hand (Thatcher, C.D.,

Remillard, R.L. (eds) Small Animal Clinical Nu-

trition ed 4 Topeka, KS Mark, Morris insti-

tute. pp 21-107.

Headon, D.R., Buggle, K.A., Nelson, A.B. and

Killeen, G. F. (1991) In Biotech in feed in-

dustry Ed. TP lyons, Alltech tech Publication,

KY .pp 95-108.

Henry, R. J. (1985) J. Food. Sci & Agric. 36:

1243-1253.

Hentges, D. J. (1992) In probiotics. The scietific

basis (Fuller R. ed) Champman and Hall Lon-

don UK .pp87-110.

Hooper, L.V. et al. (2002). Annu Rev Nutr 22:

283-307.

Howard, Md, D.T. Gordon, L.W. Pace, K.A.

Garleb and M.S. Kerley (1995) J. Pediatr.

Gastroenterology Nutr. 21: 293-303.

Ishihara, N., Chu, D. C., Akachi, S. and Juneja, L.

R. (2000) Poult Sci. 79: 689-697.

Janroz, D. (2003) Anim. Feed Sci. 12: 583-596.

Jonsson, E. and Conway, P. (1992) In Probiotics,

the scientific basis ( R Fuller ed) Champman

and Hall London UK .pp 260-316.

Kirchgessner, M. and Roth F.X. (1988) Ubersichten

Zur Tierernahrung 16: 93-108.

Kopnjufca, V. H. Pesti, G. M. and Bakali, R. I.

(1997) Poult. Sci., 76: 1264-1271.

Langhout, P. (2000) Feed Mix Sp

Lee, Y. K., Nomoto, K., Salminen, S., Gorbach,

S. l. (1999) Handbook of probiotics, NY,

John Wiley and Sons Inc.

Lopez, D.C. & Marquez, G.P.C. (1994) Compari-

son of probiotic and antibiotic pig doses on

preweaning performance of piglets. Proceed-

ings of the 13th international pig veterinary

society congress. Bangkok,Thiland. Pp 293.

Matthai, J. (1996) Indian J. Pediatr. 63: 242-253

Mazurkiewicz, M., Jamroz, D., Gawel, A.,

Wieliczko, A., Klimentowski, S. and Madej, J

A. (1992) Medcyna Vet 48: 369-371.

Menocal J A (1995) In Biotechnology in the feed

industry (Lyons TP & Jacques KA eds.)

Nottingham University Press, Loughborough.

Mohan, B., Kadirvel, R., Natarajan, A. and

Bhaskaran, M. (1996) Br. J.Poult. Sci., 37:

395-401.

Mul, A.J. & Perry F.G. (1994) The role of fructo

oligosaccharide in animal nutrition. In Recent

advances in animal Nutrition. Garnswo-

rthyand, P.C., Cole, D.J.A., ed) pp57-79.

Nottingham University press. Nottingham.

Naganawa, R., Iwata, N., Ishikawa, K., Fukude,

M., Fujino, T and Suzuki, A. (1996) Appl.

Environ Microbiol., 62: 4238-4242.

Njoku P. C. (1986) Anim. Feed Sci. Technol. 16:

17-24.

Oswley WF, Orr DE & Tribble LF (1986) J. Anim

Sci. 63: 497-504.

Overland, M., Granli, T. Kjos, N.P., Fjetland, O.,

Steien, S.H., Stokstad, M. (2000) J. Anim.

Sci., 78: 1875-1884.

Panda, A.K., Raju M.V.L.N., Ramarao, S.V.K.,

Sharma S R (2005) Indian J. Anim. Nutr.,

22: 37-40.

Pang, F. H., Xie, M. Q. and Ling, H. H. (2000)

Chinese J. Vet. med., 8: 1-3.

Partanen, K.H. and Mroz, Z. (1999) Nutr. Res.

Rev., 12: 117-145.

Partridge, G. & Hazzledine, M. (1997) proceeding

of american society of swine practitioner. Pp

183-193.

Pouillard, P. (2003). International Forum

Agrosante, 1-2 April.

646464


Praharaj, N.K., Reddy, V.R. and Rama Rao, S.V.,

Shyam Sunder, G. and Reddy, B.L.N. (1999)

Archiv Fur Geflugelkunde, 63: 1-8.

Raju, M. V. L. N., Ramo Rao, S. V., Radhika, K.

and Chawak, M. M. (2005) Indian J. Poult

Sci 40:36-40.

Ramarao, S.V., Reddy, M. R., Raju, M.V.L.N. and

Panda, A. K. (2004) Indian J. Poult. Sci.,

39: 125-130.

Ramnath, V., Rekh, P. S. and Sujatha, K. S. (2007)

Amelioration of heat stress induce disturbances

of antioxidants defence system in chicken by

Brahma Rasayana. Evidence based comple-

mentary and alternative Medicine (eCAM).

Roth, F.X. and Kirchgessner, M. (1998) J. Anim.

Feed Sci., (7) 25-33.

Roy, R.D., Eidens, F.W., Parkhurst, C.R. Quereshi,

M.A. & Havenstein, G.B. (2002) Poult. Sci.,

81: 951-957.

Sarah, H. (2003) Poultry Industry, Alternative to

antibiotics. www.engromix.com

Sikka, S. S. (2003) Improving the production per-

formance of poultry using feed grade enzymes.

In Compendium “ Tech Adv. In Livestock &

Poultry Production and Management- Specific

Reference to Rural Development”.

Sikka, S.S. and Chawla, J.S. (2002) Anim. Nut.

Feed Tech. not. 2: 11-18

Sikka, S.S. and Singh, J. (2007) Nutraceutical vis

a vis poultry nutrition. In Proceeding of XXIV

annual conference of Indian Poultry Science

Association and National Symposium on poul-

try production for rural employment and nutri-

tional security. Punjab, pp-62-67.

Singh, H., Sodhi, S. and Kaur, R. (2006) Br. Poult.

Sci., 47. 714-9.

Spring, P. & Privulescu, M. (1998) mannon

oligosaccharide;its logical role as a natural feed

additive for piglets. In Biotech in the feed

industry. Proceeding of Alltech 14th Annual

Symposium (TP lyons & KA Jacques ed) pp

553-561. Nottingham University press.

Nottingham.

Svetic, M., Dumanovski, F., Kekej, M., Ivekovi,

C.D. and Prpic, B. (1996) Nutr. Abstr. Rev.,

66:121.

Swain, B.K. and Johri, T.S. (2000) Br. Poult. Sci.,

41: 83-88.

Thomlinson and Lawrence (1981) cited from “ An

overview of the effect of organic acids on gut

flora and gut health. By Nuria canibe, Ricarda

M Engberg and Bent B.Jensen, Danish Insti-

tute of Agricultural Sciences. Research Centre

Foulum, Denmark.

Thomke, S., and Elwinger, K., (1998) Ann.

Zootech. 4: 245-271.

Thomke, S., Rundgren, M. and Hesselman, K.

(1980) In proc. Of the 31st European Asso-

ciation of Animal Production Germany. P-5.

Wang, X. and G.R., Gibson (1993) J. Appl. Bact.,

75: 373-380.

Wenk, C. (2003) Asian Aus J. Anim. Sci., 16:

282-289.

Yadav B. S., Srivastava R. K. and Sjukla, P. K.

(1994) Indian J. Anim Nur., 11: 225-227.

Yu, J. G. & Zhu, L.Y. (2000) J. Tradi Chi. Vet.

Med., 6: 3-4.

Yuan, Y. L., Fan ,Bt. & Zhang, Y. X. (1993) J.

Tradi Chi. Vet. Med., 3: 6-10

Zhang, W. F., Li. D. F., Lu. W.Q. & Y., G.F.

(2003) Poult. Sci., 82: 657-663.

656565


The poultry industry in India is the fastest grow-

ing sector of Indian agriculture. The production of

poultry meat has increased from 350.578 thousand

tons in 1995 to 600 thousand tons in 1999 (Mohanti

and Rajendran, 2003). Broiler production forms a

major segment of poultry industry. In the year 1997,

it was 630 million compared to mere 4 million in

the year 1971. As per the latest report, India has

about 650 million broilers and ranks 6th position in

broiler meat production (Executive guide, 2003-

2004). Broiler meat production at the same time

increased to 1,050,000 tones in 1997 from 1,

21,000 tones in 1971 (ICAR, 2002). At this age

of globalization poultry especially broiler industry is

facing many problems leading to poor margin of

profit.

In broiler farming, feed contributes about 65-

70 % of the total cost of production. Besides en-

ergy and protein the next important input in their

ration is mineral mixture. One of the acute mineral

problems that have been constantly faced by the

feed dealers and poultry owners is use of expensive

phosphorus supplement. Singhal and Baghel (2003)

reported the use of mineral mixture containing 57.6%

DCP @ 3% or that containing 74.9% DCP @ 2%

in broiler diet for their economical weight gain.

Animal protein supplements are rich in phosphorus

and are generally considered as totally available.

While, vegetable protein supplements are low in

phosphorus and their availability is only about 30%

of total phosphorus (NRC, 1994). Phytate and

phytic acid (or phytin) present in the plant sources

are generally regarded as a main storage form of

phosphorus in plant tissue. The amount of total

phosphorus bound as phytate phosphorus was high-

est in by product (73-84%) than oilseed meals (51-

82%) and cereal and millets (60-73%).

Now days, animal protein supplements spe-

cially fish meal which contain higher amount of phos-

phorus are being used in lower quantities in place

of vegetable protein supplements mainly due to pres-

ence of E. coli and Salmonella in them. Hence,

there is demand for higher use of inorganic phos-

phorus in poultry diet. But the production and avail-

ability of traditional phosphorus supplement (DCP)

is continuously decreasing in developing countries

like India because of ban imposed on use of bone

based dicalcium phosphate (DCP) in livestock feeds.

As a result their cost is steeply increasing. There-

fore, situation demands for use of alternate phos-

phorus supplements. A few alternate phosphorus

sources such as bone meal (BM), rock phosphate

(RP), heat treated rock phosphate (HTRP),

diammonium phosphate (DAP), single super phos-

phate (SSP) are available at relatively low price

compared to DCP and are being tried for their use

in poultry diet.

Use of rock phosphate (RP)

Rock phosphate is available economically. The

Ca: P present in it is like that of bone meal, which

is thought to be optimum. But, as the RP contains

high level of fluorine hence its inclusion in poultry

diet is limited due to possible risk of fluorine tox-

icity. The concentration of fluorine in RP varies

depending on the geographic sources (Lal and

Prasad, 1989; Rama Rao, 2001) and utilization of

Score of utilizing unconventional phophorus

supplements in broilers

R. P. S. Baghel

Department of Animal Nutrition

College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, JNKVV, Jabalpur, India

666666


phosphorus from it has been found to depend on

the concentration of fluorine. Elimination of fluorine

would render RP as a relative inexpensive source

of phosphorus and calcium for poultry feed. The

de-fluorinated RP contains fluorine in the range found

in steamed bone meal (0.05%).

Kick et al. (1933) reported that chicks could

not tolerate fluoride levels higher than 3,600 ppm in

their diet. While, Phillips et al. (1935) indicated that

growth of chicks was inhibited by feeding 70mg of

fluoride per Kg body weight per day. This level of

fluoride was found to cause reduced growth and feed

intake. Haman et al. (1936) observed that young

chicks and adult poultry exhibited higher tolerance

levels for fluorine than most mammalian species. Gerry

et al. (1947) reported that in growing chicks maxi-

mum safe dietary level of fluoride was 300-400 ppm

when fed as rock phosphate. Gerry et al. (1947 and

1949) further reported that raw rock phosphate con-

taining about 3.4 per cent of fluorine, even at 1 per

cent level depressed their growth. Weber et al.

(1968) observed that increased level of fluorine in

diet caused depression in growth rate but no signifi-

cant difference were obtained in FCR, total plasma

protein, body fat deposits, dietary metabolizable en-

ergy and liver and kidney enzymes (LDH, cytochrome

oxidase and succinic dehydrogenase) activity. How-

ever, significantly higher levels of alkaline phosphatase

were obtained in 1000 ppm fluorine fed group. Suttie

et al. (1982) reported that the dietary fluoride toler-

ances were at least 400 ppm for leghorn chicks, 300

ppm for broiler chicks and 200 ppm for turkey poults.

Abdelhamid et al. (1999) observed that feed-

ing graded levels of fluorine (0, 25, 125, 625 and

3125 ppm fluorine) from sodium fluoride for four

weeks (4-7 weeks of age) to broiler chicks re-

sulted poor growth, feed conversion, high mortality,

bone disorder, decreased relative weights of pitu-

itary, adrenal, heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidney,

gizzard and changes in intestinal dimensions. Odongo

et al. (2002) used varying levels (0, 25, 50, 75 or

100 %) of Busumbu rock phosphate (BRP) on

performance and the mechanical properties of bone

in growing chicks and observed that DCP replace-

ment significantly reduced the weight gain and dry

matter digestibility but increased the feed to gain

ratio in chicks. Further, increasing levels of BRP in

the diet linearly reduced the % bone ash, Ca, Ca:

P ratio, ultimate breaking force, bending moment,

stress, and modulus of elasticity. These results sug-

gest that excessive ingestion of fluorine from the

BRP caused the reduction in chick’s performance.

Thomas et al. (2007a) observed that use of RRP

instead of DCP (40, 60, 80 and 100%) was highly

economical when DCP was replaced @ 40% and

it did not exert any detrimental effect on the carcass

traits of broilers (Thomas et al., 2007b). Further,

they also observed that HTRP can be used eco-

nomically instead of DCP in broiler diet (Thomas et

al., 2007c). The most economical level of replace-

ment DCP with HTRP was 80%.

Measures to reduce fluorine toxicity

Research indicates that addition of aluminium

sulphate greatly reduces the flurosis in hen. Storer

and Nelson (1967) observed the response of chicks

to various aluminium compound added to a purified

diet. When 0.5% aluminium from four water-soluble

compounds acetate, chloride, nitrate and sulfate was

fed, mortality approached or reached 100%. Lower

levels of aluminium as the chloride and the sulphate

adversely affected the rate of growth, feed effi-

ciency and bone mineralization. While, water-in-

soluble aluminium as the oxide and the phosphate

caused no adverse effect on performance. Cakir et

al. (1978) studied the alleviation of fluorine toxicity

in starting broiler chicks and turkey with aluminium.

Added fluorine level from sodium fluoride ranged

from 0 to 1000 ppm, whereas aluminium levels

varied from 0 to 800 ppm. Aluminium was fed ei-

ther as aluminium oxide or aluminium sulphate. When

fed as sulphate salt, 800 ppm of aluminium com-

pletely prevented toxic effect of at least 1000 ppm

of fluorine. Aluminium oxide was not effective as an

alleviator of fluorine toxicity. Johnson et al. (1985)

indicated that feeding high level of supplemental

676767


niacin (0.8% calcium and 0.4 or 0.5% available

phosphorus with 0.5, 0.1 or 0.3% aluminium or

1.0 or 1.5% niacin or both resulted in decreased

bone strength in chicks with no change in mineral

content of the tibia. Aluminium fed at the level of

0.3% of diet caused a decrease in bone strength

with concomitant change in bone mineral content.

Thomas et al. (2007a) observed use of aluminium

sulphate @ 1% of fluorine content in the diet along

with RP either had no significant influence or re-

duced the net return significantly (P<0.05). Further

on similar type of diets Thomas et al. (2007b)

observed that use of RRP with aluminium sulphate

had no significant (P>0.05) influence on the carcass

traits of broilers.

Use of phosphatic fertilizers

To reduce the cost of mineral mixture uncon-

ventional phosphorus sources have been found to

replace DCP in broiler diet. It was observed that

ammonium phosphate can be used as a source of

phosphorus in practical chicken diet. However, its

use was found to reduce the weight gains in broilers

but differences were not significant. The inclusion of

ammonium polyphosphate, 17:17:17 or 28:28:0

(N :P :K) replacing 50% DCP in broilers diet re-

sulted in comparable body weight gains with those

fed DCP reference diet. However, significant de-

pression in weight gain and feed intake on feeding

ammonium phosphate or single super phosphate was

observed. Morever, performance of birds was de-

pressed in birds fed agricultural grade as compared

to feed grade phosphate.

Rama Rao and Reddy (2003) studied the rela-

tive bioavailability and utilization of phosphatic fer-

tilizer (ammonium phosphate, ammonium

polyphosphate, single super phosphate and NPK)

as a source of phosphorus in broilers and observed

that relative bioavailability of phosphorus from am-

monium polyphosphate was better for body weight

gain than ammonium phosphate, single super phos-

phate or NPK while the reverse was true for bone

calcification. They also observed that fertilizers con-

taining high fluorine (ammonium phosphate and single

super phosphate) or NPK reduced performance in

broilers and caused microscopic changes in liver,

kidney and intestine in broilers.

Barley et al. (2004) observed better perfor-

mance and economical weight gain in broilers as-

signed mineral mixture containing agriculture grade

mineral sources for zinc, manganese, and copper.

They concluded that agriculture grade mineral

sources can be safely used instead of laboratory

grade mineral sources.

Di Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) is a phos-

phatic fertilizer which contains nitrogen as well as

phosphorus. It contains about 17% N and 20%

phosphorus. The phosphorus content in it was much

more similar to the value present in DCP. Sharma

et al. (2003) tried to incorporate DAP instead of

DCP in broiler diet and observed that increase in

the level of DAP from 0 to 60% increased the

performance of broilers significantly. Examination of

visceral organs as liver, spleen, kidney, heart, proven-

triculus, gizzard and intestine confirmed that diet

had no significant effect on these organs. Grossly

no abnormality was observed. However, micro-

scopically liver showed hyperaemia only in few cases

especially in those fed higher levels of DAP. Further

Sharma and Baghel (2004) reported maximum

weight gain and better feed utilization along with

performance index in broilers assigned 60% DAP

instead of DCP in their mineral mixture. They real-

ized that even complete replacement of DCP pro-

duced better performance in broilers. However,

most economical performance was noted when

DCP was replaced by DAP @ 60% in their min-

eral mixture.

Like DAP, single super phosphate (SSP) a

phosphatic fertilizer has been also tried in broilers

diet as a source of phosphorus. Mishra et al. (2003)

indicated that use of 20% SSP instead of DCP did

not influence the weight gain significantly but when

it was increased to 40%, increased their weight gains

686868


significantly. Gross and microscopic examination of

visceral organs like liver, spleen, kidney, heart,

proventriculus, gizzard and intestine did not reveal

any significant changes. Further, Mishra and Baghel

(2004) reported that use of 40% SSP instead of

DCP was responsible for significantly better perfor-

mance in broilers and higher use of it led to significant

reduction in their performance. Mishra and Baghel

(2007) also reported that dressed weight of broilers

were not influenced significantly due to use of vary-

ing levels of SSP instead of DCP with and without

ionophore. But use of ionophores led to significant

reduction in eviscerated and drawn weights of broil-

ers except in groups receiving 60% and 80% SSP

diets where lower drawn weights were observed.

Mishra and Baghel (2007a) indicated that use of SSP

with and without ionophore did not produce any

specific trend on the organ weights of broilers. As

regard processing losses Mishra and Baghel (2007b)

observed that use of SSP with and without iono-

phore had significant influence on the blood, feather,

wing tips, and shank and visceral fat losses but had

no influence on the head weight significantly. Use of

ionophore mostly did not exert any specific trend on

the processing losses.

Deo et al. (2005) evaluated the efficacy of

different phosphorus sources (calcium hydrogen

phosphate, diammonium phosphate and single su-

per phosphate) supplemented at graded levels in

broiler diet in comparison to feed grade DCP. The

performance of chicks in terms of body weight gain,

feed intake and FCR was superior in groups fed

DCP and single super phosphate supplemented diet

than calcium hydrogen phosphate and diammonium

phosphate supplemented diets. However, the di-

etary phosphorus levels did not affect body weight

gain, feed intake, FCR and serum calcium concen-

tration in chicks. They concluded that fertilizer grade

SSP can be used in broiler diet in place of costly

DCP as a phosphorus source without affecting

growth performance and blood parameters, at di-

etary available phosphorus level of 0.4%.

Use of phytase enzyme

To increase the phosphorus utilization in poultry, now

a days enzyme phosphate is used as a tool. Denbow

et al. (1995) studied the effect of phytase supple-

mentation on phosphorus availability in soybean meal

diet in broilers and observed that phytase supple-

mentation improved the body weight gain and feed

intake but the magnitude of response was greatest

at low phosphorus diets. A high mortality (35-45%)

was observed for 0.20 and 0.27% non-phytate diet

without added phytase but decline to normal level

with the addition of 200-400 U phytase per Kg diet.

Ash percentage of toe and tibia and shear force and

stress of tibia increased with added phytase. They

also observed that the amount of phosphorus re-

leased increased with increasing level of phytase but

the amount released per 100 U of phytase decreased.

Released phosphorus ranged from 31-58% of phytate

phosphorus for 250-1000 U of phytase per Kg diet.

It was showed that microbial phytase supplementa-

tion of a low phosphorus diet increased growth and

relative retention of total phosphorus, calcium, cop-

per and zinc and improved bone mineralization in

broiler chicken. Rama Rao et al. (1999) studied

enhancement of phytate phosphorous availability in

the diet of commercial broilers by adding phytase

enzyme. Phytase supplementation @ 500 and 250

U per Kg diet, respectively significantly (P < 0.05)

improved weight gain compared to un-supplemented

basal diet.

Viveros et al. (2002) reported that phytase

supplementation had a favourable effect on theweight gain at 3 and 6 weeks of age and on feedconsumption only at 3 weeks, while, their feed ef-ficiency was not affected. The supplementation of

phytase also increased Ca, P, Mg and Zn retention,

increased tibia weight, tibia ash, Mg and Zn con-

centration in tibia and reduced the relative liver

weight. Phytase supplementation also increased the

plasma phosphorus level and serum AST activity,

reduced plasma calcium and Mg contents and re-

duced serum ALT, ALP and LDH activities. For

broilers 500-700 U of phytase per Kg of diet was

696969


equivalent to 0.5% of mono calcium phosphate or

0.6% DCP in maize-soybean based diet. Thomas

et al. (2007c) observed that use of phytase im-

proved the performance of broilers only with 80%

level of HTRP but it did not produce any beneficial

effect on the carcass traits of broilers (Thomas et

al.; 2007d).

Use of ionophores on performance of broilers

and mineral utilization

Ionophore has been found to affect the avail-

ability of minerals by influencing their absorption and

is exclusively used in diets to improve efficiency and

rate of gain. The inclusion of 90mg/kg of either

monensin or lasalocid in broiler diets does not alter

the balance of electrolytes required for optimum

growth performance of broiler chickens. Use of iono-

phore had no significant effect on the growth perfor-

mance in the starter phase while, in finisher phase use

of lasolocid utilized food less efficiently than those

given diets containing monensine. Spears (1990) re-

ported that apparent absorption of phosphorus, mag-

nesium, zinc and selenium increased by ionophore

supplementation. Prasad et al. (1998) observed that

monensin produced best result at the dose rate of

121 mg/kg diet. It was observed that coccidiosis

decreased retention of calcium, zinc, and phospho-

rus during the acute stage of disease. So, anticoccidial

ionophores certainly improved the absorption and re-

tention of these minerals. Nejad and Pourreza (2000)

indicated that addition of ionophores lasalocid and

salinomycin caused significant reduction in body weight

gain and feed consumption but increase the feed con-

version. Further monensine at the level of 100 ppm

in feed of broilers positively affected feed gain ratio.

Body weight gains were not affected even with re-

duced feed intake. Mishra and Baghel (2004a) ob-

served that use of maduramycine along with SSP did

not produce any beneficial effect on the performance

of broilers. While, Sharma and Baghel (2004a) re-

ported that along with ionophore, utilization of phos-

phorus was better from DAP in broilers.

It was concluded that to reduce the cost of

broiler production dicalcium phosphate a conven-

tional phosphorus supplement can be replaced

using unconventional phosphorus supplements like

rock phosphate (40%), heat treated rock phos-

phate (80%), diammonium phosphate (60 to 100

%) and single super phosphate (40%) partially or

completely. To improve the availability of phospho-

rus use of phytase enzyme was found beneficial.

While, to reduce the fluorine toxicity addition of

aluminium sulphate was found beneficial only at

higher level of fluorine in the diet. At lower level

of inclusion of rock phosphate its addition was not

beneficial.

REFERENCES

Abdelhamid, J., Sohail, S.S. and Ronald, D.A.

(1999) Poult. Sci., 78: 550-555.

Barley, G.G., Mathur, M.M., Baghel, R.P.S. and

Mukherjee, S.K. (2004) Evolving economic

mineral mixture for broilers using agriculture

grade trace minerals. Presented in XI ANC on

“Nutritional Technologies for Commercializa-

tion of Animal Production Systems” organized

by ANSI and ICAR, New Delhi at College of

Vety. Sci. and A.H., JNKVV, Jabalpur, 5-7

January.

Cakir, A., Sullivan, T.W. and Mather, F.B. (1978)

Poultry Science., 57: 498-505.

Denbow, D.M., Ravindran, V., Kornegay, E.T., Yi,

Z. and Hulet, R.M. (1995) Poul. Sci., 74:

1831-1842.

Deo, C., Shrivastava, H.P., Singh, N.B. and Tyagi,

P.K. (2005) Indian J. Anim. Nutr., 22:

21-26.

Executive Guide (2003/04) A statistical reference

for poultry executives. In feedstuff’s for Live-

stock and Poultry. Published by Lead Cen-

ter. NATP. C.A.R.I., Izatnagar. p 1.

707070


Gerry, R.W., Carrick, C.W., Roberts, R.E. and

Hauge, S.M., (1947) Poul. Sci., 26: 323-334.

Gerry, R.W., Carrick, R.E. Roberts and S.M.

Hauge. (1949). Poul. Sci., 28: 19-23.

Haman, K., Phillips, P.H. and Halpin J.G. (1936)

Poul. Sci., 15: 154-157.

I.C.A.R. (2002) Handbook of Animal Husbandry,

3rd revised edition. Indian Council of Agricul-

tural Research, New Delhi.

Johnson, Z.B., Hellwig, H. and Waldroup, P.W.

(1985). Poul. Sci., 64: 103-107.

Kick, H, Bethke, R.M. and Record, P.R. (1933)

Poult. Sci., 12: 382-387.

Lal, D. and Prasad, T. (1989) Anim. Feed Sci.

Technol., 23: 343-348.

Mishra, R.K. and Baghel, R.P.S. (2004) Studieson utilization of single super phosphate as asource of phosphorus in broilers. Presented in

XI ANC on “Nutritional Technologies for Com-mercialization of Animal Production Systems”organized by ANSI and ICAR, New Delhi at

College of Vety. Sci. and A.H., JNKVV,Jabalpur, 5-7 January.

Mishra, R.K. and Baghel, R.P.S. (2004a) Effects of

ionophore on utilization of single super phos-phate in broilers. Presented in XI ANC on“Nutritional Technologies for Commercializa-

tion of Animal Production Systems” organizedby ANSI and ICAR, New Delhi at College ofVety. Sci. and A.H., JNKVV, Jabalpur, n 5-7

January.

Mishra, R.K. and Baghel, R.P.S. (2007) Use ofsingle super phosphate instead of dicalcium

phosphate with and without ionophore on thecarcass quality traits of broilers. Presented inNational symposium on “Recent trends in policy

initiatives and technological interventions forrural prosperity in small holder livestock pro-

duction systems”. Organised by Sri

Venkateswara Veterinary University andISAPM at Tirupati, 20-22 June, 2007. A-33,p245.

Mishra, R.K. and Baghel, R.P.S. (2007a) Effect ofusing single super phosphate instead ofdicalcium phosphate with and without iono-

phore on the organ weight of broilers. Pre-sented in National symposium on “Recent trendsin policy initiatives and technological interven-

tions for rural prosperity in small holder live-stock production systems”. Organised by SriVenkateswara Veterinary University and

ISAPM at Tirupati, 20-22 June, 2007. A-33,p246.

Mishra, R.K. and Baghel, R.P.S. (2007b) Process-

ing losses of broilers influenced by use of singlesuper phosphate instead of dicalcium phosphatewith and without ionophore in their diet. Pre-sented in National symposium on “Recent trendsin policy initiatives and technological interven-tions for rural prosperity in small holder live-stock production systems”. Organised by SriVenkateswara Veterinary University andISAPM at Tirupati, 20-22 June, 2007. A-33,p247.

Mishra, R.K., Baghel, R.P.S. and Swami, Madhu(2003) Effect of single super phosphate on thepathological changes in broilers. Presented inNational Symposium on “Basic pathology andAnimal Disesases- A need for fresh approachin Indian Scenario” and XX Annual Confer-ence of IAVP 2003 at College of VeterinaryScience and A.H., JNKVV, Jabalpur, Novem-ber 12-14, 2003.

Mohanti, S. and Rajendran, K. (2003) Poult. Voice

of India. 9: 32.

N.R.C. (1994) Nutrient Requirements of Poul-

try, 9th edition. National Academy of Sciences,National Academy Press, Washington D.C.,U.S.A.

717171


Nejad, Y.E. and Pourreza, J. (2000) J. Sci.

Technol. Agric. Natur. Res., 4: 93-104.

Odongo, N.H., Plaizier, J., Van Straaten, P. andMc Bride, B. (2002) Trop. Anim. Health

Prod., 34: 349-358.

Phillips, P.H., H.E. English and E.B. Hart (1935) J.

Nutr., 10: 399-407.

Prasad, A., Venketeshwarlu, V. and Ravikumar, P.(1998) Vety. Bulletin. 68: 284.

Rama Rao, S.V. (2001) Br. Poult. Sci., 42: 376-383.

Rama Rao, S.V. and Reddy, V.R. (2003) Br. Poult.

Sci., 44: 96-103.

Rama Rao, S.V., Reddy, V. and Ravendra, V.

(1999) Arch. fur Guflugelkunde,. 60:

75-79.

Sharma, K.V. and Baghel, R.P.S. (2004) Studieson utilization of diammonium phosphate as asource of phosphorus in broilers. Presented in

XI Animal Nutrition Conference on “NutritionalTechnologies for Commercialization of AnimalProduction Systems” organized by ANSI and

ICAR, New Delhi at College of Vety. Sci. andA.H., JNKVV, Jabalpur, 5-7 January.

Sharma, K.V. and Baghel, R.P.S. (2004a) Effects

of ionophore on utilization of diammoniumphosphate in broilers. Presented in XI AnimalNutrition Conference on “Nutritional Technolo-

gies for Commercialization of Animal Produc-tion Systems” organized by ANSI and ICAR,New Delhi at College of Vety. Sci. and A.H.,

JNKVV, Jabalpur, 5-7 January.

Sharma, K.V., Baghel, R.P.S. and Swami, Madhu(2003) Effect of diammonium phosphate on

the pathological changes in broilers. Presentedin National Symposium on “Basic pathologyand Animal Disesases- A need for fresh ap-

proach in Indian Scenario” and XX AnnualConference of IAVP 2003 at College of Vet-

erinary Science and A.H., JNKVV, Jabalpur,

November 12-14.

Singhal, P. K. and Baghel, R.P.S. (2003) Indian J.

Anim. Nutr., 20: 193-197.

Spears, J. W. (1990) J. Nutr., 120: 632-638.

Storer, N.L. and T.S. Nelson (1967). Poult. Sci.,

46: 247-261.

Suttie, J., G. Simon and Miles, R.D. (1982) Poult.

Sci., 61: 1033-1037.

Thomas, Annie, Baghel, R.P.S. and Sunil Nayak

(2007a) Use of raw rock phosphate instead ofdicalcium phosphate with and without aluminiumsulphate on the economics of broiler produc-

tion. Presented in National symposium on“Recent trends in policy initiatives and techno-logical interventions for rural prosperity in small

holder livestock production systems”. Organisedby Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University andISAPM at Tirupati, 20-22 June, 2007. A-35,p241.

Thomas, Annie, Baghel, R.P.S. and Chitwan Kawatra(2007b) Use of raw rock phosphate with orwithout aluminium sulphate on the carcass char-

acteristics of broilers. Presented in Nationalsymposium on “Recent trends in policy initia-tives and technological interventions for rural

prosperity in small holder livestock productionsystems”. Organised by Sri VenkateswaraVeterinary University and ISAPM at Tirupati,

20-22 June, 2007. A-33, p240.

Thomas, Annie, Baghel, R.P.S. and ChitwanKawatra (2007c) Economics of broiler pro-

duction due to use of heat treated rock phos-phate with or without phytase instead ofdicalcium phosphate. Presented in National

symposium on “Recent trends in policy initia-tives and technological interventions for ruralprosperity in small holder livestock production

systems”. Organised by Sri VenkateswaraVeterinary University and ISAPM at Tirupati,

727272


20-22 June, 2007. A-36, p242.

Thomas, Annie, Baghel, R.P.S. and Sunil Nayak(2007d) Use of heat treated rock phosphatewith or without phytase on the carcass charac-

teristics of broilers. Presented in National sym-posium on “Recent trends in policy initiativesand technological interventions for rural pros-

perity in small holder livestock production sys-

tems”. Organised by Sri Venkateswara Veteri-

nary University and ISAPM at Tirupati, 20-

22, A-34, p240.

Viveros, A., Brenes A., Arija I. and Centeno, C.

(2002) Poult. Sci., 81: 1172-1183.

Weber, C.W., Doberenz, A.R. and Reid., B.L.

(1968) Poult. Sci., 47: 158-163.

737373


Aquaculture is the cultivation of fish, shellfish,

bivalves and aquatic plants and. Thus aquaculture is

an industry that encompasses a large group of

aquatic animals and plants. Globally, there are hun-

dreds of farmed aquatic animal and plant species.

Global production from aquaculture is increasing by

about 9 -11% per year and is, “The world’s fastest

growing food producing sector,” according to the

United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organiza-

tion.

Aquaculture accounts for almost half of all sea-

food consumed globally. Seafood currently provides

approximately 16% of all animal protein in the hu-

man diet. While the ocean capture fisheries have

reached maximum sustainable yields the demand

for fishery products are increasing and will continue

to increase along with the growth in projected hu-

man population.

nated by carp production: about 80% of India’s

aquaculture production is composed of carps of

Indian and Chinese origin. Most carp production

occurs in extensive, polyculture systems throughout

India. But, in the last 20 years, carp production has

intensified in several parts of India. The traditional

polyculture has given way to the dominance of one

or two species: catla and rohu. These fishes fetch

high market prices. Typical pond yields range from

three to eight tons per hectare per year. The ponds

are fertilized, but not aerated. Farm-mixed feed com-

prising of rice bran and a plant protein source such

as peanut oil cake or cottonseed oil cake is given

to the fish. As farming operations have intensified,

the limitations of farm-mixed feeds have become

more apparent. Procuring and storing larger lots of

raw materials, and preparing and administering larger

quantities of feeds, stretch the logistic capabilities of

farmers. More importantly, much of farm-mixed

feeds is not eaten by the fish and only fertilizes the

pond. Excess organic loading pollutes pond bottom

and cause a wide variety of production problems.

The profitability and long-term sustainability of in-

tensive carp farming are threatened by continuing

the existing feed use practices.

Nutrition and nutrient delivery system

for fish farming

Vijay Anand and G. Ramesh

ASA-International Marketing Asia Subcontinent, New Delhi, India

Global aquaculture production

Aquaculture in India

India is the second-largest aquaculture pro-

ducer in the world. India’s aquaculture is domi-

Major aquaculture species groups globally

0

2,000,000

4,000,000

6,000,000

8,000,000

10,000,000

12,000,000

14,000,000

16,000,000

18,000,000

20,000,000

Carp Shrimp Tilapia Salmonids

China

India

Philippines

Indonesia

Japan

Vietnam

Thailand

Bangladesh

Chile

Norway

USA

Egypt

747474


India aquaculture production

Use of formulated feed for carp cultivation is

thus a sharp deviation from the existing traditional

methods. As carps also fetch low value, the farmer

usually puts off use of formulated feed, as it is a price

sensitive issue. Nevertheless, the American Soybean

Association- IM trusts that there is a scope for feed

usage and demonstration of profitability if the com-

plete technology package is developed and prac-

ticed.

Fish nutrition

Good nutrition in animal production systems is

essential to economically produce a healthy, high

quality product. In fish farming, nutrition is critical

because feed represents 40-50% of the production

costs. Fish nutrition has advanced dramatically in

recent years with the development of new, balanced

commercial diets that promote optimal fish growth

and health. The development of new species-spe-

cific diet formulations supports the aquaculture (fish

farming) industry as it expands to satisfy increasing

demand for affordable, safe, and high-quality fish

and seafood products.

In contrast, supplemental (incomplete, partial)

diets are intended only to help support the natural

food (insects, algae, small fish) normally available

to fish in ponds or outdoor raceways. Supplemen-

tal diets do not contain a full complement of vita-

mins or minerals, but are used to help fortify the

naturally available diet with extra protein, carbohy-

drate and/or lipid.

Fish, especially when reared in high densities,

require a high-quality, nutritionally complete, bal-

anced diet to grow rapidly and remain healthy.

Protein

Because protein is the most expensive part of

fish feed, it is important to accurately determine the

protein requirements for each species and size of

cultured fish. Proteins are formed by linkages of

individual amino acids. Although over 200 amino

acids occur in nature, only about 20 amino acids

are common. Of these, 10 are essential (indispens-

able) amino acids that cannot be synthesized by

fish. The 10 essential amino acids that must be

supplied by the diet are: methionine, arginine, threo-

nine, tryptophan, histidine, isoleucine, lysine, leu-

cine, valine and phenylalanine. Of these, lysine and

methionine are often the first limiting amino acids.

Fish feeds prepared with plant (soybean meal) pro-

tein typically are low in methionine; therefore, extra

methionine must be added to soybean-meal based

diets in order to promote optimal growth and health.

It is important to know and match the protein re-

quirements and the amino acid requirements of each

fish species reared.

Protein levels in fish feeds generally average

28-32% for catfish, 32-38% for tilapia, 38-42% for

hybrid striped bass. Protein requirements usually are

lower for herbivorous fish (plant eating) and omnivo-

rous fish (plant-animal eaters) than they are for

carnivorous (flesh-eating) fish, and are higher for fish

reared in high density (recirculating aquaculture) than

low density (pond aquaculture) systems.

Protein requirements generally are higher for

smaller fish. As fish grow larger, their protein re-

quirements usually decrease. Protein requirements

also vary with rearing environment, water tempera-

ture and water quality, as well as the genetic com-

position and feeding rates of the fish. Protein is used

for fish growth if adequate levels of fats and carbo-

0

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2,500,000

3,000,000

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2 004

2005

757575


hydrates are present in the diet. If not, protein may

be used for energy and life support rather than growth

Lipids

Lipids are high-energy nutrients that can be

utilized to partially spare (substitute for) protein in

aquaculture feeds. Lipids supply about twice the

energy as proteins and carbohydrates. Lipids typi-

cally comprise about 15% of fish diets, supply es-

sential fatty acids (EFA) and serve as transporters

for fat-soluble vitamins.

A recent trend in fish feeds is to use higher

levels of lipids in the diet. Although increasing di-

etary lipids can help reduce the high costs of diets

by partially sparing protein in the feed, problems

such as excessive fat deposition in the liver can

decrease the health and market quality of fish.

Simple lipids include fatty acids and

triacylglycerols. Fish typically require fatty acids of

the omega 3 and 6 (n-3 and n-6) families. Fatty

acids can be: a) saturated fatty acids (SFA, no

double bonds), b) polyunsaturated fatty acids

(PUFA, >2 double bonds), or c) highly unsaturated

fatty acids (HUFA; > 4 double bonds). Marine fish

oils are naturally high (>30%) in omega 3 HUFA,

and are excellent sources of lipids for the manufac-

ture of fish diets. Lipids from these marine oils also

can have beneficial effects on human cardiovascular

health.

Marine fish typically require n-3 HUFA for

optimal growth and health, usually in quantities rang-

ing from 0.5-2.0% of dry diet. The two major EFA

of this group are eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA:

20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA:22:6n-

3). Freshwater fish do not require the long chain

HUFA, but often require an 18 carbon n-3 fatty

acid, linolenic acid (18:3-n-3), in quantities ranging

from 0.5 to 1.5% of dry diet. This fatty acid cannot

be produced by freshwater fish and must be sup-

plied in the diet. Many freshwater fish can take this

fatty acid, and through enzyme systems elongate

(add carbon atoms) to the hydrocarbon chain, and

then further desaturate (add double bonds) to this

longer hydrocarbon chain. Through these enzyme

systems, freshwater fish can manufacture the longer

chain n-3 HUFA, EPA and DHA, which are nec-

essary for other metabolic functions and as cellular

membrane components. Marine fish typically do not

possess these elongation and desaturation enzyme

systems, and require long chain n-3 HUFA in their

diets. Other fish species, such as tilapia, require

fatty acids of the n-6 family, while still others, such

as carp or eels, require a combination of n-3 and

n-6 fatty acids

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates (starches and sugars) are the

most economical and inexpensive sources of en-

ergy for fish diets. Although not essential, carbohy-

drates are included in aquaculture diets to reduce

feed costs and for their binding activity during feed

manufacturing. Dietary starches are useful in the

extrusion manufacture of floating feeds. Cooking

starch during the extrusion process makes it more

biologically available to fish.

In fish, carbohydrates are stored as glycogen

that can be mobilized to satisfy energy demands.

They are a major energy source for mammals, but

are not used efficiently by fish. For example, mam-

mals can extract about 4 kcal of energy from 1

gram of carbohydrate, whereas fish can only ex-

tract about 1.6 kcal from the same amount of car-

bohydrate. Up to about 20% of dietary carbohy-

drates can be used by fish.

Vitamins

Vitamins are organic compounds necessary in

the diet for normal fish growth and health. They

often are not synthesized by fish, and must be sup-

plied in the diet.

The two groups of vitamins are water-soluble

and fat-soluble. Water-soluble vitamins include: the

767676


B vitamins, choline, inositol, folic acid, pantothenic

acid , biotin and ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Of these,

vitamin C probably is the most important because

it is a powerful antioxidant and helps the immune

system in fish.

The fat-soluble vitamins include A vitamins, ret-

inols (responsible for vision); the D vitamins, chole-

calciferols (bone integrity); E vitamins, the tocopherols

(antioxidants); and K vitamins such as menadione

(blood clotting, skin integrity). Of these, vitamin E

receives the most attention for its important role as

an antioxidant (Table 1). Deficiency of each vitamin

has certain specific symptoms, but reduced growth

is the most common symptom of any vitamin defi-

ciency. Scoliosis (bent backbone symptom) and dark

coloration may result from deficiencies of ascorbic

acid and folic acid vitamins, respectively.

Table 1. Vitamin and mineral premix

Nutrient Unit As fed

Vitamin A IU/kg 1200000Vitamin D3 IU/kg 200000Vitamin E IU/kg 20000Biotin mg/kg 40Folic acid mg/kg 1800Niacin mg/kg 40000Pantothenate mg/kg 20000Pyridoxine, B

6mg/kg 5000

Riboflavin, B2

mg/kg 8000Thiamin, B

1mg/kg 8000

Vitamin, B12

mcg/kg 2000Ethoxyquin mg/kg 500

Mineral premix PMX-F11

Iron ppm 40000Manganese ppm 10000Copper ppm 4000Zinc ppm 40000Iodine ppm 1800Cobalt ppm 20Selenium ppm 200

1Premix ingredient quantities are per kg of premix.

Minerals

Minerals are inorganic elements necessary in

the diet for normal body functions. They can be

divided into two groups (macro-minerals and mi-

cro-minerals) based on the quantity required in the

diet and the amount present in fish. Common macro-

minerals are sodium, chloride, potassium and phos-

phorous. These minerals regulate osmotic balance

and aid in bone formation and integrity.

Micro-minerals (trace minerals) are required

in small amounts as components in enzyme and

hormone systems. Common trace minerals are cop-

per, chromium, iodine, zinc and selenium. Fish can

absorb many minerals directly from the water through

their gills and skin, allowing them to compensate to

some extent for mineral deficiencies in their diet

(Table 1).

Energy and protein

Dietary nutrients are essential for the construc-

tion of living tissues. They also are a source of

stored energy for fish digestion, absorption, growth,

reproduction and the other life processes. The nu-

tritional value of a dietary ingredient is in part de-

pendant on its ability to supply energy. Physiologi-

cal fuel values are used to calculate and balance

available energy values in prepared diets. They typi-

cally average 4, 4, and 9 kcal/g for protein, carbo-

hydrate and lipid, respectively.

To create an optimum diet, the ratio of protein

to energy must be determined separately for each

fish species. Excess energy relative to protein con-

tent in the diet may result in high lipid deposition.

Because fish feed to meet their energy requirements,

diets with excessive energy levels may result in de-

creased feed intake and reduced weight gain. Simi-

larly, a diet with inadequate energy content can re-

sult in reduced weight gain because the fish cannot

eat enough feed to satisfy their energy requirements

for growth. Properly formulated prepared feeds have

a well-balanced energy to protein ratio.

Floating fish feeds

Floating feeds are typically in the density range

of 300 to 400 g per liter. They are expanded pel-

777777


lets varying in diameter from 1.5 to 10 mm in size.

Fish farmers have proven that floating feeds result

in better feed conversions due to the fact that the

feed consumption can be monitored and adjusted

so that feed is not wasted. Many fish species that

consume floating feeds are fed on the basis eating

all feed in a certain time frame. If fish consume all

feed in less than the specified time then it is an

indication to the farmer that more feed can be given.

If feed is left over in the pond after the specified

time frame, then it is an indication that over feeding

has occurred. Floating feeds are extrusion cooked

at about 24 to 27% moisture and expand 125 to

150% of the die hole size. Floating fish feeds are

gradually becoming popular for commercial use in

India.

The biggest advantage offered by floating fish

feeds is that it brings in a situation that is close to

farming terrestrial animals where feed given to ani-

mals can be seen. When feed can be seen, the

farmer is able to obtain a complete feedback on

feeding status and all related feed management as-

pects. Floating fish feeds, which float on the water

surface, make feeds visible to the fish farmer and

help monitor feeding. Assessment on feeding there-

fore is direct. One needs to feed fish only as much

as it demands. Feed wastage in case of floating

feeds is minimal or absent depending on the exper-

tise of the manager. In sinking feeds, visibility of

feeds is absent and therefore feeding assessment is

always indirect and there is scope for wastage of

feed. Waste feed increases water nutrient and

deteriorates water quality.

Overview of ASA-IM approach

Based on the experience of ASA-IM in China,

it was decided that promoting a feed-based system

for intensive carp production in India would involve

both education and actual demonstrations of the

technology on a practical level. This required iden-

tification of farmers and feedmill cooperators. The

feedmills were then provided with the technical

expertise to produce extruded, soy-optimized feeds.

The farmers were trained to practice feed-based

production protocols and collect data. Profitability

was used as the primary criterion for evaluating the

economic feasibility of the new technology.

In 2004 and 2005, we conducted full-fledged

commercial demonstrations to show feedmills and

farmers that soy-based extruded floating fish feeds

perform well when used correctly. Results were dis-

seminated by conducting frequent extension pro-

grams, seminars, on-farm consultations and by ren-

dering services for business development activities

for feed companies. Nutritionally balanced soy based

feed was used for the trial (Table 2).

Important considerations for use of floating fish

feeds

Pond size: For a feed based system with float-

ing feeds, the ideal pond size should be less than

Table 2. Formula of the ASA 32/6, soymeal-based feed in

3-mm and 4-mm pellet sizes.

Ingredient CP, % Inclusion rate

Soybean meal 47.5 50.00

Wheat, Feed flour 11.7 26.40

Corn gluten meal 60.0 6.00

Rice bran 15.0 5.00

Wheat midds 15.0 4.00

Blood meal, Ring-dried 93.0 1.00

Fish oil, Unspecified 3.50

Calcium phosphate, Mono 2.30

Soy lecithin 1.00

Vitamin Premix 0.50

Mineral Premix 0.25

Stay C*-35% 0.03

Ethoxyquin**-100% 0.02

Stay C is ascorbic acid polyphosphate manufactured by

DSM and the % indicates the active level of ascorbic

acid in the product**. Ethoxyquin is an antioxidant and

the % indicates purity of the antioxidant.

one hectare with a water depth of not more than 1.2-

1.3 m. Smaller ponds are desired because the farmer

needs to determine the feed quantity visually once in

787878


10 days. Note that in floating feeds, the fish tells the

farmer how much to feed and it is not the farmer who

determines how much to give. Visual determination

of feeding response in a large pond is difficult and

will lead to feed wastage and escalation of produc-

tion cost. Also, deep ponds are not advocated as

thermal stratification sets in during summers and

causes acute water quality problems in ponds.

Pond bottom: About three inches of the pond

bottom carrying organic top soil should be removed

after drying the pond. Not doing this is like having

a ready fertilizer/pond nutrient that makes water

too rich with plankton. Organic matter also acts as

a ready inoculum for bacteria to proliferate. This is

not desired in the feed based system.

Pond water fertilization: In a feed based

system no manure is advocated as total nutrition for

fish is given through nutritionally balanced feed. Due

to waste of fish in the pond, natural productivity of

the pond water and soil, plankton will automatically

develop and this is enough to sustain natural pro-

ductivity. Plankton density is measured using a sechi

disc and the ideal reading recommended is between

25-35 cm. In case plankton does not develop,

addition of urea and super/triple phosphate as an

initial dose can be applied to water. Excess fertili-

zation is not recommended as it generates too much

of plankton which makes the water too green and

increases the organic load in pond water. Too much

of plankton also compete with fish for oxygen and

most often lead to critical dissolved oxygen levels

(below 3 mg/l) that lead to fish mortality.

Weaning fish on to floating feed: Fish in nurs-

eries are usually habituated to taking plankton and

the mash feed. It is a must to train fish for a minimum

of one week on the floating feed on maintenance ra-

tions to train them onto floating feed. Not doing this

will result in extra time taken for fish to accept feed

and they loose growth for more than a week’s time in

grow-out ponds. In addition to this, feed leftover in

the pond due to non-recognition by fish will be an

economic waste to the farmer. Satiation technique of

feeding is the most important tool in managing float-

ing fish feeds and is explained later in this article. Sa-

tiation should be set by the third day of stocking to

ensure that fish are getting complete feed right from

the beginning. Non-feed trained fish will not facilitate

satiation setting on the third day. In order to wean the

fish prior to transferring them to grow-out ponds, feed

should be on site at least 10 days in advance. Wean-

ing of fish onto the floating feed is best done in sepa-

rate small ponds.

Satiation Feeding as an Important Feed Manage-

ment Tool

Satiation feeding method: This is the most

important tool for the feed based system to be-

come successful. Feed is money and little saved is

lot of money saved to the farmer. The satiation

method steps are as follows:

l One the first day fish are fed to full satiation in

30 min strict time cut off.

l Satiation can be efficiently done only if the

fingerlings have been trained on to feed before

stocking into grow out ponds.

l Rohu feeds actively for 30 min and the frenzy

fades off after that. Only the active feeding

time/behavior is considered.

l As total nutrition for fish is intended through

feed, three feeds per day are a must.

l Keen observation is a must. Keep track of the

feed eaten in 30 min. If for example 600 g

feed was given and the fish consumed only

500 g then the satiation will be set for 500 g

feed per feeding. This will be 1.5 kg feed per

day.

l The leftover feed should be gauged to deter-

mine the feed consumed and the quantity left

behind in the pond. Note that the fish has given

the feedback on how much to feed it has

consumed.

l After having determined the feed quantity re-quired per day the farmer automatically weighsand feeds this quantity for the next 10 days.

797979


l The 10-day period should be followed strictly

to change satiation. Even if the fish consumesall feed in 20 min instead of 35 min the originalquantity should be maintained. The intention

here is to slightly under feed the fish. Scientifi-cally this has proven to yield better results.

l Towards the 8th and the 9th day the farmer

should determine how much time the fish istaking to consume the feed. Usually the fishwill take less time to consume the feed when

compared to time taken on the first three days.

l Getting to know the feeding time on the 8th

and 9th day will give the farmer a feedback on

roughly how much feed can increased whilesetting the satiation for the next 10 days.

l Throw the feed into the pond all at one spot

along with the wind direction to avoid it fromgetting washed on to dykes. Wind direction maychange with season and at times on a daily ba-

sis. There is no need to distribute the feed overthe entire pond. Note that feed will disperse byitself due to water and wind action.

l On cloudy days or during sudden environmen-

tal change fish may show reduced feeding.Keep watch for feeding response during theseconditions and reduce feed in the next feed.

Normal feeding is resumed once the weatherconditions become normal.

The feed-based ASA-IM method resulted in

consistently faster fish growth, higher fish yield, bet-ter feed conversion and better economic returns thanthe traditional practice of feeding fish with a farm-

mixed feed (Table 3). Though the desired target forrohu in the TP method was an average of 500 g, waterquality deterioration and consequent risk of high

mortality from low dissolved oxygen syndrome(LODOS) stress led to harvest at about 400g aver-age size. Though stocking density in the ASA-IM

ponds was slightly more than twice that of the tradi-

tionally managed ponds, the ASA-IM ponds were

able to support the higher biomass and produced 6.5

tons of fish/ha in less than 150 days. The average

economic return in the demonstration was based on

a set average farm gate price of 45 INR/kg (~ US$

1/kg). The negative return on investment in the TP

method appears to be due to low production output

against significant input costs. Probably farmers in

the area are farming many different animals and row

crops concurrently that without keeping accurate

records of input and output costs for each activity

the farmers are not fully account for all costs associ-

ated with fish production.

Table 3. Fish production achieved in 2005 demonstration

Traditional ASA-IM

Practice Method*

Method*

Date of stocking 26 Feb. 26 Feb.

2005 2005

Date of harvest 24 Aug. 24 July

2005 2005

Number of days of culture 179 147

Initial weight of rohu, g 43 47

Final weight of rohu, g 401 494

Estimated survival of rohu, % 95 100

Total harvest weight, kg/ha 2634 6483

Feed conversion ratio 5.29 1.34

*Average return on -28 13

investment, %

What the ASA-IM demonstration did show

to the farmers was in addition to the use of a

nutritionally balanced feed the right nutrient delivery

system such as the use of floating feeds which

brings about a system close to the feeding of

terrestrial animals has the ability to predictably

produce a high target biomass at minimal feed

wastage with no disease or water quality issues

and to return a positive profit. Other advantages

included healthy pond bottoms without significant

organic load, ease of operation with reduced labor,

reduction in grow-out period and marketing ben-

efits owing to uniform sized fish.

808080


Sheep husbandry is an integral component of

livelihood and life style of millions of small holder

farmers in difficult areas of the country. Sheep are

reared on common property resources (CPR), range-

lands, orans, stubbles, wasteland and fallow land

under extensive system. Moreover sheep rearing in

the country is not grain based and hence small ru-

minants do not compete with human and organized

dairy sector for food and shelter rather live in ab-

solute harmony with man and nature. Sheep hus-

bandry plays a significant role in supplementing fam-

ily incomes and generating gainful employment in the

rural unorganized sector particularly among the land-

less, small and marginal farmers and women besides

providing cheaper and nutritious meat and milk to

rural people. Sheep population as per latest live-

stock census of 2003 stood at 58.2 million as

compared to 39.1 million in 1951, with an increase

of 49 percent. During the same period, population

of goats has increased by 155 per cent. Total area

available for grazing of sheep and goats in 1951 was

82.1 million ha, which included unculturable land,

other uncultivated land, fallow land and permanent

pastures: the grazing land has now decreased to

43.3 million ha due land reclamation for conventional

agriculture and conversion of culturable land to

concentrate jungle in process of colonization. Total

area under grazing has deceased by 47 % during the

last five decades while during the period the small

ruminant population has increased by 105 %. This

has resulted in over stocking and over grazing of

available land by the animals. There is an urgent need

to maintain stable grazing resources for sustainable

small ruminant production in future by rehabilitating

the community grazing land through establishment of

perennial greases and trees, and gradually eliminat-

ing the unproductive animals from population to spare

available feed resources for optimization of produc-

tion of quality animals. In the present paper, sheep

and goat production systems followed by the farm-

ers in the desert, hilly and mountainous areas of the

country and strategies for improvement in produc-

tivity by better feeding on pasture based feeding

system has been discussed. Most prevalent systems

followed in the country are as below

Migration system in plains of dry zone

Sheep are reared either under sedentary or a

migratory system under extensive range manage-

ment. Sedentary system may be stall-feeding follow-

ing cut and carry system, semi intensive stall-feeding

or extensive grazing system. Migratory system may

be long distance migration in dry plains or transhu-

mance in hilly or mountain region of the country. The

small ruminant production systems are influenced by

availability of wasteland, community grazing land

and forest areas and by market prospects. About

70-80 % of sheep flocks in arid region of the country

are managed under migratory system. In spite of

advancement of agriculture and effective land rec-

lamation, migration still exists as a prime system for

sheep rearing in semiarid and arid zone of the coun-

try. Only in very few cases nomadic/migratory sys-

tem of sheep rearing has changed to settle life sed-

entary livestock rearing. Nomadic and transhumance

production is found to be the best suited system for

the use of fragile ecosystems of country. The topog-

raphy, feed resources and socio-economic condi-

tions of people besides, low and erratic rainfall,

frequent drought and low intensity of crop produc-

Pasture based feeding systems for small ruminant production

and its relevance in tropics

S. A. Karim and A. K. Shinde

Central Sheep and Wool Research Institute, Avikanagar 304 501, India

818181


tion are some of the factors responsible for prevalent

of migratory system in semiarid and arid region.

Sheep during migration graze on barren and marginal

land of dry zone followed by fallow lands in high

rainfall areas of neighboring states. In migration fre-

quent change of grazing land often provide them

wide variety of vegetation, rich in minerals and other

nutrients, which help meeting the requirement thereby

improving production. In pastoral, rain fed and ir-

rigated tracts of semiarid region, migration of one to

two months is common practice. In earlier days, the

migration and sheep rearing was complementary but

in the recent years, with the socio-cultural and tech-

nological transformation, the functional relationship

has undergone considerable changes. The tempo-

rary and permanent migration of sheep from the

region is related with the rainfall. The number of

movement of flock on migration is less in normal

rainfall than in drought and famine years. In the

recent year, the migratory routes followed by the

shepherd have narrowed down due to extension of

crop cultivation. The sheep population on migration

and over crowding of grazing lands has exaggerated

the problems of the shepherds. Deforestation and

felling of trees for earning their livelihood by the

communities living on the periphery and some times

in the heart of the forest have further magnified the

fodder the crisis for sheep and goats en route mi-

gration. Other vagaries of migration include expo-

sure to seasonal stress, predators, poachers and loss

of lambs, weaker animals and hurried disposal of

wool. Moreover occasionally violent confrontation

arises between the owners of migratory flocks and

local population for sharing meager feed resources

for their livestock.

The problems faced by the sheep raisers dur-

ing migration are: higher charges for entry of ani-

mals in other states, insufficient watering points thor-

ough out the route of migration, decrease in area

under grazing land with the establishment of wild

life parks and sanctuaries, prohibition for entry of

animals in developed forest, protection by local

peoples for grazing of animals in their areas, prob-

lems of theft and dacoits in certain areas, inad-

equate marketing facilities in the migratory route for

sale of lambs and spent ewes/rams and wool and

improper distribution of animals during migration

resulting in over crowding in certain areas. Addi-

tionally inability of new born lambs to walk long

distances further magnifies the problems of migrat-

ing flock therefore they are transported along the

migration on camel back, bullock carts, donkey,

ponies and in some cases lambs are forced to walk

with adult stocks in migration. Lambs under such

harsh condition suffer from stresses of movement in

migration resulting in poor growth and high mortal-

ity losses. It is therefore suggested that entrepre-

neurs/progressive farmers may adopt organized lamb

rearing for mutton and breeder ram production by

purchasing the weaner lambs from the farmers and

rearing them under semi intensive and intensive

system of production near some exist port or me-

tropolis. Adoption of envisaged production system

will render sheep raring as a profitable venture for

sheep farmers and entrepreneurs ensuring quality

meat for the consumers.

Some of the suggestion for smooth functioning

of migration system of sheep are: avoiding frequently

change in route of migration and construction of

enclosures by local shepherds in migratory route,

establishment of check post in collaboration with

Forest, Animal Husbandry, Police and Revenue De-

partments with communication facilities, provision

of shelter in route of migration for protection of

shepherds and animals from inclement weather,

provision of Veterinarians for treatment and pro-

phylaxis measures, provision of licensed weapon

for protection of their properties while migrating

through dacoits infested routes, controlled opening

of forest areas for grazing of animals, development

of shearing and marketing facilities of wool, animal

insurance cover for preventing economic loss dur-

ing casualties and provision of nutritional supple-

ments at strategic locations to the animals as well as

shepherds in migratory route.

828282


Sedentary system in hills and mountain areas

In low and mid- hills, lower valleys and Tarai

region, sheep are reared under sedentary system

where sheep are maintained in one area throughout

the year and penned at homestead during night.

The animals are managed either in stall-fed, semistall-fed or free range grazing system. Majority ofthe sedentary flocks are maintained under an exten-sive system, where the sheep are driven to thegrazing land for grazing during the day and are notsupplemented at the stall. In the mid-hill and valleyrotational grazing of sheep are followed. This sys-tem allows adequate re-growth of grasses and veg-etation in between grazing. However, grazing ofsheep in a limited areas round the year leads toheavy parasitic burden.

Transhumance system in hills and mountainsareas

In the high hills and mountain areas, sheep arereared under transhumance system. Sheep move todifferent areas through out the year, and maintainedentirely under grazing system. The flocks migratefrom the foot hills to high Alpine ranges during sum-mer months. Sheep move to upper hills after begin-ning of arable cropping and return later in the yearafter the crop has been harvested. Migratory flocksnormally constitute 200-250 sheep and vary in sizefrom 50- 600 sheep. Sheep belong to differentowners and the shepherd usually own only part offlock. Every owner contributes to the shepherdsfood and clothing, and in addition the shepherdreceives one or two sheep from the owner in kindfor year long grazing charges. Some of the profes-sional shepherds are Jaunsartes inhabiting atDehradun, Jad of Tehri, Gaddis shepherd of Kangra,Kanoras from Rampur Bushahr, Bhakarwals andKarnahis of Muzzfarabad of Jammu and Kashmirand Garhwalis from hills of Garhwal who take sheepto alpine pasture for grazing. The flock follows atypical annual migration route, initiating migrationduring late February: flocks commence movingupward to the higher villages, reaching the foot hill

by April. During late spring and early summer, flockscontinue to remain at a low altitude. Flocks leavethe village for the Alpine pasture between April andMay. During May to early July, flocks move steadilyupward through the forest. During this season, shrubsand trees of deciduous forest are in flush, and growthof green forest is clearly evident. The sheep deriveadequate fodder from summer pasture and improvetheir body weights. By July flock reach Alpinepasture and remain there up to early September.

The alpine meadows provide them the most nutri-tion feed available throughout the year and at thistime they attained maximum body weight. Flocks

start descending from late September to earlyOctober through the forest in a similar manner as totheir ascent route of movement.

Feeding systems

Extensive range management system: Ex-tensive system of sheep rearing is most prevalentsystem in dry semiarid and arid zone of the country

having excess grazing land and cheaper labor, wheresheep is maintained on sole grazing with occasionaltop feed supplementation in lean season. Two sys-

tems of rearing are common in dry regions viz. ex-clusive extensive system where sheep migrate tolong distance during feed scarcity and sedentary

system where sheep are grazed around 4- 5 kmfrom homestead. Poor vegetation cover is a routinefeature in most of the grazing land and sheep on

such land have access to poor quality and meagerquantity of forage in round the grazing system ex-cept during 3-4 months of monsoon. Common graz-

ing land in semiarid region of Rajasthan duringmonsoon and winter yield 4.92 and 1.36 DM q/harespectively while the stubble after harvesting of

kharif crops have standing biomass yield of20.39DM q/ha. Tribulus terrestiris, Indigofera

cardifolia, Crotolaria burhia, Zizyphus

nummularia, Dactyloctenium aegyticum,

Melilotus indica, are major native grasses, consti-tuting sheep's diet during monsoon and Crotolaria

burhia, Zizyphus nummularia, dead litter and

838383


Azardirachta indica leaves during winter. Male and

female lambs born from ewes maintained on com-mon grazing land have birth weights of 3.47 and3.26 kg and weaning weights (3 month of age) of

14.11 and 13.47kg respectively. Male lambs aresold @ Rs.400- 500 due to famine and scarcity offeed and fodder in the region at only 3 months age.

In present rearing system the males and femaleslambs in farmers field during pre weaning phasehave average daily gain of 118 and 113 g. Adult

sheep maintained on grazing alone on these lands

exhibit seasonal changes in body weight gain with

peak weights during the month of November fol-

lowed by gradual decline reaching the exhibiting

lowest weight of year in March. In routine prac-

tices of sheep rearing under field condition, male

and female are kept together in the flock through-

out the year, resulting in round the year mating and

lambing. The average lambing percentage of 83.8

in round the year free mating was reported in field

flocks. Sheep in field flocks are shorn three times

in a year and average wool yield of 407, 295 and

450g in June, September and March clips respec-

tively with annual yield of 1151g per sheep. The

sale of wool in the local markets provides Rs.54.60

per sheep (Singh et al., 2003). The productionperformance and economics of sheep rearing under

intensive, semi-intensive and extensive systems in

semiarid region Rajasthan has been studied (Porwal

2005). The cost of feed and labor inputs is major

factors contributing for higher cost of rearing in

intensive system in comparison to extensive system.

However in relative term, sheep rearing under ex-

tensive system is more remunerative, provided the

grazing lands ensure sufficient forage to animals

through out the year.

Semi-intensive System: In this system sheep

are grazed for 4-5hours in a day then they are stallfed agricultural byproducts or tree leaves or hay orgreen fodder or supplemented concentrate mixture.Some amount of supplementation is provided to

these animals in addition to grazing, In present sys-

tem of utilization of grazing land for raising of the

sheep, it would not be possible to harvest desirable

production because of poor to very poor condition

of grazing resources, rapid shrinking of land and

yield. Under such situation grazing plus supplemen-

tation is the choice of system for sustaining the sheep

production in the tropics.

The finishing weight of the male lambs is lower

and the age at which it is attained is higher than

desired. The production system required concen-

trate input, which although cost effective and eco-

nomical, yet was notn adopted by the sheep farm-

ers due their poor socio-economic conditions. The

work carried out in the country has been reviewed

that supplementation of limited amount of concen-

trate (1.5- 2.0 % of BW) in addition to free grazing

provided marketable finishing weight of 25- 30 kg

at six months of age. The weaner lambs maintained

on Cenchrus pasture with concentrate supplemen-

tation @ 1.5 % BW were able to attain 27.3 kg at

six months of age (Shinde et al., 1995). Growth

study conducted on farmers Kheri weaner lambs

maintained under extensive and semi intensive sys-

tem of feeding management indicated that the fin-

isher lambs at six months of age attained 22.7 and

30.3 kg with ADG of 70, 175 g with cost of feed

input/kg gain nil and Rs.23.62, respectively. These

lambs further continued during 6- 9 months period

on free grazing with ad lib. concentrate supplemen-

tation attained 36.2, 42.7 and 37.6 kg providing

ADG of 137 and 134 g indicating higher cost of

concentrate input/kg gain in live weight in semi in-

tensive (Rs.53.76) than in extensive (Rs.44.50) of

feeding management. The results indicated that un-

der organized feeding management, the feeding cost

was uneconomical at 6- 9 months of age. In an-

other study relative growth performance and feed

conversion efficiency of Kheri weaner lambs

adopted from the farmers indicated that grazing with

concentrate supplementation @ 1.5 and 2.5% BW

and ad lib. provided finishing weight of 20.9, 23.2

and 27.2 kg with ADG of 77, 98 and 151 g with

cost of feed input/kg gain Rs. 28.99, 29.37 and

848484


31.11 in the three feeding protocols respectively.

Better growth rate and feed conversion efficiency

with almost similar cost of feed input/kg gain in live

weight in ad lib. concentrate fed lambs indicated

that higher level of concentrate feeding has com-

mercial applicability.

Intensive system: Sheep are intensively

reared either on complete stall-feeding on cultivable

fodders or complete feeds or crop residues or ag-

ricultural byproducts. Stall-feeding of sheep is not

common in the country except in male lambs where

prime objective is to achieve maximum body weights

at an early age. Stall-feeding is favored for milk and

meat production in goats in urban and sub-urban

areas. Lambs fed on complete feed consisting ofconcentrate (maize, barley grains, oilcakes, wheatand rice bran and molasses and roughage (treeleaves, cultivated grasses and legume) in ratio of40:60, 50:50 and 60:40 attained body weights of25-27kg at 6 month of age. The hot carcass weightof 10.3, 14.5 and 14.3kg in the extensive, semi-intensive and intensive systems and dressing yieldof 44.9% in the extensive and 48.8% in semi-inten-sive and 50.9% in the intensive system has beenreported. The lean, fat and bone contents of 63.40,8.52 and 15.32% in the extensive system, 61.85,11.84 and 14.24% in the semi-intensive and 59.34,16.29 and 12.34% respectively in the intensive sys-tem in lambs maintained under different systems hasbeen reported (Karim, et al., 2007). Bharat Me-rino a promising genotype for wool production yieldsdesirable carcass of acceptable quality with carcassfat ranging from 7- 10% under grazing and concen-trate mixture supplementation at 9 month of age(Karim and Mehta 2007). Male kids after weaningat 3 months of age and fed on feedlot ration at-tained body weight of 25kg at 6 month with adressing yield of 48- 51% and feed efficiency of10- 12%. Intensive feeding of kids improved dressingyield and increased fat content of carcass but re-duces bone and lean content when compared withsemi-intensive system (Singh and Sahu, 1997).Native and crossbred lambs fed on ration consist-

ing of concentrate and roughage in 50:50 combina-

tion attained growth rate of 150 and 170g daily

during 3- 6 month of age with feed efficiency of

12- 15 % (Karim and Rawat, 1996). Weaner

lambs and kids maintained on intensive feeding during

3- 6 month of age provided higher dressing yield in

sheep than goats, goats yield leaner carcass but

tough meat than sheep (Sen et al., 2004). Eco-

nomics of weaner lambs raised in different system

of rearing has been worked out. It was found that

lambs in intensive system and semi-intensive pro-

vided net return of Rs 1235 and Rs 1179 as against

Rs 867 in extensive system through sale of meat.

Avikalin and Malpura genotypes maintained under

intensive feeding or grazing with concentrate mix-

ture supplementation provided desirable carcass of

acceptable quality with fat content of 7-11% at 6

month of age. Similarly the Awassi X Malpura

crosses developed in the Institute were evaluated

for carcass characteristics indicated that growth rate

and feed efficiency was higher in Malpura X Awassi

crosses than Malpura while dressing yield and cut-

ability was similar in both the genotypes (Karim et

al., 2002). Pre weaning growth of lambs under

field condition is always found poor due to poor

nutrition resulting in poor carcass weight and dress-

ing yield at slaughter age. If these lambs are put

under better nutrition during post weaning phase,

they show compensatory growth during post wean-

ing stage and desirable carcass traits (Karim et al.,

2001).

Grass pasture

Major limitation to sheep and goat production

from native ranges in dry zone of country is short

supply of forage for longer part of year. Native

ranges rehabilitated by perennial grasses improve

the forage yield and ensures forage supply for longer

period. The most suitable perennial grasses for arid

and semiarid region are Cenchrus ciliaris, Cenchrus

setigerus and Lasirus sindicus. Cenchrus ciliaris

pasture yields 27-33 q DM/ha in semiarid region

and under favorable conditions (rainfall and soil types)

858585


yield 29-49 q DM/ha in Cenchrus ciliaris (Rai et

al. 1995). Lambs grazing on degrade rangelandsattained 8- 9 kg body weights at 3 month and 14-

16k g at 6 months of age while on cenchrus pasturebody weight of 18 kg at 3 month of age with 163g average daily gains in lambs has been achieved.

Birth, 3 and 6 months weights of 3.2, 13.9 and 20.6kg respectively in Mutton Synthetic lambs grazed onCenchrus ciliaris pasture has been reported by

Singh, et al. (2003). Major limitation with cenchruspasture is deteriorating yield and quality with matu-rity and found inadequate to support the optimum

growth of lambs in late winter and summer seasons.Some kinds of supplementation either in the form ofconcentrate mixture or tree leaves are required. The

supplementation of concentrate mixture at the rateof 1.5% of body weight in lambs and kids grazingon cenchrus pasture achieved body weight of 27-

26kg at 6 month of age. While lambs and kids underroutine grazing system in field hardly achieved 16-18kg at same age.

Silvipasture

Three strata forage system known assilvipasture in the drier and low rainfall areas incombination with arable cropping can sustain sheepproduction system with requirement of food forhuman consumption. Silvipasture can meet feed

requirement of sheep and goats, with improvementof healthy environment. The crops (cowpea, ground-nut and moth) with shrubs and trees can meet the

need of food for human and feed for animals.Silvipasture comprising of grasses, shrubs and treeleaves can serve the purpose of forage and wood

supply with environmental conservation for poor soiland water conditions. A hectare plot of three-tiersilvipasture of Ailanthus excelsa trees and

Dicrostachys nutans and Cenchrus ciliaris pro-vided 31q fodder on DM basis (Sankhyan et al.,

1996). Weaner lambs and kids attained body weight

of 22- 24 kg at 6 month of age in silvipastoralsystem (Sankhyan et al., 1996). Hoggets gainedbody weight of 30 kg at 1 year of age on silvipasture

and 5 kg more than those maintained on cenchrus

pasture. Avivastra sheep yielded 0.970 and 1.430kg wool during autumn and spring clips undersilvipastoral grazing system. It was found that feed-

ing of Ailanthus excelsa leaves in silvipasture im-proved the milk yield in lactating sheep and goats(Shinde et al., 1996, Bhatta et al., 2002) other

beneficial effect of pod bearing trees in silvipasturehas been demonstrated by several workers.Prosopis cineraria and Acacia tortolis shrubs

supplied good quality pods rich in protein, whichplays an important role in flushing of sheep andgoats during summer months in dry zones of coun-

try. The supplementation of tree leaves grown insilvipasture at stall in addition to grazing and ad lib.concentrate mixture feeding appears to be most

desirable combination for intensive lamb productionprogram (Tripathi et al., 2006).

Pasture utilization system

Rotational system, continuous system, deferred

rotational, cut and carry, forward grazing and stripegrazing are in vogue system for pasture utilization inthe developed countries. In India established pas-

ture are limited and most prevalent system is con-tinues grazing system with no provision of rest forrejuvenation of vegetation. Some of the studies

conducted at CSWRI, Avikanagar, Rajasthan andIGFRI, Jhansi, UP indicated that rotational grazinghelp in applying equal pressure to all the areas and

maintain stable resources. It also control growth ofobnoxious weeds and improve edible vegetationspecies in the pastures and help in better regenera-

tion and growth of grasses. In tropics pasture haslittle growth in other than monsoon season becauseof negligible precipitation and soil moisture. More-

over life cycle of native herbaceous species foundin arid regions is completed within 3- 4 months. Assuch benefits of rotational system over others are

not evidenced in tropics due to limited pasture growthfor 3- 4 months. The study indicated that rotationalgrazing of pasture by sheep and goats reduced water

run off and soil losses in semiarid region. Lambs

868686


and kids gained higher body weights at 6 months in

rotational than in continuous grazing system. De-ferred rotational grazing is another system for pas-ture utilization where one portion of area or pad-

dock is protected from grazing during active veg-etation growth phase for preparation of hay. Teth-ering of sheep and goats in cropped areas is adopted

to prevent animals wandering into areas under in-tensive cropping. The goats are tethered on wastegrazing areas close to crop field to regulate stubble

grazing or close to stacks of crop straw to allowself-feeding.

Grazing behavior and forage selection

A better understanding of how herbivores grazein heterogeneous areas will help to improve animalproduction and to determine the impact of these

herbivores on plant species and plant communitychange. Sheep make several adjustment in grazingintensity, pattern, diet selection and shade seeking toameliorate the adverse condition of environment.

Sheep and goats follow rhythmic periodicity in graz-ing pattern, where they grazed actively during morn-ing and evening hours. Sheep makes several adjust-

ments in food processing for efficient utilization offorage. Bite per minute declined from 35 in mediumpasture allowance to 24 in low level of allowances

(Shinde et al., 1997). Forage quality mainly fibre

content of forage influenced the food processing

behaviour. Ruminating rate (chew/bolus) of sheep

increased from 62 to 67 while masticating rate (chew/

min) decreased from 69 to 63 with rise of acid

detergent fibre of diet from 42 to 52%. Ruminating

rate increased from 45 chew/min in monsoon when

diet contained 68 % shrub and 32 % grass to 70

chew/min in summer when diet consisted of shrub

alone. Shrub in comparison to grass contained more

fibre and greater consumption of fibre in animals

increased rumination rate for better utilization. Goats

of north-western region are considered to be well

adapted to high ambient temperature and spend

considerably lesser hours of day under shade. Graz-

ing hours of goats on pasture is negatively correlated

with ambient temperature, relative humidity, and for-

age supply from ranges (Bhatta et al., 2001). Goats

have characteristic bipedal stance, which help in

consumption of overhead portion of shrub species.

This characteristic behavioural of goats helps them

to maintain higher CP in diet despite sizable dete-

rioration of CP content of ground vegetation in dry

periods (Bhatta et al., 2001).

Better knowledge of palatable species over

other helps us to improved distribution of edible

species in the grazing land and animal production.

Animal species generally differ in their preference,

and within each species consistent diurnal patterns

of preference are frequently observed in herbivores.

On pastures and rangelands, vegetation constraints

become important because they alter rates of en-

counter of preferred forages. The availability of the

different sward components can limit preference

expression. Herbivores those have broad and flat

muzzle have lesser ability to feed selectivity than

species with narrow mouths and incurred incisor

arcades. Sheep have a high ability to sort preferred

plant components from others. The ability to walk

long distances enables sheep to explored wider areas

and influenced their encounter rates of preferred

species. Sheep are basically a grazier animal, diet

of sheep mainly constituted of grasses and forbs

and little of browse species. Contrary to sheep,

goats are browser species and their diet mainly

consisted of browse and little of grasses. Goats in

semiarid region preferred grasses only in monsoon

when they were green and succulent in nature while

in other season their preference is almost negligible

probably due to maturity and fibrous nature. Goat

diet contained 76 % shrubs and 24 % grasses in

monsoon, while in winter and summer; diet was

constituted of 100 % shrubs in semiarid rangeland

of India (Shinde et al., 2000).

The Prosopis cineraria shrub in desert envi-

ronment is one of the main sources of foliage to

goats. The P. cineraria constituted 93.2 g/kg of diet

in monsoon, 166.6 g/kg in winter and 540 g/kg in

summer. In summer, when most of the ground veg-

878787


etation dried off and very few shrubs species are

available in the grazing lands, the goats diet primarily

comprised of Prosopis cineraria (546g/kg), Aca-

cia tortolis pods (158.0 g/kg) and Acacia senegal

(158.0 g/kg). Cocculus pendulus, the most palat-

able climber, widely found only on Prosopis ciner-

aria and remained green throughout the year. It

constituted 102.4, 83.9 and 138.0 g/kg of goat diet

in monsoon, winter and summer seasons, respec-

tively. Sheep preferred quality nutrients with dete-

rioration of pasture conditions to meet their dietary

requirement. Preference index for CP in sheep on

Cenchrus pasture progressively increased from 1.2

in monsoon to 2.1 in winter and 3.0 in summer,

respectively (Shinde et al., 1998a) and 1.35 in mon-

soon to 1.78 in winter and 2.25 in summer in goats

on native ranges (Bhatta et al., 2001). The increase

selection intensity of CP helped them to maintain 13

% CP in diet throughout the year irrespective of

sizable decline of pasture vegetation content.

Nutrition of sheep and goats on pastures

In arid and semiarid region sheep and goats

depend on native ranges for the main source of

forage supply. The deciduous plant species and a

heterogeneous vegetation type of shrubs with an

annual herbaceous understorey are the main com-

ponent of these ranges. Prosopis cineraria, Aca-

cia senegal and Acacia tortolis are the dominant

shrub species and their leaves and pods offer a

potential source of protein to animals during winter

and summer. Melilotus indica, Tribulus terrestris,

Crotolaria burhia, Celosia argentea and

Indigofera cordifolia grass and forb species are

occupied by understorey. Native vegetation showed

typical pattern of growth in response to short pe-

riod of rainy season followed by long spell of dry

period. Such seasonal pattern has sizable influence

on diet composition and intake of grazing sheep

and goat in semiarid pastures and ranges. Goats on

these ranges consumed 64.0 g/kgW 0.75 or 2.4 %

of BW in monsoon when vegetation in grazing land

was sufficient and intakes decreased to 54.0g/kg

W 0.75 or 2.0 % BW in winter and summer with

maturity and deterioration of vegetation. Goats have

ability to maintain constant level of intake despite

wide variation in forage supply in different seasons

because of their flexible and opportunistic grazing

behaviour that enable them to adapt to various range

conditions (Shinde et al., 2000). Sheep on Cenchrus

pasture consumed 36.9 g/kg W 0.75 dry matter in

monsoon, 64.0 g/kg W 0.75 in winter and 53.0 g/

kgW 0.75 in summer (Shinde et al., 1998b).

Sheep consumed 3.44 g/kg W0.75 DCP in

monsoon, 2.42 g/kg W0.75 in winter and 1.05 g/

kg W0.75 in summer on native ranges of semiarid

region. The protein intake remained low and inad-

equate for growth and production. Cenchrus pas-

ture improved forage yield and quality and sheep

consumed 4.70 g/kg W 0.75 DCP in winter and

2.10- 2.50 g/kg W 0.75 in monsoon and summer.

Sheep are unable to meet DCP requirement of

pregnancy and lactation stages on Sewan and

Cenchrus pastures and require the supplementa-

tion. In general protein intake of animals from pas-

ture in semiarid regions is just enough for mainte-

nance requirement during rainy season while in other

seasons 25-30% below the requirement. Goats have

better ability to meet their protein requirement be-

cause of greater consumption of browse species

and overhead portion of shrubs. Goats on native

ranges has DCP intake of 4.8, 3.1 and 4.5 g/kg W

0.75 in monsoon, winter and summer seasons and

maintained 67- 95 g DCP per day, which was found

sufficient for maintenance and out door activities

(Shinde et al., 2000). In Cenchrus pasture goats

has disadvantage because of poor cover of browse

species. Goat intake on Cenchrus pasture declined

from 4.10 g/kgW 0.75 in monsoon season to 2.90

g/kg W 0.75 in summer (Shinde et al., 1996). It is

useful to have browse species for improving the

nutrition of goat in Cenchrus pasture.

In arid and semiarid region, forage from range-

lands and pastures are usually poor in energy con-

888888


tent. Average energy content ranges between 6-

7MJ/kgDM. Sheep and goats on an average con-

sumed 1.0-1.5 kg DM daily are able to get 6- 9

MJ/kgW0.75, which is insufficient for maintenance

and outdoor requirement. Sheep on Cenchrus pas-

ture consume 0.74 MJ/kg W0.75 in monsoon and

0.42MJ/ kgW0.75 in summer. Energy intake of

sheep sizably decreased from monsoon to summer.

Energy intake of sheep during later winter on

Cenchrus pasture was 0.37, 0.38 and 0.40 MJ/kg

W0.75 during dry, pregnant and lactation stages.

Goat consumed 0.90, 0.78 and 0.80 MJ ME/ kg

W0.75 in monsoon, winter and summer (Shinde et

al., 2000). Energy intake of goats remained low

during dry, pregnancy and lactation. It was esti-

mated as 1.22 in dry, 1.00 in pregnant and 1.04

MJ ME/ kgW0.75 in lactation in goats grazing on

semi-arid rangeland of India.

Energy expenditure at pasture

Majority of sheep and goat flocks in the coun-

try are managed under extensive system where they

traveled long distance while foraging in field. The

energy expenditure of sheep and goats on pasture

is more than those maintained on stall-feeding.

Maintenance energy requirement of animals on

pasture includes sum of basal metabolism, heat in-

crement of feeding, muscular activities and ther-

moregulation. In general sheep on pasture spend

60-70% more energy than stall-fed animals. In dry

zone of country, about 60-70% of flocks are main-

tained on temporary to permanent migration. These

flocks would be spending sizably higher energy for

maintenance because of longer distance covered.

Sheep on pasture exposed to wide range of ambi-

ent temperature ranging from 8-10° in winter to

40-45°C in summer in semi-acid region of

Rajasthan. Grazing of sheep on pasture at higher

ambient temperature spend more energy for ther-

moregulation resulting in greater energy expenditurefor maintenance. Sheep and goats in hilly and ter-

rain graze on steep land and travel long distance in

the mountain region requiring still higher energy re-

quirement for muscular activities than those flocksgrazed in plains: sheep on ascent spent 10 timesmore energy than on plain land. The maintenance

energy requirement of sheep on pasture of semiaridRajasthan was reported as 43% (Shinde et al.,

1998a) more than stall-fed. Sheep grazing on pas-

tures of semiarid region spent 136.7kJ/kg BW inwinter to 161.1 kJ/BW in summer and 223.7 kJ/BW in monsoon (Shinde et al., 1998a).

Role of small ruminants in environment con-

servation

It is often believed that grazing of small rumi-

nants help natural generation of trees and shrubsand also creates opportunities for local plant com-munities and their ecosystem. On the other hand,

prevention of grazing results in dominance of shrubbyplants, loss of grasses and eventually woodland.Grazing of sheep and goats in woodland also pre-vents fire by making breaks of dense flora. This

implies small ruminants themselves provide morespecific roles in the ecosystem: their dung is animportant source of food for many insects and other

wildlife. Small ruminants also help in dispersion ofseeds in new areas. Goats help in dispersal of grass,bush and tree pods while browsing and defecate

hard coat undigested seeds especially of pod bear-ing and xerophytes after acid treatment while pass-ing through digestive system and fortifying it with

nutrients in the form of fecal pellets and spreadmore uniformly all over the grazing areas (Acharyaand Singh 1992). These seeds germinate in large

number as soon as soil moisture conditions arefavorable. Higher stocking density damages soil toplayer and cause run off losses. The stocking density

of 2- 4 goats/ha had no effect on runoff and soilloss in hot arid regions of Rajasthan in normal rain-fall years. Similarly 3 sheep or goats/ha had no

effect on deterioration of physical and chemical prop-erties of soil rather improved it. Goat browsing tendto reclaim saline soil by consuming salt-laden leaves

of range plants and contribute fertility to soil by

898989


even distribution of fecal pellets on land they grazed.Sharma and Ogra (1987) reported 27% more veg-etative regeneration in goats paddock comprisingof Cenchrus ciliaris, Dichrostachys nutans andLeuceania leucocephala. Goat saliva left on thebitten foliage adds nitrogen directly to the plant cellsinducing quick growth. The biting of tender leavesand twigs by goats also induce number of tillers andfaster regeneration of branch and foliage.

In arid zones, overgrazing because of highstocking density of livestock, extensive cutting offuel wood and cultivation of fragile lands has re-sulted in loss of plant cover and change of vegeta-tion composition. The utilization of rangeland be-yond the limit of their capacity, long history of mis-use of rangeland resources has resulted in over-grazing. The misuse is caused by overstocking,usually associated with reduction in grazing areas,inappropriate use of rangeland resources with re-spect to grazing season, reduction in grazing areasand inappropriate distribution of animals.

Livestock numbers have increased in aridzones at a rate close to demographic ones. Theincreased livestock populations in the country haveoverstocked rangeland. The higher livestock popu-lations in fragile zones is ascribed to greater animalrearing because of surplus labor, lower landowner-ship and poor crop cultivation. Continuous utiliza-tion of range resource by all kind of livestock hascaused overgrazing since it reduced plant vigor,reproduction and regeneration. The dry land agri-culture is expanding, which has reduced the size ofgrazing areas and put more pressure on the remain-ing rangeland. The concentrations of animals incertain areas are the main cause of overgrazing.The main factors that affect animal distribution areproximity to watering points, proximity to areas ofbetter grazing quality and shepherding. The increas-ing grazing pressure increases the proportion of baresoil and more important reduce the amount of veg-etation litter and soil fertility. The increased grazingpressure in common access lands leads to progres-sive erosion and decrease of soil fertility, loweringof water tables and loss of biodiversity. Higher

grazing intensities results also in soil compaction,

higher run off and less infiltration.

The present paper concludes that grazing landin the country are shrinking both in area as well asin yield and vegetation cover hence there is urgentneed to rehabilitate these lands by establishment ofperennial grasses or silvipasture to meet the foragerequirement of small ruminants.

REFERENCES

Acharya, R.M. and Singh, N.P. (1992) The role ofgoats in conserving of ecology and livelihoodsecurity, Pre-conference Proceeding PlenaryPapers and Invited lectures. V InternationalConference on Goats, held at New Delhi, 2-4 March.

Bhatta Raghavendra, Shinde, A. K., Sankhyan, S.K.,Verma, D.L. and S. Vaithiyanathan (2001)Indian J. Anim. Sci.

Bhatta Raghavendra, Shinde, A.K, Sankhyan, S.K.and Verma D.L. (2002) Indian J. Anim. Sci.,

72: 84-86.

Karim S. A., Santra, A., Sen, A. R. and Sharma,V. K. (2001) Indian J. Anim. Sci., 71: 955-958.

Karim, S. A. and Rawat, P. S. (1996) Indian J.

Anim. Sci., 66: 830-832.

Karim, S. A., Santra, A and Verma, D. L. (2002)Asian-Aust J. Anim. Sci., 15: 377-381.

Karim, S.A., Porwal, Kuldeep., Kumar, Suresh andSingh, V.K. (2007) Meat Sci., 76: 395-401.

Karim., S.A. and Mehta, B.S. (2007) Indian J.

Anim. Sci. 77: 187-190.

Porwal, Kuldeep. (2005) Status of sheep produc-

tion in farmers flock and its improvement

by scientific feeding practices. Ph.D. thesissubmitted to Dr B.R. Ambedkar University,Agra.

Rai, P.K., Yadav, M.S. and Sudhakar, N. (1995)Annals Arid Zone., 34: 111-114.

909090


Sankhyan, S. K, Shinde, A. K, Karim, S. A, Mann,J. S, Singh, N. P. and Patnayak, B. C. (1996)Indian J. Anim. Sci., 66: 1194-1197.

Sen, A. R., Santra, A. and Karim, S. A. (2004)Meat Sci., 757-763.

Sharma, K. and Ogra, J. L. (1987) Reaction ofcomponent of plant species of synthesizedpasture under three-tier system to high inten-sity of grazing by goats and sheep in semi-aridzones. Proc. 3rd International Conf. on Goat,Brazil.

Shinde, A. K., Karim, S. A., Patnayak, B.C. andMann, J.S. (1997) Small Rumin Res., 26:119-122.

Shinde, A. K., Sankhyan, S. K., RaghavendraBhatta, Verma, D. L. (2000) J. Agri Sci.,

Camb., 135: 429-436.

Shinde, A. K., Karim, S. A., Sankhyan, S. K. andBhatta, Raghavendra. (1998a) J. Agri. Sci.,

Camb., 131: 341-346.

Shinde, A. K, Karim, S. A, Sankhyan, S. K. andBhatta, R. (1998b) Small Rumin. Res., 30:29-35.

Shinde, A. K, Sankhyan, S. K, Karim, S. A, Singh,N. P. and Patnayak, B.C. (1996) World Rev.

Anim. Prod., 31: 35-40.

Shinde, A. K., Karim, S. A., Singh, N. P. andPatnayak, B. C. (1995) Indian J. Anim. Sci.,

65: 830-833.

Singh, N. P., Sankhyan, S. K., Shinde, A. K. andVerma, D. L. (2003) Establishment, utiliza-

tion and management of different types of

pastures and silvipastures for sheep produc-

tion. Annual Report CSWRI, Avikanagar.

Singh, N.P. and Sahu, B.B. (1997) Indian J. Anim.

Sci., 67: 87-89.

Tripathi, M. K., Karim, S. A., Chaturvedi, O. H.and Singh, V. K. (2006) Livestock Res. Rural

Devel., 18: 1-12.

919191


Two-third of the world's poor live in Asia

below nationally defined poverty line and 65 % of

them are poor livestock keepers who derive a large

part of their household from domesticated animals.

The rapidly changing patterns of demand for live-

stock and livestock products point to livestock

production being an increasing component of the

agricultural economies of Asia. The extent to which

the rural poor will benefit from these changes de-

pends on how livestock can be integrated into

developing markets and whether cheaper livestock

products benefit the rural poor as consumers as

well as producers. There is scope for the two small

ruminants - goats and sheep-to play an important

role for smallholder farmers in accessing these new

markets. Their significance, which is now being

exploited in several countries, is that they are small

livestock in high demand and can thrive on low

inputs and local resources.

Livestock population and production

World's current population of cattle, buffaloes,

sheep and goats is around 1355.1, 174.0, 1081.1

and 807.6 million respectively. Asian region pos-

sesses about 33.61, 96.88, 42.29 and 64.33 %

and India 13.65, 56.31, 5.79 and 14.87 % of the

total world population of the four respective live-

stock species (FAO, 2005). Although the popula-

tion of all the four species has shown increasing

trend since 1951 the buffalo and goat population

has increased more rapidly than others and they are

considered the animals of the future for the country.

The contribution of agriculture and allied sectors to

the National Gross Domestic Product (GPD) has

declined from 55 % in early 1950s to 23.9 % in

2001-02. But the share of livestock sector to ag-

ricultural GPD has increased from 18.1 % in 1980-

81 to 25.5 % in 2001-02 (Sharma, 2004). Live-

stock provides food security in the form of milk,

meat and eggs, employment, draught power, plant

nutrients through manure, fuel and biogas, weed

control, more equitable distribution besides source

of income. Livestock are even more significant for

people living in drought-prone, hilly, tribal and other

less favoured areas where crop production is most

uncertain.

About 23 % of the world population living in

developed countries consumes 3 to 4 times the meat

and fish and 5 to 6 times the milk per capita as

compared to those in developing countries (Delgado

et al., 1999). But massive increases in the aggre-

gate consumption of animal products are occurring

in developing countries including India. Dastagiri

(2003) has estimated the demand and supply of

different livestock products by 2020 in the country.

The projected consumption and production trends

of livestock food products indicate that major sur-

plus production is likely to emerge in milk, eggs,

beef, buffalo meat and fish of the order of 85 mil-

lion litres, 69 billion, 8 million, and 4.5 million tons,

respectively. These results indicate that by 2020,

India would not only be self-sufficient in these prod-

ucts, but would also have surplus production which

could be exported to earn foreign exchange. There

would, however, be shortage of 12 million tons of

mutton and chevon. The small ruminant sector has

tremendous potential to grow especially in the arid

and semi-arid zones where sheep and goat hus-

bandry plays a very vital role in livelihood security

and economic sustenance of the people. But the

Sustainable intensive meat production system for goats

and sheep in tropics

N. P. Singh

Central Institute for Research on Goats, Makhdoom, Mathura-281 122, India

929292


productivity of the two species is low and there is

dire need to evolve sustainable goat and sheep

production systems to improve their productivity.

Goat and sheep population and production

The current world population of sheep is

1081.1 million and goats 807.6 million. Asian re-

gion possesses about 42.3% sheep and 64.3%

goats of the world population. India with 5.79%

sheep and 14.9% goats ranks sixth in sheep popu-

lation and second in goat population of the world.

China tops the world in goat population with around

195 million (FAO, 2005). The developed countries

of the world have about 45.0% of the world's sheep

and only 5.5% of the world's goats. The develop-

ing countries, on the other hand, have 55.0% of the

sheep and 94.50% of the total goat population.

Presently there are 8.1, 13.1 and 19.6 sheep and

5.4, 15.1 and 41.5 goats per 1000 hectares of land

area and 17.2, 10.9 and 5.7 sheep and 11.6, 12.7

and 12.2 goats per 1000 human heads in the World,

Asia and India respectively. India possessed a

population of 124.36 million goats and 61.47 mil-

lion sheep. Andhra Pradesh with 21.38 million sheep

ranks first. Rajasthan, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu

respectively occupy II, III and IV position. The

goat population of 18.77 million is highest in West

Bengal followed by 16.81 million in Rajasthan. Uttar

Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar respectively oc-

cupy III, IV and V position in the country. In spite

of annual slaughter rate of nearly 30% in sheep and

40% in goats there has been a continuous increase

in their number. The overall annual population growth

rate during the period 1951-2003 has remained

about 1 % in sheep and around 3.5% in goats.

Sheep around the world contributed 8075.6

TMT of milk, 8025.0 TMT of meat, 2150.7 TMT

of greasy wool and 1638.6 TMT of fresh skins

annually. Sheep in India contributed only 2.92% of

the meat, 2.39% of the wool and 3.24% of the

skins produced world over. Goats, on the other

hand, provided 11987.2 TMT of milk, 4198.9 TMT

of meat and 910.4 TMT of fresh skins world over

and in India contributed 21.77% of the milk, 10.41%

of the meat and 14.23% of the skins of the world

production. The number of animals available for

slaughter is comparatively higher in the country. But

the meat yield per animal is lower than the world

average. India with 11 % of the world livestock

contributes only 2.13 % of the total meat. The

demand for meat in our country is far more than the

production. The demand is further augmented by

the great scope for meat export and potential to

earn foreign exchange.

Importance of goat and sheep in Indian

economy

Goats and sheep are widely distributed through-

out the country. Their contribution to the economy

through production of meat, milk, fiber, skins,

manure etc. is substantial constituting about 5.40

% of GNP of Agriculture Sector. The annual

contribution was estimated to be Rs.10, 087.45

crores to the Indian economy (FAO, 2004). The

size and magnitude of the contributions, however,

have not been adequately assessed. A few reports

available do justify their claim to equality if not

superiority with other livestock. They are so vital

to a very large human population that their con-

tribution to national economy can not be over

looked. They relatively much lower investments

and facilities in terms of housing, feed, labour and

health care. There is quick pay off due to fast

multiplication and early maturity. The risk involved

in goat and sheep farming is much lower when

compared to other livestock and crop production.

Goats and sheep are reported to be more eco-

nomical than cattle and buffaloes under natural

grazing on arid zone range. The indigenous goats

were found 2.5 times more economical than

indigenous sheep when maintained on a free range

grazing on highly degraded land in semi arid

ecology of Rajasthan. Sharma (1987) recorded

significantly more meat and milk production per unit

939393


live weight per year from goats than buffalo, camel

and sheep. The cost of production of goat milk

worked out to be less than half than for cow's

milk while milk from buffaloes was intermediate.

The results of a socio economic survey in Rajasthan

conducted by Ahuja and Rathore (1987) have

revealed that the number of goats increased 3 times

between 1951 to 1983 and goats accounted for

28.31% of the value of the livestock assets and

for 16.19% of the gross receipts from crops and

livestock. Studies have also revealed that the goats

contributed up to 50.55% to the total cash income

of a farm family in the hot arid region of the

country. It is therefore, important that development

programmes should focus on the efficient use of

these renewable resources as well as explore ways

and means of increasing their current level of

production.

Socio economic gains of goat and sheep

The socio economic importance of goats and

sheep in India is evident by the sharp increase in

their numbers and contributions during the last

about 30 years. Goats and sheep contribute milk,

meat, fibre, skins and manure to the subsistence

of small holders and landless rural poor. They play

an important role in income generation, capital

storage, employment generation and house hold

nutrition. Their importance lies in the fact that

human population is increasing very rapidly creating

increasing demands for animal protein foods on the

one hand and the feed resources for increasing

large ruminants are decreasing due to shrinkage of

grazing lands on the other. This demand can,

therefore, be met with by increasing population of

small ruminants. It is easier to increase their

population than cattle and buffaloes because the

capital investment is relatively low, land require-

ments per animal are small, reproductive rates are

higher both due to shorter breeding interval and

high prolificacy and they can be managed by spare

family labour and do not require any serious

housing facilities and management skills. There is

much less risk in goat and sheep farming in drought

prone areas where large mortality occurs due to

frequent droughts. They act as an insurance against

disaster under pastoral and agriculture subsistence

system. Goats have religious and ritualistic impor-

tance in India. They are offered as sacrificial

animals both by Muslims on Id and by Hindus

especially the worshippers of Goddess Kali. They

are worshipped for their creative and generative

powers and sexual virility. There are no religious

taboos against consumption of goat and sheep

meat. Goat milk is easily digestible because of

small sized fat globules. It has much less allergic

problems than the milk of other livestock species.

It also has medicinal value and can ward off many

diseases as the goats browse on variety of plants

including medicinal ones. The sheep and goat skins

are highly valued and have large export potential

both in the processed form and as products. The

bones of slaughtered and dead animals are utilized

for bone meal manufacture. A goat or sheep

produces about 150 kg of dry manure per year

for use in crop production and gardening. Goat

and sheep browsing accelerates growth of trees,

shrubs and surface vegetation. They also act as

seeding machines. They have higher dry matter and

fibre digestibility and can subsist on poor woody

vegetation. Goats and sheep are able to obtain

more nutrients from the given environment in all

seasons than other livestock species and are often

the last species to leave the ecology during severe

and continuous drought conditions.

Production systems

Although a number of sheep and goat produc-

tion systems are in practice and vary from country

to country and region to region within a country, in

India these can essentially be included under three

systems viz. Extensive, Semi-intensive and Inten-

sive system. The emerging strategies for feeding small

ruminants for sustainable meat production under

949494


different systems of feeding management are de-

scribed below-

Extensive system: Goat and sheep rearing playsonly a secondary role to crop as well as otherlivestock production. It is primarily in the hands of

poor, landless or small and marginal farmers whogenerally raise their animals on natural vegetationand stubbles supplemented by tree lopping under

extensive system. It is the most common systemthroughout the country because the small size ofsheep and goats has distinct economical, manage-

rial and biological advantages over other livestockspecies. The sheep and goats usually owned bysmall farmers and landless are grazed together and

tend to be herded over long distances in search offeed and water. The flock sizes are larger andanimals belonging to several owners are run to-

gether. A low level of unpaid family labour repre-sents the main input. The system is principally oneof low resource use and a low level of productivityemerges from poor nutritional availability. While

the livestock population has increased, large areasearlier available for grazing have been put undercrop cultivation. The density of livestock per unit

grazing area has greatly increased. Because of non-availability of grazing in their home tract, sheep andgoat owners resort to migration within the State or

to neighboring States. The sheep and goat flocksare grazed on uncultivated lands and communitygrazing lands throughout the year and virtually no or

very little supplementary feeding is provided. Ex-tensive studies on evaluation of community grazinglands, developed pastures, semi-intensive and in-

tensive feeding systems vis-à-vis performance andproduction levels in sheep and goats have beenconducted and the results have been reviewed by

Singh and Patnayak (1987), Patnayak et al., (1995),Shinde and Bhatta (2002) and Singh et al., (2004).

Production levels on rangelands : The productiv-

ity of Indian sheep and goats is low, yet considering

the poor nutritional availability, their production

cannot be considered as inefficient. Large areas

available for grazing have now been put under ce-

real production. The density of livestock per unit

grazing area has greatly increased due to an in-

crease in the number of livestock and shrinkage of

grazing lands. This has further resulted in reduction

of grazing potential by replacement of more nutri-

tious perennial grasses and legumes by low quality

seasonal and annual ones. The natural rangelands in

arid and semiarid regions are under very poor con-

dition. These have never been harrowed, protected,

fertilized, reseeded, irrigated or properly managed

and could hardly stock one sheep/goat per hectare.

The greatest limitation in our rangelands is on the

availability of adequate energy throughout the year

and adequate protein for more than half the year.

The yield of unprotected common grazing lands

varied from 0.6 to 6.4 quintals (Mann and Singh,

1982), 0.89 to 1.57q (Sankhyan et al. 1999) and

1.5 to 2.0q DM/ha. During different seasons of the

year. Simple protection from grazing by the live-

stock doubled the fodder yield to 12.2q in first

year and 17.97q DM/ha in the second year. Such

protected rangelands could conveniently carry two

sheep/ha. Although grazing on rangelands is consid-

ered cheapest method for sheep and goat produc-

tion, over grazing of the available lands is causing

serious problem of soil erosion and land degrada-

tion. The sheep and goat meat available in the

market was coming either from old and culled adults

or from male lambs and kids slaughtered any time

between 9 months to one year of age and its quan-

tity and quality was very poor due to poor market

weights (15-16 kg), lower dressing percentage (35-

40) and narrow bone: meat ratio (1:3.5-4.0). Rela-

tive productivity of sheep on free-range grazing

management on semi-arid land of Rajasthan was

studied at CSWRI. An annual lambing rate of 82.5

% and kidding rate of 91.9 % was observed. The

annual mortality was recorded to be 31.2 % in

ewes and 7.1 % in does. The mortality in lambs

was 16.4 % from 0 to 90 days and 56.6 % from

0 to 180 days age. It was 12.2 % from 0 to 90

959595


days and 28.16 % from 0 to 180 days age in kids.

The birth, weaning and six monthly body weights

were 2.6, 8.6 and 12.5 kg in lambs and 2.9, 9.3

and 13.6 kg in goats respectively. The dressing

percentage on live weight basis was recorded to be

34.3 in lambs and 41.7 in kids. The Beetal goat

male kids reached a body weight of only 11.5 kg

at weaning and 14.1 kg at 6 months age when

maintained under free range grazing without any

supplementary feeding with over all survivability of

87.5% up to six months age (Mishra, 1981). In

another study annual lambing rate of 106.7 % and

kidding rate of 153.3 % was recorded. The num-

ber of lambs born per 100 ewes per year was 110

and that of kids per 100 does per year was 193.3.

The adult mortality rate was 16.6 % in cross bred

sheep followed by 10.0 % in native goats, 6.6 %

in crossbred goats and nil in native sheep. The

mortality in the young was found to be 14.3, 12.1,

3.4 and 2.8 from 0 to 3 months and 12.5, 3.5, 5.4

and 5.7 % from 3 months to 6 months of age in

crossbred sheep, native sheep, crossbred goats and

native goats, respectively. The birth, 3 months and

6 months body weights were 3.2, 10.2 and 15.5

kg in crossbred sheep, 2.7, 11.3 and 16.6 kg in

native sheep, 3.1, 11.1 and 17.0 kg in crossbred

goats and 2.8, 10.6 and 15.7 kg in native goats,

respectively. The relative productivity of sheep and

goats on free range grazing on natural rangeland of

arid region was also studied. Sheep showed de-

creasing trend in body weight from March to July

and goats from March to April and thereafter showed

increasing trend. Lambing rates varied from 95 to

100 % and kidding rates from 80 to 104%.

Sankhyan et al., (1996a) studied the production

performance of 50 native and 50 crossbred sheep

and their followers maintained on 35 hectare of

natural rangeland under farmers management. A

lambing rate of 92, 96, 84 and 92 % in Malpura,

Chokla, Avikalin and Avivastra sheep was recorded

on the basis of ewes available during first year and

144, 145, 109 and 120 % at the end of the second

year respectively. The adult mortality was 8, 4, 4

and 4 % during first year and 4, 3, 8 and 5%

during the second year in the four breeds, respec-

tively. The live weights of lambs harvested per ewe

per year were 20.0, 16.65, 11.6 and 13.2 kg and

per ewe per hectare were 2.28, 1.90, 1.33 and

1.50 kg in the four breeds, respectively.

Production levels on developed pastures : We

must get used to the idea that pasture is the valu-

able fodder for sheep simply because it is the cheap-

est way of supplying the protein, energy, minerals

and vitamins necessary for maintenance and pro-

duction. Cenchrus ciliaris and Cenchrus setigerus

in semi-arid and Lasiurus sindicus perennial grasses

in arid region were adopted for development of

large-scale reseeded pastures. Legumes like cow-

pea, guar and moth were successfully introduced as

nurse crops in the Cenchrus pastures during the

first year of establishment. Inter-cropping of cow-

pea in the Cenchrus pasture significantly increasedthe dry fodder yield during the first year of estab-

lishment. Various perennial legumes like cowpea,

Dolichos lablab, Clitoria ternata and Stylosanthes

hemata were tried with Cenchrus ciliaris grass

for establishment of grass-legume pastures. The

Cenchrus- Dolichos mixed pasture gave highestyield. The DM yield could be improved to 38.78q/

ha by reseeding the rangelands with Cenchrus grass

species (Mann and Singh, 1982). These reseeded

grass pastures carried 4 to 5 adult sheep/ha. While,

Cenchrus ciliaris pasture could provide sufficient

grazing for 5 sheep round the year under semi arid

conditions, the Lasiurus sindicus pasture could not

do so under arid conditions. The Cenchrus grass

pastures deteriorate in their nutrient content with

advancing seasonal maturity and sheep grazing on

these pastures fail to meet their nutrient require-

ments. It is therefore necessary to introduce legume

component in the reseeded pastures. Incorporation

of legume species viz. Clitoria ternata, Dolichos

lablab, Lablab purpurium, Atylosia scarbaeoides

and Stylosanthes hamata in Cenchrus pasture im-

proved the yield, palatability and quality of the

969696


pasture. The yield of the grass-legume pasture im-

proved to 86, 37.5, 45.0 and 59 q/ha forage with

the introduction of the four respective legumes.

Cenchrus with moth (Phaseolus aconitifolins), guar

(Cyamopsis tetragonoloba) and cowpea (Vigna

unguiculata) yielded 13.0,14.9 and 19.2 q DM /

ha more fodder than Cenchrus alone providing ad-

ditional dry matter sufficient to carry two more sheep

per hectare.

The pasturelands reseeded with perennial

grasses and legumes turn dry and deteriorate in

quantity and quality of grazing material with ad-

vancing season and total dependence on them for

maintaining sheep and goats throughout the year

involves a great risk. During the period from De-

cember to June when the grazing material becomes

scarce and the nutritive value of that available goes

very down, the fodder trees serve as potential source

of feed. Introduction of Ailanthus excelsa, Prosopis

cineraria, Gymnosporia spinosa, Acacia nilotica,

Azardirachta indica, Albizia lebbek, Bauhinia

racemosa, Morus alba and Leucaena

leucocephala fodder trees and Zizyphus

nummularia and Dicrostachys nutans fodder

bushes in different grass pastures was therefore

studied in relation to improvement in quantity and

quality of the biomass. Plantation of 50 fodder trees

each of Prosopis cineraria and Ailanthus excelsa

per hectare did not have any adverse effect on the

growth of pasture grasses and legumes and pro-

vided an additional yield of 8-10 quintals dry mat-

ter when fully grown and lopped twice a year. A

three tier silvi-pasture having 100 Ailanthus excelsa

trees and Dichrostachys nutans bushes with ground

cover of Cenchrus ciliaris yielded 5.3q from tree

leaves, 2.3q from bush leaves and pods and 23.5

q from pasture grasses, totaling to 31.1 q DM/ha

(Sankhyan et al., 1996b).

The productive performance of sheep was

studied on a Cenchrus ciliaris pasture by main-

taining 20 ewes each of the two strains @ 5 ewes/

ha under rotational grazing system. A mortality rate

of 10 % in Avivastra and 5 % in Avikalin was

recorded in adult sheep. While no mortality was

observed in Avikalin lambs from 0 to 3 months age,11.5 % of the Avivastra strain lambs died up toweaning. The average weaning weight was 10.9

kg in Avivastra and 11.2 kg in Avikalin lambs.Performance of Karakul and Marwari ewes onLasiurus sindicus pasture under arid conditions in-

dicated that Karakul ewes lost in body weight dur-ing lean period while Marwari ewes maintained.Weaner lambs grazed on Cenchrus grass or

Cenchrus + Dolichos grass- legume pasture gainedby 34 and 48 g/h/day respectively. Malpura, Chokla,Avikalin and Avivastra lambs grazed on protected

rangeland respectively attained 21.8, 17.2, 19.3 and18.3 kg body weight at 6 months of age. The ADGwas 94, 78, 88 and 88 g/d during 3-6 months of

age. Lambs in subsequent years hardly attained bodyweight of 13.7, 12.5, 14.1 kg in Malpura, Choklaand Avivastra breeds. Avivastra lambs attained body

weight of 18 kg at 3 months and 27 kg at 6 monthsof age while grazing on Cenchrus pasture withconcentrate supplementation @ 1.5% of bodyweight. Lambs raised on multi-tier silvi-pasture at a

stocking density of 12 animals/ha for a period of 3months attained a body weight of 18.0 kg at 6months. Male lambs grazing on a silvi-pasture for a

period of 4 months at a stocking density of 8 ani-mals /ha attained 30 kg body weight at one year ofage. The weaner lambs weighing 11.0 kg could

attain only 16.0 kg body weight at one year of agewhen maintained on a Cenchrus ciliaris pasturealone, whereas lambs grazing on Cenchrus +

Dolichos pasture reached 20.5 kg. The 10 kg lambsat weaning attained a live weight of 28 kg at theage of 7 months and 15 days on Dolichos lablab

pasture. Singh et al. (2004) maintained a flock of50 mutton synthetic ewes on a Cenchrus ciliarispasture at the stocking rate of 3 adults and their

followers per hectare for two years and recordeda lambing rate of 92 % per year and adult mortalityrate of 3 % and lamb mortality rate of 20.5 % from

0 to 9 months of age. At birth, 3, 6 and 9 months,

body weights during the three lambing seasons

averaged 3.2, 13.9, 20.6 and 23.9 kg respectively.

979797


The dressing percentage at 9 months age was 54.3

on empty live weight basis. The total live weight

available for slaughter at 9 months was 1718.1 kg,

which worked out to 17.2 kg per ewe per year.

Annual wool yield was 2.21 kg in adults and 400

g in lambs in first shearing at 9 months of age (Singh

and Sankhyan, 2003). Male Avivastra lambs at a

stocking density of 8 animals /ha on a silvi-pasture

attained a body weight of 30 kg (Shinde et al.,

1994).

Shinde et al. (1996) maintained 32 Avivastra

sheep and 32 Marwari goats on a 16 ha Cenchrus

ciliaris pasture for a period of three years @ 2

sheep +2 goats and their followers/ha. The sheep

gained in their body weight by 6.2 kg and the goats

by 9.4 kg during the first year. The lambing/kidding

rate was 87.5 %. The sheep produced 2.4 kg annual

fleece and the goats produced 714 g milk/ day

during first 90 days of lactation. A pre-weaning ADG

of 163 g in lambs and 136 g in kids was recorded.

A total of 24.4 kg lamb weight/ewe and 37.5 kg

kid weight/doe was harvested. Lambs and kids

weaned at 3 months age and maintained @ of 12

animals/ha on a multi- tier silvi-pasture attained a

live weight of 20.3 and 21.5 kg at 6 months of age

(Sankhyan et al., 1996a). The Mutton synthetic ewes

stocked @ of 12 sheep/ha maintained their body

weights during pregnancy and produced higher birth

weights and milk on two- and three- tier silvi-pas-

tures as compared to those on natural rangeland

and single- tier Cenchrus pasture (Shinde et al.,

1996). Production performance of Kheri sheep and

Marwari goats maintained on Cenchrus ciliaris pas-

ture @ of two sheep and two goats/ha under dif-

ferent pasture utilization systems viz. continuous,

deferred rotational, rotational and grazing plus

supplementation was studied. Annual lambing and

kidding rates were 63 and 59%. The birth, 3 and

6 months body weights were 2.2, 10.4 and 12.9

kg in lambs and 2.5, 13.9 and 19.0 kg in kids,

respectively. Annual wool yield was 747g in all the

four grazing management systems (Sankhyan et al.,

2002). The influence of breeding season on lamb-

ing rate and lamb growth and survival in mutton

synthetic sheep maintained on Cenchrus ciliaris

pasture was studied by Singh et al. (2004). Signifi-

cantly, higher number of lambing took place during

spring (76%) followed by rainy (62%) and winter

(46%) seasons. The birth weight of 3.48 kg in winter

born lambs was higher than that of 2.85 kg in spring

born lambs. The rainy season born lambs excelled

in weaning (16.67 kg) and six monthly body weights

(23.10 kg) over spring and winter born lambs. The

study suggested that sheep be bred during spring

and rainy season to obtain optimum production.

Kids raised on Cenchrus ciliaris pasture with con-

centrate supplement @ 1.5% of body weight at-

tained body weight of 15.4 kg at 3 months and

26.0 kg at 6 months of age. It is thus observed that

reasonably higher reproduction rates, growth rates,

survival rates, quantity and quality of wool and meat

can be obtained from sheep and goats by maintain-

ing them on perennial grass, grass- legume and silvi-

pastures.

Semi-intensive system: A kind of compromise

between extensive and intensive systems is referred

to as the semi-intensive system of sheep and goat

production and management. It is a combination of

free range grazing and stall-feeding. Integration of

sheep rearing with arable cropping is also included

where either the sheep or goats are tethered or cut

and carry system of available fodder is employed.

Animals belonging to several owners are combined

for grazing which is mostly done morning and

evening for 4 to 6 hours. The animals are supple-

mented with kitchen wastes, concentrate mixtures,

crop residues, green and dry fodders and tree leaves

etc. as per the availability. Thus, sheep and goats

utilize all available feed resources including natural

grasses, shrubs, bushes, tree leaves, crop residues,

stubbles, weeds, cultivated fodders and concen-

trates etc. under this system. The level of nutrition

was just optimum and surely better than that under

extensive system.

A series of experiments have been conducted

989898


at CSWRI and CIRG to workout the supplemen-

tary feeding requirements for different categories of

sheep and goats. Supplementation of 400 g con-

centrate mixture in addition to grazing to Malpura

lambs increased the carcass yield by 30% whereas

supplementation of 550 g concentrate mixture re-

sulted in an increase of 55% in the dressed carcass

yield as compared to the lambs maintained on graz-

ing alone. A very little difference in body weight

gain and carcass yield with supplementation of 200

g concentrate mixture or 200 g cowpea hay to the

grazing lambs was observed. A weaning weight of

11 kg was achieved when the Malpura and Sonadi

male lambs were provided 150 g/head/day creep in

addition to suckling up to 90 days age (Singh and

Singh, 1981). While studying the performance of

native lambs on 70: 30 and 50: 50 concentrate:

roughage feedlot ration, grazing + 500 g concen-

trate supplementation and grazing alone recorded a

total gain of 11.0, 10.0, 11.0 and 7.0 kg under the

four feeding systems in 90 days after weaning and

the lambs reached a body weight of 22, 21, 22 and

18 kg respectively, at 6 months of age. Bhatia et

al. (1981) recorded a daily gain of 56.2 g on graz-

ing on Cenchrus pasture, 91.9 g when supplemented

with low energy-low protein and 112.3 g when

supplemented with high energy and high protein

ration fed at the rate of 300 g per day to Malpura

lambs. A growth rate of 140 to 165 g per day was

recorded when the mutton synthetic male lambs

maintained on ad lib cowpea hay meal were supple-

mented with 300 g maize or barley grain. The

control group lambs showed a daily gain of 94 g

only. The lambs required 14.6 kg cowpea hay meal

in control group as against 8 to 10 kg feed in the

grain supplemented groups for each kg of live weightgain (Singh, 1985a). Krishna Mohan et al. (1984)reported that the live weight gain of 28 g/head/dayin native lambs maintained on legume hay was im-proved to 47.1, 80.5 and 83.2 g when they weresupplemented with 100, 200 and 300 g maize grainper day. The dressing percentage was also im-proved from 42.8 to 44.7, 47.4 and 48.7 respec-

tively. The Avivastra lambs and Marwari kids graz-ing on Cenchrus ciliaris pasture and supplementedwith concentrate mixture @ 1.5% of body weightfrom 91 to 180 days of age attained 27.3 and 26.2kg weight at six months of age. The dressing per-centage on live weight basis was 44.5 in lambs and48.9 in kids. The lambs yielded 1.30 kg wool in thefirst 6-monthly clip (Shinde et al., 1995). The Naliand Chokla synthetic lambs either only grazed for8 hours or supplemented with ad lib. or 75%, 50%and 25% of ad lib concentrate mixture and initiallyweighing 11.2, 11.3, 11.4 and 11.2 kg at 75 daysage attained a live weight of 24.1, 35.1, 32.6, 31.5and 28.0 kg and produced 616, 1249, 1218, 876and 863 g greasy fleece at 9 months age, respec-tively. The staple length also improved from 3.69 to5.42, 5.41, 4.44 and 3.74 cm. The dressing per-centage of 40.30 increased to 51.20, 48.90, 47.80and 43.20 on live weight basis with increasing lev-els of supplementation. The percentage of edibleoffal and fat increased and the inedible offal, leanand bone decreased with the increasing levels ofsupplementation (Singh and Sankhyan, 2003, Singhet al., 2003a).

Goat is primarily a browsing animal andperforms well when browsed on variety of shrubbyvegetation supplemented with concentrate mixturein addition to browsing. Total confinement and stallfeeding is detrimental. Ad lib. supplementation ofconcentrate, hay and green to kids between 91to 180 days age, in addition to browsing resultedin an increase of 44.8 % in pre-slaughter weight,65.1 % in carcass weight and 14.3 % in dressingover the browsing alone. The kids when fed theabove ration ad lib under stalls showed an increaseof only 21.4 % in pre-slaughter weight, 39.7 %in carcass weight and 14.8 % in dressing over thesole browsing group. Parthasarthy et al. (1983)found a growth rate of 19.4, 41.7, 111.0 and108.2 g a day in Beetal weaner kids from 91 to180 days of age on ad lib browsing, browsing +green, browsing + concentrate mixture and brows-ing + concentrate mixture + green respectively.

The dressing percentage was 45.74, 44.52, 48.17

999999


and 49.11 respectively. Parthasarthy et al. (1984)

in another experiment, obtained a daily gain of

37.4, 87.4 and 73.3 g from 3 to 6 months and

62.6, 139.2 and 120.0 g from 6 to 9 months of

age in the Sirohi x Beetal kids maintained on

browsing, browsing + 756g/h/d concentrate and

total stall feeding on feedlot ration (1038 g/h/d),

respectively. The dressing percentage was 43.05,

43.65 and 48.50 at 6 months and 47.35, 52.10

and 53.10, at 9 months of age on the 3 respective

feeding regimes. The kids thus showed an improve-

ment of about 44.5 and 34.0% between 3 to 6

months and about 66.1 and 52.2% between 6 to

9 months respectively on browsing + supplemen-

tation and feedlot system of feeding management

over the browsing alone. The Sirohi, Marwari and

Kutchi does produced 84.4, 89.1 and 94.3 kg milk

with no supplementation, 98.6, 96.1 and 93.2 kg

with 150 g concentrate, 100.9, 115.7 and 110.0

kg with 300 g concentrate and 109.0, 106.4 and

101.1 kg with 450 g concentrate supplementation

in addition to 8 hours grazing during 150 days

lactation (Singh, 1992). The Sirohi does grazing/

browsing for 8 hours and supplemented with 150,

300 and 450 g/h/d concentrate mixture during last

45 days of pregnancy and first 150 days of

lactation lost body weight when only grazed,

maintained with supplementation with 150 g con-

centrate and gained in their live weights when

supplemented with 300 and 450 g concentrate

during pregnancy. The same does lost when only

grazed or supplemented with 150 g concentrate

but gained in live weights when supplemented with

300 and 450 g concentrate during lactation. The

milk production was improved by 29.31 and 67.00

% and pre-weaning growth of the kids by 17.20

and 35.00 % with the three supplementary levels

(Singh, 1996). Based on the above findings,

suppl-ementary concentrate- feeding schedules for

different categories of sheep and goats maint-

ained for wool, meat and milk production under

different climatic zones of the country have been

developed.

Intensive system: The intensive system of sheep

and goat production includes grazing on highly de-

veloped pastures and/or complete stall-feeding on

cultivated fresh or conserved fodders, crop resi-

dues and concentrates. Although goats prefer to

browse as compared to grazing, they are quite

capable of making efficient use of cultivated pas-

tures for meat and milk production similar to sheep.

Stocking rates of 16 to 60 sheep or goats per

hectare are feasible depending on the type of grass,

level of fertilization and the presence and absence

of legumes and fodder trees. This system requires

high labour and capital investment and is suitable

for only intensive meat production. In addition to

providing better milk, wool, growth and carcass

quality it also removes pressure from the commu-

nity grazing lands. A growth rate of 92 and 100 g/

head/day in Malpura and Sonadi lambs maintained

on a feedlot from 91 to 180 days of age was ob-

served. Feedlot gains in Malpura, Sonadi and their

crosses with Dorset and Suffolk were studie.

Malpura, Sonadi, Dorset x Sonadi, Dorset x

Malpura, Suffolk x Sonadi and Suffolk x Malpura

lambs reached a body weight of 26.0, 25.4, 30.5,

31.3, 32.8 and 33.0 kg at 6 months of age under

feedlot from 91 to 180 days of age with FCE of

14.1, 14.5, 18.6, 18.2, 18.5 and 18.3 % and the

dressing % was recorded to be 50.9, 52.7, 51.7,

53.3, 50.0 and 50.3 respectively. A growth rate of

150 g/head/day in Avikalin lambs during 91 to 180

days of age on 50: 50 concentrates: roughage ra-

tion fed ad lib was reported (Singh 1980b). Prasad

et al. (1981) have reported a growth rate of about

150 g in Avivastra and Avikalin male weaner lambs

feed on 50: 50 concentrate: roughage ration with a

feed efficiency of about 18.5 %. Performance of

half bred lambs under individual feedlot up to 135

and 180 days of age or 22 and 30 kg body weight

after weaning at 90 days on 50: 50 concentrate:

roughage ration indicated that the feed efficiency at

22 kg finishing live weight was superior to that at

30 kg finishing live weight. Lambs on 70: 30 con-

centrates: roughage ration showed higher feedlot

100100100


gains and carcass weights than those on 50: 50

rations. Crossbreds were 26 and 21 per cent

superior to natives in feedlot gains and FCE. The

FCE in Malpura and Sonadi lambs was 14.8 and

13.2 respectively from 91 to 180 days age. Singh

(1982) observed a daily gain of 84 g during first 45

days and 175 g during the next 45 days after weaning

at 90 days when the Malpura x Dorset half breds

were maintained on 50: 50 concentrate: roughage

feedlot ration. Kishore et al. (1984) recorded 205

and 207 g ADG in Avikalin and Avikalin x Dorset

terminal cross males fed ad lib on 70: 30 concen-

trate: roughage from 91 to 180 days. The dressing

percentage was 51.9 and 51.6 in the two breed

crosses respectively. The total live weight gains in

Malpura, Sonadi, Dorset x Malpura, Dorset x

Sonadi, Nellore, Mandya, Dorset x Nellore and

Dorset x Mandya were 9.1, 8.6, 11.7, 12.0, 8.3,

8.2, 12.5 and 12.2 kg respectively in feedlot over

90 days from 91 to 190 days of age was observed.

The FCE was recorded to be 19.7, 27.6, 22.6 and

29.3 % superior in the crossbreds over contempo-

rary natives. The growth rate of only 50 g and 54

g a day was recorded in crossbred lambs on ad lib

cowpea and lucerne hay meal rations (Singh, 1985).

The mutton synthetic lambs maintained on creep up

to 67 days, on 70: 30 feedlot from 67 to 99th day

and on 50: 50 feedlot ration from 99 to 130th day

reached a body weight of 30 kg in a record time

of only 130 days exhibiting average daily gain of

about 200 g through out the period (Singh and

Singh, 1984). The 60 days Mutton Synthetic and

Malpura weaner lambs under intensive feeding had

160 and 151g ADG and 16 and 12 % FCE (Karim

and Arora, 1997). While the removal of the lambs

at 20 kg body weight was uneconomical, the lambs

weighing 25 kg provided desirable carcass charac-

teristics (Arora and Karim, 1995). Subsequent stud-

ies indicated that a finishing weight of 25 kg could

be achieved by weaning the lambs at 60 days and

intensively feeding for 73, 91 and 136 days with

160, 135 and 112g ADG and 18, 16 and 14 %

FCE in MS, M selected and M lambs respectively

(Karim and Santra, 2000).

The kids of Sirohi breed showed a daily liveweight gain of 80 and consumed 7.7 kg feed forevery kg of live weight gain when maintained on acomplete feed based on 50 % cowpea hay meal in

the stalls from 91-180 days of age (Singh, 1980b).

The male kids weaned at 2 - 3 months age and fed

under feedlot achieved slaughter weights of 25 kg

at 5 to 6 months age with a dressing of 48 to 51%.

The kids maintained under semi-intensive system

reached the target live weight of 25 kg earlier than

those under intensive system. The kids under semi-

intensive required less feed for a kg of gain than

those under intensive feeding. The dressing % was

superior under intensive system. The bone and lean

percentage was higher under semi-intensive and fat

% under intensive system (Singh and Sahu, 1997).

Average daily gain was higher in lambs than kids

under intensive system whereas the daily gains were

similar under semi-intensive system. Dressing % in

lambs and kids was found higher under semi-inten-

sive (Shinde et al. 1995). The daily gains, milk

intake, meat quantity and quality and feed efficiency

were found superior in the Sirohi, Marwari and

Kutchi kids maintained under semi-intensive as

compared to those maintained under intensive or

extensive system. The milk yield during 150 days

of lactation was higher under intensive system than

that under semi-intensive and extensive systems and

in Sirohi does than that in Kutchi and Marwari does.

The overall production performance of Marwari

goats and kids was significantly better in semi inten-

sive system of grazing management than that under

intensive and extensive systems in respect of live

weight and milk production. The intensive system

however proved to be better than extensive system

in all respect (Singh, 2003).

Series of experiments have been conducted to

develop economic feed formulations of lambs to

attain 25 kg body weight at 130 days and 30 kg

body weight at 150 days of age under different

systems of feeding management. Several least cost

101101101


feed formulations involving leguminous fodders, tree

and shrub leaves), cheaper energy supplements and

low cost protein supplements were developed and

evaluated in the complete feeds to economize mut-

ton production. It was observed that the lambs main-

tained on complete feeds containing tree leaves as

the roughage source performed better than those

receiving cultivated grass based rations. The feed

grade damaged wheat being cheaper was tried and

successfully incorporated in the complete feeds as

a replacement of conventional and costlier energy

sources like Maize, Barley and Jowar etc. with the

objective to economize meat production without

seriously sacrificing the live weight gains. Similarly,

comparatively cheaper Guar meal, Guar korma,

Mustard cake and Urea were used as protein re-

placements of costlier Groundnut and Cotton seed

cake in the feedlot rations with the same objective

in view (Karim et al., 2004). Based on these

studies following two packages of practices for im-

proving meat, wool and milk production in sheep

and goats have been developed (Table 1 and 2).

Table 1. Performance of Goats under different Feeding

Systems

Particulars Rangeland Developed Developed Intensive

(Extensive) pastures pastures +Conc.

(Semi- Supplementation

extensive) (Semi-intensive)

Kidding rate, % 68.0 87.0 113.0 108.0

Birth weight, kg 2.7 2.9 3.4 3.2

3 m BW, kg 9.0 11.0 16.0 14.2

6 m BW, kg 14.0 17.5 27.5 25.5

9 m BW, kg 18.4 22.5 32.8 29.7

Dressing, % 40.5 44.3 50.5 52.0

150 day Milk yield, kg 65.0 86.0 110.0 94.0

Adult mortality, % 10.0 7.5 2.5 5.0

Kid mortality, % 20.0 15.0 5.0 10.0

Package for progressive farmers

Sheep and Goat Farmer Cooperative Societ-

ies may be formed in the sheep and goat rearing

areas. These Societies in association with the vil-

lage Panchyats should develop improved silvi-pas-

tures on the available community grazing lands with

Table 2. Performance of Indigenous and Crossbred sheep

under different Feeding Systems

Particulars Breed Rangeland Developed Developed Inten-

(Extensive) Pasture Pasture + sive

(Semi- Concentrate

extensive) mixture

Lambing, % I 58.5 78.0 85.0 90.0

CB 55.0 65.0 75.0 80.0

Birth weight, kg I 2.5 2.8 2.9 3.0

CB 2.8 3.0 3.2 3.4

3 m BW, kg I 9.2 10.5 12.5 14.3

CB 10.5 12.0 14.6 16.5

6 m BW, kg I 13.5 18.3 22.5 28.8

CB 15.2 20.0 26.0 35.0

Dressing, % I 38.5 43.4 46.3 48.5

CB 40.5 45.2 48.7 51.4

Fleece weight, g I 620.0 810.0 980.0 1150.0

CB 710.0 920.0 1150.0 1340.0

Adult mortality, % I 10.0 7.5 5.0 2.5

CB 15.0 10.0 7.5 5.0

Lamb mortality, % I 20.0 15.0 10.0 5.0

CB 25.0 20.0 15.0 10.0

I- Indigenous CB- Crossbred

financial assistance from the financial Institutions and

subsidies being provided by the Central and State

Governments. The registered sheep and goat flocks

may be allowed to graze on these pastures judi-

ciously for 6 to 8 hrs daily. In addition to grazing,

the pregnant ewes/ does during last 30 days of

pregnancy and the lactating ewes/does during first

60 days of lactation be supplemented with 300g/h/

d concentrate mixture containing 12%DCP and 65%

TDN to ensure 2.5 to 3 kg birth weights and 14 to

16kg weaning weights in male lambs and kids. To

ensure a weaning weight of 14 to 16kg, these male

lambs/kids should be provided ad lib suckling, creep

ration and green/dry leguminous fodders during pre

weaning period and completely weaned at 60 days

of age. These weaners may then be fed ad lib on

complete feeds comprised of 50% concentrate and

50% roughage under stalls till they attain 25 to 30

kg finishing weight at around 5 to 6 months of age.

Alternatively the lambs/kids be allowed to graze on

available pastures and supplemented with concen-

trate mixture @ 2.0 to 2.5 % of the body weight

102102102


till they reach the desired finishing weights. These

finisher lambs /kids should then be sold by the farm-

ers or their Cooperative Societies for slaughter to

the consumers or the traders directly avoiding in-

volvement of middlemen.

Package for enterpreneurs

The sheep and goat meat available in the In-

dian markets comes from old and culled adults and

male lambs/kids slaughtered any time between 6

months to 1 year of age. The quantity and the quality

of this meat is very poor due to poor market

weights, lower dressing percentage and narrow bone:

meat ratio as these lambs/kids are maintained on

scrub vegetation like their dams and hence hardly

attain a body weight of 15-16 kg at the age of 8-

9 months when they are usually marketed. The

dressing percentage varies from 35 to 40 and bone:

meat ration from 1:3 to 1:4. The studies conducted

at CSWRI have revealed that a marked improve-ment may be achieved in finishing weights and car-cass yield and quality through intensive feeding ofthe male lambs and kids. A package of practices to

be adopted by the entrepreneurs for intensive meatproduction has been developed. The male lambs/kids produced and reared by the farmers in general

and the progressive sheep/ goat breeders followingthe recommended package of practices in particu-lar be purchased by the entrepreneurs at around 60

days of age and transferred from the villages to theMeat Production Complexes established near thecities. This will help in reducing the grazing pressure

on shrinking pasturelands, lowering mortality andmorbidity in the pre-weaned lambs/kids, earlyrebreeding and easy management of the flocks.

These Complexes may be equipped with a FeedCompounding Plant capable of incorporating higherproportion of cheaper low grade roughages and

agroindustrial by-products to manufacture eco-nomic complete feeds, Feedlot Animal Houses forintensive feeding of lambs/kids, Modern Slaughter

House, Meat Processing, Product Manufacturingand By- Products Handling Machineries. The lambs/

kids procured from the villages after weaning at 60

days age may be intensively fed on complete 50:50or 60:40 concentrate: roughage feeds under feedlotup to 5 - 6 months of age when they attain finishing

weight of 25-30 kg. These intensively fed lambsand kids be then sold as live animals in the Nationalor International markets or slaughtered for selling

fresh meat or their meat may be processed andconverted in to different meat products for exportpurpose. Similarly, the slaughterhouse byproducts

be converted in to value added commercial prod-ucts for commercial sale.

Summary and recommendations

Goats and sheep are important livestock spe-cies in India as they contribute greatly to the agrarianeconomy in arid, semi-arid and mountainous regions

and play a very vital role in the sustenance andlivelihood security of a large population of small andmarginal farmers and landless rural poor. They are

not destroyers of vegetation more than the large

ruminants as blamed. They in fact act as regenera-

tors of vegetation through dispersal of seeds in their

droppings and vegetative propagation through brows-

ing. Biomass production of the community grazing

lands can be improved from 2.5 -3.5 to 25-30 q

DM/ha through silvi-pasture development. A marked

improvement in reproduction rates, milk yield, wool

yield, live weight gains and quantity and quality of

meat production can be achieved by grazing sheep

and goats on developed two and three tier pastures

and supplementing with concentrate mixtures and/or

cultivated leguminous fodders and tree leaves at

appropriate levels. It is possible to improve lamb

and kid finishing weights from 15-16 to 30-35 kg

and dressing yield from 35-40 to 45-50 % through

nutritional interventions. Similarly, the annual wool

yield may be enhanced from 900-950 to 1800-

1900 g per sheep and milk yield in goats may be

improved from 75-80 to 150-160 kg per lactation

through the suggested nutrition and feeding manage-

ment system. The areas in arid and semi-arid regions

that cannot support cattle and buffaloes should,

103103103


therefore, be identified, developed with low invest-ment and utilized for small ruminant production.Community grazing lands should be improved in totwo and three tier perennial pastures through re-seeding with nutritious, perennial and high yieldinggrasses and legumes. Large-scale fodder tree plan-tations may be taken up on rangelands, wastelands,riverbanks, roadsides and bunds of ponds, canalsand agricultural fields. The extensive system of sheepand goat rearing should be replaced with semi-in-tensive and intensive systems for commercial meatproduction. Strategic energy, protein and mineralsupplements need to be provided to grazing animalsfor enhancing meat, milk and wool production. Thelocally available crop residues and agro-industrialby-products may be enriched and utilized for com-pounding cheaper complete feeds for different cat-egories of sheep and goats as feed pallets and blocks.The suggested Packages of Practices may be popu-larized for adoption by the Progressive farmers andthe Entrepreneurs for commercial meat production.Efforts should necessarily be made to provide re-munerative price of the produce to increase thereturns to the farmers through improved post harvesttechnology, value addition, marketing and exploita-tion of export potential.

REFERENCES

Ahuja, K. and Rathore, M.S. (1987) Goat and

Goat Keepers. Institute of Development Stud-ies, Printwell Publishers, Jaipur.

Arora, A.L. and Karim, S.A. (1995) Indian J.

Anim. Sci., 65: 1046-1048.

Bhatia, D. R., Mohan, M., Patnayak, B.C. andRam Ratan. (1981) Indian J. Anim. Sci., 51:238-242.

Delgado, C.M., Rosegrant, M, Steinfeld, H.Ehui, Sand Courbois, C. (1999) Livestock to 2020:The next food revolution, Food, Agriculture andEnvironment Discussion Paper 28. IFPRI,Washington, FAO Rome and ILRI, Nairobo,Kenya.

Dastagiri, M. B. (2003) Indian J. Agric. Econom-

ics., 58: 729-740.

F.A.O. (2004) Production Year Book. 58. Foodand Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations, Rome.

F.A.O. (2005) Production Year Book. 59. Foodand Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations, Rome.

Karim, S.A. and Arora, A.L. (1997) Indian J.

Anim. Sci., 6: 536-537.

Karim S. A. and Santra A. (2000) Small Rumi-

nant Res., 37: 287-291.

Karim S.A., Santra A. and Singh V.K. (2004) Fat

lamb Production. A Bulletin Published byCSWRI Avikanagar.

Kishore, K., Rawat, P. S. and Basuthakur, A. K.(1984) Indian J. Anim. Sci., 54: 507-511.

Krishana Mohan, D. V. G., Reddy, K. S., Naidu,C. M., Munirathnam, D. and Reddy, K. K.(1984) Indian J. Anim. Sci., 54: 1170-1172.

Mann, J.S. and Singh, N.P. (1982) Livestock Ad-

visor 7: 23-29.

Mishra, R. K. (1981) Indian J. Anim. Sci., 51:885-887.

Parthasarthy, M., Singh, D. and Rawat, P.S. (1983)Indian J. Anim. Sci., 53: 671-672.

Parthasarthy, M., Singh, D. and Rawat, P.S. (1984)Indian J. Anim. Sci., 54: 130-131.

Patnayak, B.C., Singh N.P. and Karim S.A. (1995)Transferable technologies for meat productionin sheep and goats. Proc. 3rd National Semi-nar on sheep and Goat production and utiliza-tion held at CSWRI, Avikanagar April 8-10.

Prasad, V.S.S., Bohra, S.D.J. and Kamal Kishore.(1981) Indian J. Anim. Sci., 51: 118-120.

Sankhyan, S.K., Shinde, A. K., Karim, S. A. andPatnayak, B.C. (1996a) World Rev. Anim.

Prod., 30: 27-35.

104104104


Sankhyan, S.K., Shinde, A.K., Karim, S.A., Mann,

J.S., Singh, N.P. and Patnayak, B.C. (1996b)Indian J. Anim. Sci., 66: 1194-1197.

Sankhyan, S. K., Shinde, A. K. and Karim, S. A.(1999) Indian J. Anim. Sci. 69: 617-620.

Sankhyan, S.K.; Shinde, A.K., Bhatta, R.; andKarim, S.A. (2002) Indian J. Anim. Sci., 72:

101-103.

Sharma, K. (1987) Goat Rearing. A book pub-lished by CIRG, Makhdoom, Mathura.

Sharma, V.P. (2004) Indian J. Agri. Econo., 59:

512-554.

Shinde, A.K., Patnayak, B.C., Karim, S.A. andMann, J.S. (1994) Indian J. Anim. Nutr., 11:

85-89.

Shinde, A. K.; Karim, S. A.; Singh, N. P.; andPatnayak, B. C. (1995) Indian J. Anim. Sci.,

65: 830-833.

Shinde, A.K., Karim, S.A., Mann, J.S. andPatnayak, B.C. (1996) Indian J. Anim. Prod.

Manag., 12: 30-33.

Shinde, A.K. and Bhatta, R. (2002) Nutrition of

Sheep and Goat on Pasture. A Technical Bul-letin Published by CSWRI Avikanagar.

Singh, N. P. (1980b) Indian J. Anim. Sci., 50:

903-904.

Singh, N. P. (1980a) Indian J. Anim. Res., 14:

113-115.

Singh, N. P. and Singh, R.N. (1981) Livestock

Adviser 6: 7-10.

Singh, N. P. (1982) Indian J. Anim. Sci., 52:

96-98.

Singh, N. P. and Singh, M. (1984) Feeding man-

agement of crossbred lambs for mutton pro-duction. Proceedings of the National Seminarof Animal Nutrition Society of India held on

October 29-30, 1984 at HAU, Hisar.

Singh, N.P. (1985a) Indian J. Anim. Sci., 54: 895-898.

Singh, N. P. (1985b) Indian J. Anim. Sci., 55: 715-716.

Singh, N. P. and Patnayak, B. C. (1987) feeding ofsheep and goats for meat production. Proceed-ings of the National Seminar on Small Rumi-nant Production held on January 5-7 atCSWRI, Avikanagar.

Singh, N.P. (1992) Indian J. Anim. Prod. Man-

age., 8: 42-46.

Singh, N. P. (1996) Indian J. Small Ruminants,

2: 7-10.

Singh, N. P. and Sahu, B. B. (1997) Indian J.

Anim. Sci., 67: 87-89.

Singh, N.P. (2003) Indian J. Small Rum., 9:

96-99.

Singh, N. P. and Sankhyan, S. K. (2003) Animal

Nutr. Feed Technol., 3: 189-194.

Singh, N. P., Sankhyan, S. K. and Prasad, V. S. S.

(2003b) Asian Austr. J. Anim. Sci., 16: 655-

659.

Singh, N. P., Sankhyan, S. K. and Prasad, V. S. S.

(2003a) Indian J. Small Rum., 9: 13-15.

Singh, N.P., Sankhyan, S.K. and Shinde, A.K.

(2004). Animal Nutrition and Feed Resource

Development Research. A bulletin published

by CSWRI, Avikanagar.

105105105


General considerations

Understanding heat stress and what to do to

alleviate its negative effects is the first step in

improving the situation for us and for our animals.

The most comfortable temperature range for

lactating cows is from 40 to 75o F (5 to 25o C) but

it varies with humidity. Heat stress problems start

when the temperature is greater than 75o F (25o C)

and humidity is greater than 80% (Figure 1).

Heat stress can increase nutrient requirements

up to 20% and water requirements up to 30%.

However, while nutrient requirements increase, cows

eat less with a decrease of dry matter intake that

can reach 35% (Figure 2). Sweat increases the

secretion of potassium while, with increased urina-

tion, cows lose more sodium as sodium bicarbon-

ate in order to balance respiratory alkalosis. This

results in a compensatory metabolic acidosis.

Passage rate of ingesta and gut mobility de-

creases with a consequent decrease of intake. As

body temperature increases, skin blood flow in-

creases in an attempt to dissipate body heat. This

reduces blood flow to internal organs, decreasing

absorption and transport of nutrients and, as a re-

sult, milk production.

Heat stress and dairy feeding program

Jason Park

Cargill Animal Nutrition, India

Fig. 1 Impact of temperature and relative humidity

on THI and heat stress levels for pure

Holstein breed.

In general problems start when the Tempera-

ture-Humidity Index (THI) reaches 80o F (27o C).

Severe conditions of heat stress occur when the

THI increases above 90o F (32o C). The problem

is greater when the temperature remains high during

the night as well. Transition cows, first calf heifers

and high producing cows are affected the most. As

well, calving difficulties and birth of smaller and less

vital calves can occur along with a decrease of the

immune response.

Adapted from: Managing and Feeding Dairy Cows in

Hot Weather, Dr. Joe West, University of Georgia.

Fig. 2 Impact of temperature on DMI, water consump-

tion and milk yield.

A long period of heat stress causes a decrease

of visible heat and irregular estrus intervals. As a

consequence we should expect lower fertility de-

rived from a decreased conception rate and em-

bryonic mortality. An increase of uterus tempera-

ture of 1oF (0.5oC) may lower conception rate by

106106106


13%. During pregnancy heat stress may cause a

decrease of placenta growth.

Modifications of housing facilities

Mechanical interventions to modify housing en-vironmental conditions yield the best results in a shorttime and with a favourable cost/benefit balance.

General interventions: The first step is totake full advantage of natural ventilation. Facilitiesshould have limited temperature differences frominside to outside. A light wind of 1.5 to 2 feet/second (0.5 to 0.7 meters/second) can be sufficientto exchange the air in the interior of the facilityprovided it is correctly oriented and located awayfrom other buildings and obstructions. Facilitiesshould also provide adequate shade to limit exposureto direct sunlight.

Specific interventions: The problem of heatstress is acutely felt in locations with an environmentcharacterized by high summer temperatures coupledwith high humidity levels. The problem will becomemore acute as production levels continue to risedue to genetic improvements and developments inthe techniques of rearing and feeding cattle.Therefore, we are faced with the dramatic necessityof finding effective methods to manage heat stress;to better the well being of the cattle, and to increaseproduction and quality of milk (Figure 3).

Water evaporation, an endothermic process,is among the most effective techniques for coolingthe environment by lowering body temperature.

In this case ventilation generates an exchangeof air in the housing facilities but most importantly,generating air flow close to the animals helps themto disperse body heat. This technique can be ap-plied with success in all types of housing. Even amodest airflow of 1-1.5 feet/sec. (0.3-0.5 meters/sec.) can help reducing heat stress.

However, when air temperatures are higher than

85o F (> 30o C) with high producing cows, air

speed close to the animals should not be less than

2.75 feet/sec. (0.9 meters/sec.). This can be ob-

tained with large fans that are able to move large

volumes of air. Fans should be positioned 10 feet

(3 meters) apart for every 1 foot (0.3 meters) of

fan diameter. They should be angled downward at

an angle of 15 to 30o so each fan is blowing at the

floor directly below the next fan.

Often the installation of these fans is done only

in the feeding area to encourage cows to spend

more time there and therefore creating more favor-

able conditions for greater intakes. This solution

often results in a greater number of animals standing

in this part of the barn with less time spent in the

rest area. This can result in greater stress for the

cows. Therefore, it is typically necessary to venti-

late the resting area as well.

Evaporative cooling: One technique is to use

an evaporative cooling system based on the use of

large coolers fitted with water soaked pads through

which ventilation air passes. The air, cooled and

high in humidity, is released into the barn to give the

animals relief. This system gives good results in a

closed cowshed, if adequately insulated, and if it is

Fig. 3 Changes in milk yield and maintenance

requirements as temperature changes.

107107107


possible to use a system of forced and controlled

ventilation. This system does not perform well in

high humidity locations.

A second technique is the combination of fans

and misters. A series of high-pressure misters

distribute water in fine droplets, part of which

evaporates into the atmosphere, lowering the

temperature, and part of which wet the animals.

Fans operate at the same time as the misters and

enhance evaporation off the animals’ skin. Cows

can lose considerable quantities of heat, enough to

keep body temperature constant without production

losses, if evaporation is sufficient. This system will

not work as well in high humidity areas.

Feeding

Feeding management: During periods of heat

stress it is important to maintain a continuous supply

of fresh diet and it should be provided in the coolest

part of the feeding area. A continuous water supply

must be available of linear water space per cow or

one water hole for every 10 cows.

Water requirements increase during heat stress

conditions because water loss is the main means for

body heat loss and thermoregulation. Water

requirements also increase as a consequence of

decreased protein utilization and an increase in

urinary catabolism.

Diet formulation: Diet reformulation may alleviate

some milk losses during periods of heat stress. Start

with high quality forages that contain a higher con-

centration of digestible NDF. This will allow a

decrease of the heat of combustion of the diet while

maintaining adequate ruminal fermentation.

Fat can be added to increase the energy density

of the diet. Sources may include oilseeds, vegetable

oil, tallow, and rumen inert fats. Care should betaken to ensure unsaturated fat levels remain low

enough to prevent a decrease in fiber digestibility

and total fat levels should not exceed 6-7% fat on

a DM basis. Because fatty acids reduce absorption

of Ca and Mg in the intestine, requirements of these

minerals increase. In these cases diets should contain

at least 0.9% Ca and 0.35% Mg.

During periods of heat stress protein excesses

aggravate the situation because nitrogen excretion

requires energy. Balance diets for amino acids to

prevent the feeding of excess crude protein.

Potassium, sodium and magnesium should be 1.5,

0.45 and 0.35% of the DM, respectively. Use of

salts and buffers (sodium bicarbonate) has little effect

in preventing heat stress but are useful in supporting

a cow’s homeostasis.

108108108


Food safety has become today a clear expec-

tation from the consumer, world over. Healthy and

safe animal products with minimum environmental

pollution are some of the new requirements the

animal feed industry is facing. As such guidelines

are necessary to lay down the approach to provide

general recommendation for safe feed to safe food.

Undoubtedly, India has enormous potential to

strengthen economy through expansion of domestic

market and promotion of the export of processed

value added livestock products. In addition to eco-

nomic aspect, consumer’s health assumes paramountimportance vis-à-vis food safety (Gilbert, 2005).

One of the most important issues in the livestock

sector is good animal feeding, as it has a major

impact on the product, which ensues the Codex

Code of Practice on Good Animal Feeding, offi-

cially adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commis-

sion in 2004 the Task Force’s document, Code ofPractice on Good Animal Feeding, is comprehen-

sive and addresses all avenues of feed production.

The goal of the code is to establish a feed safety

system for food-producing animals which covers

the whole food chain, taking into account relevant

aspects of animal health and the environment. In

order to minimize risks to the health of consumers,

it focuses specifically on feed manufacturing and

on-farm feeding practices.

This Code is to establish a feed safety system

for food producing animals which covers the whole

food chain, taking into account relevant aspects of

animal health and the environment in order to mini-

mize risks to consumers’ health. In addition, the

Code applies principles of food hygiene, already

Code of practice on good animal feeding in relation

to food safety

M. R. Garg and B. M. Bhanderi

Productivity Systems Group

National Dairy Development Board, Anand 388 001, India

established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission

(CAC), taking into account the special aspects of

animal feeding. The views expressed in the article

by the authors are based on the literature available,

not necessarily reflect the views of the organization

to which they belong.

Purpose and scope

The main objective of this Code is to help

ensure the safety of food for human consumption

through adherence to good animal feeding practice

at the farm level and good manufacturing practices

(GMPs) during the procurement, handling, storage,

processing and distribution of animal feed and feed

ingredients for food producing animals. This Code

of Practice applies to the production and use of all

materials destined for animal feed and feed ingredi-

ents at all levels whether produced industrially or

on farm. Environmental contaminants should be

considered where the level of such substances in

the feed and feed ingredients could present a risk

to consumers’ health from the consumption of foods

of animal origin.

General principles and requirements

Feed and feed ingredients should be obtained

and maintained in a stable condition, so as to protect

feed and feed ingredients from contamination by

pests, or by chemical, physical or microbiological

contaminants or other objectionable substances

during production, handling, storage and transport.

Feed should be in good condition and meet generally

accepted quality standards. Where appropriate, good

109109109


agricultural practices, good manufacturing practices(GMPs) and, where applicable, Hazard Analysisand Critical Control Point (HACCP) Principlesshould be followed to control hazards that may occurin food. Potential sources of contamination from theenvironment should be considered.

Feed ingredients

Feed ingredients should be obtained from safesources and be subjected to a risk analysis wherethe ingredients are derived from processes or tech-nologies not hitherto evaluated from a food safetypoint of view. The procedure used should be con-sistent with the working principles for risk analysisfor application, in the framework of the CodexAlimentarius manufacturers of feed additives, inparticular should provide clear information to theuser to permit correct and safe use. Monitoring offeed ingredients should include inspection and sam-pling and analysis for undesirable substances usingrisk-based protocols. Feed ingredients should meetacceptable and, if applicable, statutory standardsfor levels of pathogens, mycotoxins, pesticides andundesirable substances that may give rise to con-sumers’ health hazards.

Labeling

Labeling should be clear and informative as tohow the user should handle, store and use feed andfeed ingredients. Labeling should be consistent withstatutory requirements and should describe the feedand provide instructions for use. Labeling or the ac-companying documents should contain, where ap-propriate:

Information about the species or category ofanimals for which the feed is intended;

l The purpose for which the feed is intended;

l A list of feed ingredients, including appropriatereference to additives, in descending order ofproportion;

l Contact information of manufacturer or regis-trant;

l registration number if available;

l Directions and precautions for use;l Lot identification;l Manufacturing date; and

l Use before or expiry date.

Traceability/product tracing and record keep-

ing of feed and feed ingredients

Traceability/product tracing of feed and feedingredients, including additives, should be enabledby proper record keeping for timely and effective

withdrawal or recall of products if known or prob-able adverse effects on consumers’ health are iden-tified. Records should be maintained and readily

available regarding the production, distribution anduse of feed and feed ingredients to facilitate theprompt trace-back of feed and feed ingredients to

the immediate previous source and trace-forward tothe next subsequent recipients if known or probableadverse effects on consumers’ health are identified.

Feed and feed ingredients manufacturers and

other relevant parts of industry should practice self-regulation/auto-control to secure compliance withrequired standards for production, storage and trans-

port (Mcllmoyle, 2002). It will also be necessaryfor risk-based official regulatory programmes to beestablished to check that feed and feed ingredients

are produced, distributed and used in such a waythat foods of animal origin for human consumptionare both safe and suitable. Inspection and control

procedures should be used to verify that feed andfeed ingredients meet requirements in order to pro-tect consumers against food-borne hazards. Inspec-

tion systems should be designed and operated onthe basis of objective risk assessment appropriateto the circumstances.

Health hazards associated with animal feed

All feed and feed ingredients should meet mini-

mum safety standards. It is essential that levels of

undesirable substances are sufficiently low in feed

and feed ingredients that their concentration in food

110110110


for human consumption is consistently below the

level of concern. Codex Maximum Residue Limits

and Extraneous Maximum Residue Levels set for

feed should be applied. Maximum residue limits set

for food, such as those established by the Codex

Alimentarius Commission, may be useful in deter-

mining minimum safety standards for feed.

Feed additives and veterinary drugs used in

medicated feed should be assessed for safety and

used under stated conditions of use as pre-approved

by the competent authorities. Veterinary drugs used

in medicated feed should comply with the provi-

sions of the Codex Recommended International

Code of Practice for the Control of the Use of

Veterinary Drugs. Borderlines between feed addi-

tives and veterinary drugs used in medicated feed

may be set to avoid misuse. Feed additives should

be received, handled and stored to maintain their

integrity and to minimize misuse or unsafe contami-

nation. Feed containing them should be used in strict

accordance with clearly defined instructions for use.

Antibiotics should not be used in feed for growth

promoting purposes in the absence of a public health

safety assessment.

Feed and feed ingredients should only be pro-

duced, marketed, stored and used if they are safe

and suitable, and, when used as intended, should

not represent in any way an unacceptable risk to

consumers’ health. In particular, feed and feed in-

gredients contaminated with unacceptable levels of

undesirable substances should be clearly identified

as unsuitable for animal feed and not be marketed

or used. Feed and feed ingredients should not be

presented or marketed in a manner liable to mis-

lead the user. The presence in feed and feed ingre-

dients of undesirable substances such as industrial

and environmental contaminants, pesticides, radio-

nuclides, persistent organic pollutants, pathogenic

agents and toxins such as mycotoxins should be

identified, controlled and minimized. Animal prod-

ucts that could be a source of the Bovine Spongiform

Encephalopathy (BSE) agent should not be used

for feeding directly to, or for feed manufacturing

for, ruminants. Control measures applied to reduce

unacceptable level of undesirable substances should

be assessed in terms of their impact on food safety.

The risks of each undesirable substance to con-

sumers’ health should be assessed and such assess-

ment may lead to the setting of maximum limits for

feed and feed ingredients or the prohibition of cer-

tain materials from animal feeding.

Production, processing, storage, transport and

distribution of feed and feed ingredients

The production, processing, storage, transport

and distribution of safe and suitable feed and feedingredients is the responsibility of all participants inthe feed chain, including farmers, feed ingredientmanufacturers, feed compounders, truckers, etc.

Each participant in the feed chain is responsible for

all activities that are under their direct control, in-

cluding compliance with any applicable statutory re-

quirements. Feed and feed ingredients should not

be produced, processed, stored, transported or

distributed in facilities or using equipment where

incompatible operations may affect their safety and

lead to adverse effects on consumers’ health. Due

to the unique characteristics of aquaculture, the

application of these general principles must con-

sider the differences between aquaculture and ter-

restrial-based production. Where appropriate, op-

erators should follow GMPs and, where applicable,

HACCP principles to control hazards that may af-

fect food safety. The aim is to ensure feed safety

and in particular to prevent contamination of animal

feed and food of animal origin as far as this is

reasonably achievable, recognizing that total elimi-

nation of hazards is often not possible. The effec-

tive implementation of GMPs and, where applicable,

HACCP-based approaches should ensure, in par-

ticular, that the following areas are addressed.

Buildings and equipment used to process feed

and feed ingredients should be constructed in a

manner that permits ease of operation, maintenance

and cleaning and minimizes feed contamination.

Process flow within the manufacturing facility should

111111111


also be designed to minimize feed contamination.

Water used in feed manufacture should meet hy-

gienic standards and be of suitable quality for ani-

mals. Chemical fertilizers, pesticides and other

materials not intended for use in feed and feed in-

gredients should be stored separately from feed and

feed ingredients to avoid the potential for manufac-

turing errors and contamination of feed and feed

ingredients. Processed feed and feed ingredients

should be stored separately from unprocessed feed

ingredients and appropriate packaging materials

should be used. Feed and feed ingredients should

be received, stored and transported in such a way

so as to minimize the potential for any cross-con-

tamination to occur at a level likely to have a nega-

tive impact on food safety. The presence of unde-

sirable substances in feed and feed ingredients should

be monitored and controlled. Feed and feed ingre-

dients should be delivered and used as soon as

possible. All feed and feed ingredients should be

stored and transported in a manner which mini-

mizes deterioration and contamination and enables

the correct feed to be sent to the right animal group.

Transportation, of both raw materials and fin-

ished feed products, can introduce hazards that may

compromise feed safety. Good, well managed stores

for raw materials will not prevent the introduction of

hazards if vehicles used for their transportation are

not clean or have previously been used to transport

hazardous materials that may contaminate the load.

All personnel involved in the manufacture, stor-

age and handling of feed and feed ingredients should

be adequately trained and aware of their role and

responsibility in protecting food safety. Feed and

feed ingredients, processing plants, storage facilities

and their immediate surroundings should be kept

clean and effective pest control programmes should

be implemented. Containers and equipment used

for manufacturing, processing, transport, storage,

conveying, handling and weighing should be kept

clean. Cleaning programmes should be effective and

minimize residues of detergents and disinfectants.

Machinery coming into contact with dry feed or

feed ingredients should be dried following any wet

cleaning process. Special precautions should be

taken when cleaning machinery used for moist and

semi-moist feed and feed ingredients to avoid fun-

gal and bacterial growth.

All scales and metering devices used in the

manufacture of feed and feed ingredients should be

appropriate for the range of weights and volumes to

be measured, and be tested regularly for accuracy.

All mixers used in the manufacture of feed and feed

ingredients should be appropriate for the range of

weights or volumes being mixed and be capable of

manufacturing suitable homogeneous mixtures and

homogeneous dilutions, and be tested regularly to

verify their performance. All other equipment used

in the manufacture of feed and feed ingredients should

be appropriate for the range of weights or volumes

being processed, and be monitored regularly.

Manufacturing procedures should be used to

avoid cross-contamination (for example flushing, se-

quencing and physical clean-out) between batches

of feed and feed ingredients containing restricted or

otherwise potentially harmful materials (such as

certain animal by-product meals, veterinary drugs).

These procedures should also be used to minimize

cross-contamination between medicated and non-

medicated feed and other incompatible feed. In cases

where the food safety risk associated with cross-

contamination is high and the use of proper flushing

and cleaning methods is deemed insufficient, con-

sideration should be given to the use of completely

separate production lines, transfer, storage and

delivery equipment. Pathogen control procedures,

such as heat treatment or the addition of authorized

chemicals, should be used where appropriate, and

monitored at the applicable steps in the manufac-

turing process.

Records and other information should be main-

tained to include the identity and distribution of feed

and feed ingredients so that any feed or feed ingre-

dient considered to pose a threat to consumers’

112112112


health can be rapidly removed from the market and

that animals exposed to the relevant feed can be

identified.

On farm production and use of feed and feed

ingredients

To help ensure the safety of food used for

human consumption, good agricultural practices

should be applied during all stages of on-farm pro-

duction of pastures, cereal grain and forage crops

used as feed or feed ingredients for food producing

animals. Three types of contamination represent haz-

ards at most stages of on-farm production of feed

and feed ingredients, namely:

l Biological, such as bacteria, fungi and other

microbial pathogens;

l Chemical, such as residues of medication,

pesticides, fertilizer or other agricultural sub-

stances; and

l Physical, such as broken needles, machinery

and other foreign material.

Agricultural production of feed

Adherence to good agricultural practices is en-

couraged in the production of natural, improved

and cultivated pastures and in the production of

forage and cereal grain crops used as feed or feed

ingredients for food producing animals. Following

good agricultural practice, standards will minimize

the risk of biological, chemical and physical con-

taminants entering the food chain. If crop residuals

and stubbles are grazed after harvest, or otherwise

enter the food chain, they should also be consid-

ered as livestock feed. Most livestock will consume

a portion of their bedding. Crops that produce bed-

ding material or bedding materials such as straw or

wood shavings should also be managed in the same

manner as animal feed ingredients. Good pasture

management practices, such as rotational grazing

and dispersion of manure droppings, should be used

to reduce cross-contamination between groups of

animals.

Land used for production of animal feed and

feed ingredients should not be located in close prox-

imity to industrial operations where industrial pollut-

ants from air, ground water or runoff from adjacent

land would be expected to result in the production

of foods of animal origin that may present a food

safety risk. Contaminants present in runoff from

adjacent land and irrigation water should be below

levels that present a food safety risk. Pesticides and

other agricultural chemicals should be obtained from

safe sources. Where a regulatory system is in place,

any chemical used must comply with the require-

ments of that system. Pesticides should be stored

according to the manufacturer’s instructions and used

in accordance with Good Agricultural Practice in

the Use of Pesticides (GAP). It is important that

farmers carefully follow the manufacturer’s instruc-

tions for use for all agricultural chemicals. Pesti-

cides and other agricultural chemicals should be

disposed of responsibly in a manner that will not

lead to contamination of any body of water, soil

and feed or feed ingredients that may lead to the

contamination of foods of animal origin which could

adversely affect food safety.

On-farm feed manufacturing

Feed ingredients produced on the farm should

meet the requirements established for feed ingredi-

ents sourced off the farm. For example, seed treated

for planting should not be fed. It must be recog-

nized that a wide range of raw materials are utilized

by modern feed mills in the manufacture of animal

feed. While cereals and oil seed products make up

a large proportion of these raw materials, a wide

range of by-products from the human food industry

are utilized as raw materials in the feed industry.

Storage times and conditions can influence quality

parameters of raw materials, which, in turn, can

affect feed safety.

It is important, therefore, if feed quality and

safety is to be assured, that only high quality raw

113113113


materials must be sourced. Raw material quality

must feature high on any HACCP plan implemented

by a feed mill. Sourcing raw materials exclusively

from stores that have implemented a HACCP plan

and have been externally audited and approved, is

a useful starting point, if raw material problems that

can impact on feed safety are to be avoided. Equally,

constant monitoring and evaluation of all raw mate-

rials must be carried out to ensure that documented

standards are maintained.

In particular, feed should be mixed in a man-

ner that will minimize the potential for cross-con-

tamination between feed or feed ingredients that

may have an effect on the safety or withholding

period for the feed or feed ingredients. Appropriate

records of feed manufacturing procedures followed

by on-farm feed manufacturers should be maintained

to assist in the investigations of possible feed-re-

lated contamination or disease events. Records

should be kept of incoming feed ingredients, date

of receipt and batches of feed produced in addition

to other applicable records.

Good feeding practices

Good animal feeding practices include those

practices that help to ensure the proper use of feed

and feed ingredients on-farm while minimizing bio-

logical, chemical and physical risks to consumers of

foods of animal origin. Water for drinking or for

aquaculture should be of appropriate quality for the

animals being produced. Where there is reason to

be concerned about contamination of animals from

the water, measures should be taken to evaluate

and minimize the hazards.

It is important that the correct feed is fed to

the right animal group and that the directions for

use are followed. Contamination should be mini-

mized during feeding. Information should be avail-

able of what is fed to animals and when, to ensure

that food safety risks are managed. Animals receiv-

ing medicated feed should be identified and man-

aged appropriately until the correct withholding

period (if any) has been reached and records of

these procedures must be maintained. Procedures

to ensure that medicated feed are transported to

the correct location and are fed to animals that

require the medication should be followed. Feed

transport vehicles and feeding equipment used to

deliver and distribute medicated feed should be

cleaned after use, if a different medicated feed or

non-medicated feed or feed ingredient is to be trans-

ported next.

Stable feeding and lot/intensive feeding units

The animal production unit should be located

in an area that does not result in the production of

food of animal origin that poses a risk to food safety.

Care should be taken to avoid animal access to

contaminated land, and to facilities with potential

sources of toxicity.

The animal production unit should be designed

so that it can be adequately cleaned. The animal

production unit and feeding equipment should be

thoroughly cleaned regularly to prevent potential haz-

ards to food safety. Chemicals used should be ap-

propriate for cleaning and sanitizing feed manufac-

turing equipment and should be used according to

instructions. These products should be properly

labeled and stored away from feed manufacturing,

feed storage and feeding areas. A pest control sys-

tem should be put in place to control the access of

pests to the animal production unit to minimize

potential hazards to food safety. Operators and

employees working in the animal production unit

should observe appropriate hygiene requirements

to minimize potential hazards to food safety from

feed.

Methods of sampling and analysis

Sampling protocols should meet scientifically

recognized principles and procedures. Laboratory

methods developed and validated using scientifi-

cally recognized principles and procedures should

be used. When selecting methods, consideration

114114114


should also be given to practicability, with prefer-

ence given to those methods which are reliable and

applicable for routine use. Laboratories conducting

routine analyses of feed and feed ingredients should

ensure their analytical competency with each method

used and maintain appropriate documentation.

Indian scenario to produce safe feed for safe

food

Food safety is defined as the fundamental un-

derstanding and control of hazards associated with

the production, processing, preparation and con-

sumption of foods. Feed and food safety have been

very much in public focus in recent times and this has

led to some dramatic changes in the practice of feed

manufacturing and livestock production. It is essen-

tial that feed production and manufacturer be con-

sidered as an integral part of the food production

chain, as there is direct link between feed and the

safety of foods of animal origin. Feed production must

therefore be subjected to, in the same way as food

production, quality assurance including food safety

systems based on the principles of Hazard Analysis

and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system. Ap-

plying HACCP-principles ensures that all potential

safety hazards are thoroughly analyzed, assessed and

effective systems for monitoring the critical control

points are placed in order for adhering to the strin-

gent parameters (Speedy, 2001). Some of the mea-

sures that have been recently initiated on these as-

pects in India, are given below:

Quality and safety of finished products: In

India, attempts are being made in the organized

sector that the finished products are manufactured,

using internationally recognized systems of quality

assurance.

Hygienic practices of feed production: Feed

should be produced using quality raw materials and

Good Hygienic Practices (GHP). In India,

programmes need to be implemented in organized

sector, ensuring improvement in the quality of fin-

ished products for animal feeding.

Maximum levels of contaminants: The maxi-

mum levels of aflatoxins, heavy metals, veterinary

drugs (antibiotics residues) and pesticide residues

are increasingly becoming areas of major food safety

concern. SPS measures permit members to adopt,

if considered necessary, a higher level of protection

based on risk assessment. Some members, like the

European Union, have already enacted a new regu-

lation prescribing very stringent levels of aflatoxins

in milk and feeds. In India, various institutions are

attempting to generate base line information on these

contaminants, in feed and milk. Maximum residual

limits (MRLs) of pesticides, heavy metals and other

undesirable substances in cattle feeds that are pro-

posed to Government of India (GOI) are g-BHC:

20 ppb, DDT: 5 ppb, Endosulfan: 10 ppb, Aldrin:

1 ppb, Arsenic: 2 ppm, Lead: 5 ppm, Fluorine: 20

ppm and free gossypol: 2000 ppm.

Measures taken in India to control MRLs in

finished products

Limit for aflatoxin B1: Aflatoxin B

1 is ex-

creted in milk as M1 to the extent of 1 to 3 per

cent. Codex limit for aflatoxin M1 in milk is 0.5

ppb. To ensure that this level is achieved in Indian

milk, a maximum limit of 50 ppb has been pro-

posed in compounded cattle feed under Bureau of

Indian Standards specifications, based on the analy-

sis of large number of compounded cattle feed raw

materials, which is now under finalization. Besides,

use of toxin binders is being propagated in cattle

feed, to minimize level of M1 in milk.

Restriction on heavy metals in mineral

supplements: Many a times, dairy animals ingest

sizable quantity of lead and arsenic through poor

quality mineral supplements. A maximum limit of 20

ppm in mineral mixture has been kept for lead (Pb)

and 7 ppm for arsenic (As). The maximum limits

kept for Pb and As in dicalcium phosphate are 30

and 10 ppm, respectively. All samples of mineral

mixtures and DCP are tested for these parameters

in different laboratories in India (Garg and Bhanderi,

2006).

115115115


Ban on the use of animal origin feed ingre-

dients for ruminants: As per the GOI’s directive,

cattle feed manufacturers in India shall not use any

of the animal origin ingredients in compound feed

and mineral supplements. Ingredients, which are pro-

hibited for use in cattle feed and mineral mixture,

are blood meal, meat meal, meat and bone meal,

fish meal, silk work pupae meal, poultry byproducts,

dicalcium phosphate of bone origin and blood meal.

REFERENCES

Garg, M.R. and Bhanderi, B.M. (2006) Feed quality

assurance: nutritional implications and regula-

tory aspects. In Proceedings of XII Animal

Nutrition Conference on Technological Inter-

ventions in Animal Nutrition for Rural Prosper-

ity held at Anand Agricultural University, Anand,

January 7-9, 2006, pp. 119-123.

Gilbert, R. (2005) Global Feed Safety Codex and

the Code. Proceedings of 47th National Sym-

posium on Safety First: Farm to Fork orga-

nized by CLFMA of India, at Goa between

16th & 17th September, 2005. pp. 52-60.

Mcllmoyle, W.A. (2002) Codes of good manage-

ment practices (GMP) for the animal feed in-

dustry, with special reference to proteins and

protein byproducts. In: Proceedings of Protein

Sources for the Animal Feed Industry, Expert

Consultation and Workshop held at Bangkok,

29th April-3rd May, 2002.

Speedy, A.W. (2001) The Global Livestock Revo-

lution: Opportunities and Constraints for the

Feed and Livestock Industries, in Proceedings

of the 43rd National Symposium on Growth

Prospects under Globalized Scenario vis-à-vis

Livestock Production and Trade, Goa.

116116116


Methane produced as part of the normal

digestive processes of animals result in emissions

that account for a significant portion of the global

methane budget, about 65-100 million metric tons

annually. Livestock is one of the most important

key-source categories and contributes about 61%

of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Indian

Agriculture sector, which accounts for 78% CH4

and 84% N2O emissions among all anthropogenic

source sectors. Most of the methane production

from livestock is from enteric fermentation (around

90%). Ruminants (cattle, buffalo, sheep and goat)

play a major role and their contribution is very high

(98%). Among these cattle and buffalo alone

contribute to 92% of methane production from

enteric fermentation and is considered as key

source category. Methane emission estimates from

the ruminant animals or livestock have an element

of uncertainty in some form or the other in the

activity data and emission coefficients. In order to

reduce uncertainties and refine the inventories by

adopting appropriate activity data and emission

coefficients, which reflect the country specific

conditions (Indian) institutions comprising NPL

New Delhi, NDRI Karnal, and CLRI Chennai with

NPL as nodal has worked together. This paper

touches GHG emission issues encountered during

years 2002-04 National Communication phase-I

(NATCOM-I) GHG measurements & inventory

compilation exercise for base year 1994 and intend

to dwell upon future efforts required to fill gap

areas and further reduce uncertainties in a well

coordinated, metrological standardized and net-

work mode.

Processes governing methane emission from

enteric fermentation

Methane emission is characteristics of anaero-

bic fermentation in fore-stomach of ruminants. Ru-

minants have an expanded alimentary tract preced-

ing gastric digestion in the abomasum. In the adult

ruminant, the expanded gut (reticulo-rumen, gener-

ally termed rumen) represents about 85% of the

total stomach capacity and contains digesta equal

to the 10-20% of the animal's weight (Moss, 1994).

Here large amount of coarse feedstuffs can be re-

tained for a considerable period of time for exten-

sive fermentation of materials (Moss, 1994). There

are several species and strains of bacteria and pro-

tozoa survive in the rumen of animals constituting

more than 200 species and strains of microorgan-

isms, however only a small portion, about 10 to 20

species, are believed to play an important role in

ruminant digestion (Baldwin et al., 1983). The main

function of this group is to degrade plant polymers,

which cannot be digested by the host enzymes. Thus

these organisms help in degradation of cellulosic

materials of feed intake for the digestion. The ma-

terial is fermented in to volatile fatty acids, CO2 and

CH4. These gases produced are waste products of

fermentation as well as nutritional loss, which are

mainly removed from rumen by eructation. In In-

dian condition this loss may be about 8-28 g CH4/

kg dry matter intake depending on species, pro-

duction level, physiological state, and types of feed

taken by animal (Singhal, et al., 2005). Hindgut

fermentation is another important place of methane

production in ruminants as well as monogastric

animals. In sheep, hindgut fermentation may be-

come important with diets of low digestibility. It has

Metrological aspects and strategies to reduce uncertainties in

greenhouse gas emissions from livestock

Prabhat K. Gupta and Arvind K. Jha

Analytical Chemistry Section, National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi-110012, India

117117117


been estimated that 10-30% of digestive organic

matter is digested in hindgut (Moss, et al., 2000).

However most of the methane produced in hindgut

is absorbed and excreted by the way of lungs and

a very little amount is reported to pass as flatus. It

is estimated that almost 2- 15% of the gross energy

in the feed is lost as methane depending on level of

feeding, composition of diet and digestibility (Holter

and Young, 1992,).

Rumen methanogenic archaebacteria utilize hy-

drogen and carbon dioxide or formate, acetate, me-

thylamine and methanol for production of methane.

The involvement of these bacteria in interspecies

(collaboration between methanogens and ferment-

ing species) hydrogen transfer alters the fermenta-

tion balance and results in shifts of overall fermen-

tation from less reduced to more reduced end prod-

ucts. The major substrate for methane production

in rumen is hydrogen and carbon dioxide or for-

mate and minor substrate is acetate. The major

factors affecting rumen fermentation are rumen pH,

the turnover rate and both of these are affected by

diet and other nutritionally related characteristics such

as level of intake, feeding strategy, forage/ feed

roughage length and quality. Both ruminant animals

(cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat) and some non-rumi-

nant animals (pigs, horses, mules, assess) produce

methane. Cattle & buffaloes are the most impor-

tant source of methane from enteric fermentation in

India because of large population, large size and

ruminant digestive system. Pseudo-ruminant animals

(horses, mules, asses) and mono-gastric animals

(swine) have relatively lower methane emissions

because low methane-producing fermentation takes

place in their digestive systems.

Methane and nitrous oxide emission from

manure management

Methane is produced from the decomposition

of manure under anaerobic conditions, especially

when animals are managed in a confined area (dairy

farms and beef feedlots), where manure is typically

stored in large piles or disposed of in lagoons/ liq-

uid systems. Methane emissions from manure man-

agement are usually smaller than enteric fermenta-

tion emissions, and are associated with confined

animal management facilities where manure is

handled in a manner resulting in establishment of

anaerobic condition. Livestock manure is mainly

composed of organic material and water. When this

organic material decomposes in an anaerobic envi-

ronment, methanogenic bacteria, as part of an in-

terrelated population of microorganisms, produce

volatile solids and methane. The principal factors

affecting methane emission from animal manure are

the amount of manure produced and the portion of

the manure that decomposes anaerobically and the

climate of location. The end products of anaerobic

decomposition are CH4, CO

2, and stabilized or-

ganic material (SOM). Anaerobic decomposition

process involves hydrolytic, acid forming, and

methanogenic stages. Production of N2O during the

storage and treatment of animal waste occurs by

both nitrification & de-nitrification of nitrogen con-

tained in wastes. The quantity of nitrous oxide pro-

duced depends on the manure nitrogen, the type of

bacteria involved in the decomposition process and

amount of oxygen and liquid present in manure

management system.

Enteric fermentation

Emission factor for individual animal depends

on bodyweight of animals, type of feed taken by

animal, amount of feed intake, methane conversion

factor, and performance of animal (Crutzen et al.,

1986). Indian livestock mainly survive on roughage

(crop residue) based diet. The important param-

eters in determination of emission factors are meth-

ane conversion rate (MCR) of different feed. Inter-

governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has

given default MCR, which are compared with the

Indian value, based on study in India (Table 1) and

found to be significantly lower percentage of con-

version of feed.

118118118


Emission factors developed in India for inven-

torying GHG emission by different groups in due

course of time based on the available data source

at that time are compared with IPCC default values

in following Table 2. It may be said that IPCC

default values are relatively higher. The reasons are

discussed elsewhere (Gupta et al., 2003).

Table 1. Comparison of methane conversion rates (% of

gross energy) for India (Swamy et al., 2004).

Category IPCC ALGAS NATCOM-1

India

Cattle Dairy 6 0.5 7.0 4.8-6.0

Non-dairy (young) 6 0.5 7.0 4.8-5.0

Non-dairy (adult) 7 0.5 7.5 4.8-6.0

Dairy 6 0.5 7.0 5.5

Buffalo Non dairy (young) 6 0.5 7.0 3-4

Non dairy (adult) 7 0.5 7.5 5.5

The IPCC (IPCC revised guidelines, 1996)

summarized the emission factors that are thought to

be the most appropriate for the livestock of each

country. Further various workers tried to compute

the emission factors based on available resource.

Emission factors developed by NATCOM-I groups

in India for dairy cattle are compared with available

data for some of the Asian country and regional

data of world are compared (Table 3) along with

milk production data.

Most of the buffalo population is confined in

Asian countries. Table 4 gives comparative emis-

sion factors for buffalo.

Manure management

Country-specific emission factors for manure

management largely depend on the distribution of

animal population in different climatic zone (Gupta

et al., 2007). IPCC summarized three climatic zone

based on temperature profile: cool (temp<15oC),

temperate (temp. 15-25oC) and warm (temp >

Table 2. Comparison of methane emission factors (Kg CH4/animal/year) developed by various workers in India inrecent times for enteric fermentation

Category IPCC Singhal et al., NATCOM- Singh and ALGAS,default 2005* 2004 Mohini, 1998

EF±SD 1996#

Dairy cattle Indigenous 46 33 28 ± 5 25.8 23Crossbred 46 39 43 ± 5 37.8 32

Non dairy cattle 0-1 year 17 8 9 ± 3 31.1 4(indigenous) 1-3 year 25 16 23 ± 8 31.1 16

Adult 25 31 32 ± 6 31.1 20

Non-dairy cattle 0-1 year 17 10 11 ± 3 36 5(Cross Bred) 1-2 ½ year 25 21 26 ± 5 36 10

Adult 25 33 33 ± 4 36 29

Dairy buffalo 55 69 50 ± 17 37.2 32Non dairy Buffalo 0-1 year 23 6 8 ± 3 29.8 7

1-3 year 55 17 22 ± 6 29.8 22Adult 55 52 44 ± 11 29.8 27

Sheep 5 4 4 ± 1 4.7 5

Goat 5 3 4 ± 1 3.9 5

Horses & Ponies 18 IPCC IPCC

Donkeys 10

Camels 46

Pigs 1

*EF were consolidated based on weighted average; # They have derived EF on the basis of male and femalepopulation. For sake of comparison we took female means mature female and male for all non-dairy.

119119119


Table 3. Comparison of methane emission factors fordairy cattle (Asian countries**, India* and worldon regional# # basis)

Country Milk production Emission factor(kg/h/y) (kg/h/y)

China 70.4Combodia 170 33India* Indigenous ~620.5 28

crossbred ~2091.5 43Indonesia 1435 60Japan Lactating 116.4

Dry 66.6Laos 200 34Malaysia 477 40Myanmar 392 38Philippines 2618 80Vietnam 802 47North Korea 2308 75Mongolia 312 37South Korea 8833 118Taiwan 5414 111Thailand 79Regional dataNorth America 6700 118Western Europe 4200 100Eastern Europe 2550 80Oceania 1700 68Asia 1650 56Latin America 800 57Africa & middle east 475 36India 900 46India 460 29.5India (ind.)* 329# 28India (CB)* 1642# 43

* India's Initial National communication (NATCOM)**Kazuyo Yamaji et al.,2003# FAO statistics (web site)# # Milk production data from FAO statistics and EFdata from IPCC, guidelines,1996 table 4.4, page 4.11

Table 4. Comparison of methane emission factor (kg/h/y) for enteric fermentation for buffalo in Asian countries

India #China # #Thailand OtherCountries

Category IPCC IPCC*** NATCOMDefault**

Dairy buffalo 55 57-80# 50 + 17 67.5 51.6 45-67#Non dairy 0-1 year 23 23-50 8 + 3 23-50Buffalo 1-3 year 55 23-50 22 + 6 38.4 23-50

Adult 55 55-77 44 + 11 56.5* 54.9 55-77

*value is for others excluding breedable

** IPCC default for developing countries

*** IPCC data for Indian sub-continent (EF Data Base of IPCC)

# data for adult female in IPCC EF data base

## Kazuyo Yamaji, 2003

Table 5. Emission factors (kg/h/y) for manure manage-ment in ruminants (data source IPCC EF data-base otherwise specified)

Region Climate Dairy Non-dairy Buffalo cattle cattle

Western Europe C 14 6 3T 44 20 8

Eastern Europe C 6 4 17T 19 13 3

North America C 36 1 9T 54 2 16

W 76 3 -Western Europe C 14 6 -

T 44 20 - W 81 38 -

Eastern Europe C 6 4 -T 19 13 -

W 33 23 -Oceania C 31 5 -

T 32 6 - W 33 7 -

Latin America C 0 1 1 T 1 1 1

W 2 1 2 Africa C 1 0 -

T 1 1 - W 1 1 -

Middle East C 1 1 4 T 2 1 5

W 2 1 5Asia C 7 1 1

T 16 1 2 W 27 2 3

Indian Subcontinent C 5 2 4 T 5 2 5W 6 2 5

India* Indigenous 3.5±0.2 0-1Yr 1.2 DB 4.4+0.6(wt. avg. for 1-3Yr 2.8whole country) Adult 2.9±1.4 NDB Crossbred 3.8±0.8 0-1Yr 1.1 0-1Yr. 1.8

1-2½Yr 2.3 1-3Yr. 3.4 Adult 2.5+0.9 4.0

(*India's NATCOM, 2004); C-Cool, T-Temperate, W-WarmDB-Dairy Buffalo, NDB-Non Dairy Buffalo)

120120120


Indian feed standards and supply to livestock

Methane emission factor

Measurement by Bomb Calorimeter, etc.

NEm, NE a, NE l, NE

w, NEp, NE g, NE

wool, DE, etc. Measurement

Calorimetry, Facemask and Hood, SF6 tracer technique, IVDMD and Other methods

GE/Feed intake MCR

Reduced uncertainties and precise emission estimate

Energy for different physiological purposes

Feed availability and nutrient standards

Energy density of feed and other supplements

Gaseous emission measurements

Livestock population of India

Cattle Other livestock Buffalo Sheep & goat

Methane Emission from rumen

Measurement of emission and emission factor (EF)

Higher emission Larger uncertainties

Precise EF and emission estimate Reduction in uncertainties

Emission mitigation options

Methane emission mitigation Options: 1. Increasing feed efficiency 2. Modification of rumen 3. Increasing productivity, etc.

Reduced uncertainties and reduced methane emission

Abbreviations: MCR= methane conversion rate, EF= emission factor, NEm= Net energy for maintenance, NEa =Net energy for activity, NEl= Net energy for lactation, NEw= Net energy for work, NEp= Net energy for pregnancy, NEg= Net energy for growth, NEw= Net energy for wool production (sheep), DE= digestible energy, GE= Gross energy, IVDMD=In vitro dry matter digestibility

MCR= methane conversion rate, EF= emission factor, NEm= Net energy for maintenance, NE

a =Net energy for activity,

NEl= Net energy for lactation, NE

w= Net energy for work, NE

p= Net energy for pregnancy, NE

g= Net energy for growth,

NEw= Net energy for wool production (sheep), DE= digestible energy, GE= Gross energy, IVDMD=In vitro dry matter

digestibility

Fig. 1 Targeted livestock areas and expected outputs of overall work elements

for future studies

121121121


25oC). India is a vast and diverse country. The

emission factors for manure management is devel-oped by NATCOM-I group based on weightedaverage of the distribution of animals in differentclimatic zone. IPCC has summarized emission fac-tors for different regions of the world including In-dian sub-continent. These data were compared withthe emission factor developed by NATCOM groupof India in Table 5.

Quantification of uncertainty reduced due toadoption of indigenous emission factors

Total methane emission during 1994 from en-teric fermentation & manure management is around10.1 Tg (range 9 to 11 Tg). The livestock methaneemission estimates from NATCOM are more (by23%) as compared to ALGAS (1998) and are less(by 30%) when compared to estimates arrived byusing IPCC default emission factors. Conceptualflow diagram (Fig.-1) depicts the targeted livestockareas and expected result of overall work elementsfor future studies.

In NATCOM-1 efforts, three different ap-proaches were adopted and the results were finallyaveraged to give national emission factor. These ap-proaches were dry matter intake method (Singhal, et

al., 2005), consideration of available nutrient in dif-ferent Indian feeds (Feeding standard based) and thethird based on IPCC good practice guidance equa-tions on energy balance. In the IPCC guide lines 1996document, data of body weights, milk production andgross energy intake etc. were mainly consideredbased on western countries practices including highervalues for different animal performance data. Theemission factors developed during NATCOM-1 werebased on existing Indian specific data source of live-stock information that were believed to represent therealistic condition in the country and are summarizedelsewhere (Gupta et al., 2003).

Data gaps

Several data gap and discrepancies were

identified/ encountered during NATCOM-1, which

remain unresolved due to several reasons. These

gap areas may be summarized as follow;

Data inadequacy in methane conversion

factor: Study related to methane conversion of

gross energy/ dry matter intake (% energy con-

verted to methane) of animals is confined to higher

bred (in terms of milk production) and must be

done extensively for indigenous bred also which

represents most (~80%) livestock population hav-

ing wide variations in their performance character-

istics in different agro-climatic regions. There is no

institution in India which has all the in-vivo methane

measurement techniques viz. calorimeter, tracer,

hood and mask techniques etc. to generate transfer

functions. Also no such data is available in an ac-

curate and standardized way, which can have inter-

national traceability for GHG measurements.

Higher value of coefficients used in the

calculation: Coefficients used in the calculation of

gross energy for animals are based on western

equations in IPCC guidelines, hence may not be

appropriate for India. Calculated gross energy is

converted to dry matter intake using energy density

of feed. Some of the reports from country reveal

that IPCC good practice recommended energy

density value (18.45 MJ/kg dry matter) is higher.

Other coefficients used in calculating GE intake of

animals are based on survey conducted in western

countries (viz. coefficients for pregnancy for single/

double birth, for calculating net energy for mainte-

nance, and activity corresponding to animal feeding

situation, etc.). The energy density of feed has to

be generated for country specific feed given to the

animal. It is important to determine the quality of

feed in terms of nutrient and energy. Several meth-

odologies at various institutions are available for

chemical characterization and energy evaluation of

animal feed. However these methodologies may be

compared and tested for their data quality, preci-

sion and accuracy. Further this data has to be com-

parable and traceable to national and international

level to ensure quality of measurements.

122122122


Body weight of non-descript bred is not

available: Most of the cattle researches in terms

of energy intake and GHG emissions are devoted

for crossbred cattle in India. Some of the indig-

enous breeds (more productive in terms of milk)

are also studied, and majority of such cattle (even

species is not known for some of the cattle, but

kept by farmers) constitutes more than 80% in India

(however this percentage is decreasing gradually).

Their body weight, feeding habits, milk productiv-

ity, etc. are either not well surveyed or even not

described in majority of Indian states. This has lead

to assumptions, uncertainty and bias in feed intake

estimation as well as GHG emission estimates.

Proper survey may be undertaken by the network

institutions to generate this data.

Data gap/ mismatch for the estimation of

feed availability and feed required by animals:

There are various reports available for the feed

availability and ration given to livestock in various

states as well as national level. However there ex-

ists wide dissimilarity in terms of reporting format

as well as quantity. Some of the reports describe

availability/ deficiency in terms of crude protein (CP),

Organic matter (OM), Acid detergent fibre (ADF),

etc. However some other reports describe green

fodder, straw, hay, concentrate, etc. and some other

in format of dry matter, forest produce, etc & there

too reporting value mismatch. Proper survey and

normalized reporting of feed data, which should have

high quality (chemical characterization) is essential.

Utilization pattern of dung / manure man-

agement system: No reliable data are available

on different manure management system adopted in

country and that too based on temperature profile

(regional). Further there is variation among the feed-

ing rations given to the animals, which reflect in the

dung characteristics. There is a need for proper

survey of manure management systems and related

field methane & nitrous oxide measurement studies.

Since India is a big country and there exist

wide regional variation in livestock breed, compo-

sition of different types of livestock, livestock feed

and climatic condition. The above data gap may be

overcome in future by planned and coordinated

study. It is, therefore, important to undertake a

holistic study of methane and nitrous oxide emission

from livestock of agriculture sector so that uncer-

tainties stated above will be reduced in future GHG

budget for NATCOM-II from India. Such studies

will generate capacity and will provide opportuni-

ties to accomplish research needs of above gap

areas in the livestock area of agriculture sector.

GHG measurement methodology and metro-

logical aspects

Several techniques are used for CH4 measure-

ment from enteric fermentation of ruminants. These

techniques may include short-term in-vitro rumen

liquor incubation to in-vivo respiration calorimeter

(IAEA, 1992). The main techniques are enclosure

technique, tracer technique and indirect methods.

Enclosure technique comprises either total enclo-

sure of animals or enclosure of their head area (head

box, ventilated hood or face mask). Open circuit

calorimetry is one of the important enclosure tech-

niques, which was previously used for studying heat

production (Cammell et al., 1980) in animal. This

technique may be precisely applicable for methane

measurement from ruminants in which whole animal

can be kept in metabolic cage and emissions can

be measured from rumen fermentation. In India,

IVRI has an established calorimetry technique where

experiments were conducted in the past

(Chandramoni et al., 1998; Chandramoni et al.,

2000). Another important technique for measuring

methane from enteric fermentation is SF6 tracer

technique (Johnson et al., 1994). This technique

was used at NDRI Karnal for methane emission

study from livestock (Berman et al., 2001; Mohini

and Singh, 2001). Before use of SF6 tracer tech-

nique in India, workers tried to estimate methane

emission by in-vitro technique. Earlier facemask

technique was applied to study methane emission

123123123


from enteric fermentation in India (Krishna, et al.,

1978).

In would be appropriate to establish all facili-

ties (SF6, Calorimeter, Hood/ Face mask, Indirect

technique) at one or two prime institutions in India.

This will enable to generate transfer functions among

these techniques. Further simpler technique like

Hood/ Face mask may be applied in the field con-

dition to get desired database for the country re-

garding in-vivo methane conversion of different

feeds. Metrological aspects may be taken care for

these techniques, which may be used, to generate

data through a calibrated/ standardized practice in

a coordinated manner and QA/QC may be main-

tained by using reference gas standards having na-

tional and international traceability in measurements.

Animal feeds may be characterized by several sim-

pler chemical/ instrumental approaches already in

practice by various institutions. These methods, which

analyze organic carbon, nitrogen, carbohydrate, etc.,

can be standardized also. A multi-institutional In-

dian network is necessary to carryout various tasks

and responsibilities in different parts of the country

and ensuring the quality of measurements through

inter-comparisons, proficiency testing of the partici-

pating institutions, standardization of equipments cali-

bration and measurements so that to have data

traceable to international standards or top metro-

logical quality.

Besides these aspects related to quantification

of uncertainty and improving accuracy in nation in-

ventory estimate of methane, efforts should also be

made for the in-vivo reduction of methane genera-

tion. There are several methods including supple-

mentation of extra chemicals, lipids, plants extracts,

etc. emphasizing rumen process manipulation. How-

ever care should be taken in using chemicals so that

there should not be any adverse impact on animals

or their production potential. Moreover there should

not be traces of undesired chemicals in animal prod-

ucts before commercializing these methods for re-

duction of GHG emissions.

Conclusion

Good practice guidance should be followed for

the targeted groups of livestock, for the methane emis-

sion measurement using various techniques, which are

of major source category like cattle and buffaloes

with others viz. sheep & goat if possible. Earlier stud-

ies were mainly confined to crossbred and higher bred

varieties, and majorities of the Indian livestock are

nondescript. There may be large variation in meth-

ane emission within and between different agro-cli-

matic regions of the country as well as animal cat-

egory based on their feeding regime and other char-

acteristics. The future network, which may represent

most part of major livestock population and climatic

regions, should be capable to generate data regard-

ing feeding pattern, digestibility of different feed ra-

tion and bodyweight by quality survey and standard-

ized traceable measurements for methane and nitrous

oxide. Such metrological approach will reduce un-

certainties in GHG estimation from Indian livestock.

REFERENCES

ALGAS. (1998) Asia Least cost Greenhouse gasAbatement Strategy, Asian Development Bank,Global Environmental Facility, United Nations

Development Programme, Manilla, Phillipines.

Baldwin, R.L. and Allison, M.J. (1983) Rumen me-tabolism. J. of Anim. Sci. 57: 461- 477.

Berman, K., Mohini, M. and Singhal, K.K., (2001)Indian J. Anim. Nutr., 18, 325-329.

Cammell, S.B., Beever, D.E., Skelton, K.V. , and

Spooner, M.C. (1980) Lab. Prac. 30, 115-119.

Chadramoni, C.M. Tiwari, S.B. Jadhao, Khan,M.Y., (1998) International J. Anim. Sci., 13:

33-36.:

Chadramoni, Jadhao, S.B., Tiwari, C.M. and Khan,M.Y. (2000) AFST: 83: 287-300.

Crutzen P J, Aselman, I. and Seiler,W. (1986)Tellus 38B: 271-284.

124124124


Gupta, P.K., Jha A.K., Tomar, M., Singh, N.,

Swamy, M., Singhal, K.K., Garg , S.C., and

Mitra, A.P. (2003) Greenhouse Gas Emission

Uncertainty Reduction in Indian Agriculture Sec-

tor: Livestock", in Proceedings of the

NATCOM workshop on Uncertainty Reduc-

tion in GHG inventories, 4-5 pp. 139-146.

Gupta, P.K., Jha, A.K., Koul, S., Sharma, P.,

Pradhan, V., Gupta V., Sharma, C., and Singh,

N., (2007) Environmental Pollution. 146:

219-224.

Holter J.B. and Young, A.J. (1992) J. Dairy Sci,

75: 2165-2175.

IAEA (1992) Manual on measurement of meth-

ane and nitrous oxide emissions from agri-

culture, International Atomic Energy Agency,

Vienna, Australia, 45-67.

IPCC. (1996) Emission factor database: Inter-

governmental Panel on Climate Change

www.ipcc- nggip.iges.or.jp/EFDB/main.php

IPCC. (1996) Good Practices guidance and un-

certainty management in National GHG

inventories Inter-governmental Panel on Cli-

mate Change.

IPCC. (1996) Revised IPCC Guidelines for Na-

tional Greenhouse Gas Inventories Inter-gov-

ernmental Panel on Climate Change

Krishna, G, Razdar, M. N. and Ray, S. N. (1978)

Indian J. Anim. Sci., 48: 366-370.

Mohini, M. and Singh G.P. (2001) Indian J. Anim.

Nutr., 18: 204-209

Moss, A.R. (1994) Nutr. Abstr. Rev. (Series B)

64: 785-803

Moss, A.R., Jouany, JP. and Newbold, J. (2000)

Ann. Zootech, 49: 231-253.

NATCOM (2004) India's Initial national communi-

cation (NATCOM) to the United Nations

Framework Convention on Climate Change,

Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt of

India June 2004, pp 35.

Singh, G.P., Mohini, M. (1996) Current Sci. 71:

580-582.

Singhal, K.K., Mohini, M., Jha, A.K. and Gupta,

P. K. (2005) Curr. Sci. 88: 129-127.

Swamy, M., Singhal, K.K., Gupta, P. K., Mohini,

M., Jha, A. K. and Singh, N., Reduction in

Uncertainties From Livestock Emissions, In

Climate change and India: Uncertainties re-

duction in green house gas inventory esti-

mates. Universities Press (India) Pvt Ltd,

Hyderabad, pp. 223-241.

125125125


“In the future, the problem of declining living

standards in poor countries is likely to be worsened

by environmental degradation. Today, environmen-

tal problems already affect the health and liveli-

hoods of hundreds of millions. If drastic steps are

not taken, the coming century will see billions of

people suffer the consequences of pollution and

scarcity of natural resources, especially, agricultural

land and water” ( Frans Doorman, 2003)

Pollution can be defined as the human alter-

ation of chemical or physical characteristics of the

environment to a degree that is harmful to living

organisms. Some forms of pollution exert a de-

structive influence on human, animals and wildlife

by killing or impairing the health of individuals.

Synthetic chemicals, oil, toxic metals, and acid rain

are included in this category of toxic pollutants.

Autopsy lesions of ‘black lung disease’, similar to

that observed in the coal miners, in the

archeologically discovered body of an Eskimo

woman who apparently had died about 1600 years

ago in a landslide in the Bering sea region suggest

that the anthropogenic pollution of the environment

dates back to antiquity (Bell et al., 1990). How-

ever the magnitude of pollution has increased many

folds during 20th century with rapid industrialization

and expansion of mechanical transport and agro-

industrial sectors. In recent times, humans release

thousands of synthetic chemicals into the environ-

ment that has altered the distribution of many natu-

rally occurring substances, thereby creating condi-

tions that human, animal and wildlife species had

never experienced before. On the basis of Millen-

nium Ecosystem Assessment conducted between

2001 and 2005, United Nations reported that an-

thropogenic changes in ecosystem have been more

rapid and extensive over the past 5 decades than

ever before, largely to meet rapidly growing de-

mand for foods. At one time environment referred

to only public health and sanitation, and pollution

was defined in relation to human health hazard. But

today, the environment and pollution has assumed

vast connotation with ever widening frontiers in-

volving several disciplines. As such, the effects of

pollution are considered far extensive affecting vari-

ous units of the biosphere. The major emphasis is

now placed on multidisciplinary problem-solving

approaches, and the animal scientists can contrib-

ute greatly to issues related to animal production,

quality of the produce and the environment (Pow-

ers, 2003).

Sensitivity to pollutants

Different species vary in their sensitivity to toxic

pollutants. Many domestic and wild animals have

natural instinct and behavior to protect themselves

against untoward environmental hazards. For ex-

ample, grazing ruminants generally reject certain

harmful plants; horses excrete in certain areas, which

they avoid for grazing, and dogs instinctively take

emetics to protect themselves. Birds are unusually

sensitive to odorless coal gas and other air pollut-

ants in coalmines (Schawbe, 1984). Behavior pat-

tern of fish to avoid contaminated water and nesting

behavior of birds on water bodies are used as in-

dicators of water pollution and population trend of

birds in a habitat provides indication to the quality

of ecosystem. Pheasants are important indicator

species and their presence or absence in an area is

a good indicator of the health of ecosystem (Anon.

2004). In general, impact of the environmental

pollution on animals can be categorized as:

Environmental pollution and animal productivity

D. Swarup

Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar-243122, India

126126126


l Pollutant burden without adverse effects, andminor adaptive physiological or behavioralchanges

l Sub-clinical/sub-lethal effects characterized byminor pathological or behavioral changesin-cluding decreased predator avoidance capac-ity resulting in increased susceptibility to preda-tors, diminished foraging efficiency or successin prey capture, decreased fecundity, and im-paired nest- building, courtship and prenatalbehavior

l Lethal toxicity characterized by high morbid-ity and mortality

l Population and community effects character-ized by change in population structure and func-tion i.e. change in age structure or sex ratio, anddensity, abundance, or bio-mass of indigenousorganisms.

Impact of pollution

The impacts of pollution on animals are asso-ciated with serious economic losses arising due toadverse effects on health and production. Residuesof pollutants have been detected in food productsoriginating from healthy animals harbouring pollut-ant burden and living in the industrial vicinity. Thismay adversely affect quality of milk, meat or eggsand many a times rendering these products unfit forhuman consumption.

Adverse impact of pollutants on health andeconomy of livestock are reported globally. Fre-quent epizootics of lead toxicosis in lead smeltingareas in US caused heavy economic losses to equinehusbandry (Schwabe, 1984). The impact of fluoridepollution on Cornwall Island cattle Industry was soimmense that the majority of farmers switched fromdairy to beef cattle, and 63 of the 82 dairy cattleon a farm near aluminum smelter were slaughteredin one year (Krook and Maylin, 1979). One of themajor hindrances to broiler industry is the adverseeffects of ammonia produced within the house dueto microbial degradation of litter. It is manifested inchronic respiratory diseases and, consequently, deathleading to huge economic loss. In India, heavy mor-

tality in cattle and buffaloes due industrial lead tox-icity was responsible for significant financial lossesto farmers (Swarup and Dwivedi, 2002).

Health impacts and production loss

The severity of health impact of pollutiondepends on kind of pollution and pollutants, pres-ence of interacting chemicals, extent and route ofexposure, and species, age, physiology and nutri-tion of the exposed population. Undernourished,young, old, physiologically stressed and debilitatedanimals are more susceptible to pollution effects.Various industrial, transport and other pollutingsources release host of specific and common pol-lutants such as oxides of sulfur, nitrogen and car-bon, halogen gases, toxic heavy metals, volatilehydrocarbons, oxidants and ozone, to name a few.Many of these pollutants persist in the environmentand can build up to high levels, even if released insmall quantities. Many others undergo transforma-tion and are converted into more dangerous formsthan parent compounds. For example, inorganicmercury is converted into more toxic methyl mer-cury by certain bacteria in aquatic sediment. In‘Minamata disaster’, the microorganisms convertedinorganic mercury that was present in the effluent ofa plastic manufacturing factory into methyl mercury.It was taken up by plankton algae and concen-trated in fish and subsequently caused illness in catsand fishermen (Klaassen, 1996). Exposure to higherconcentration of toxic chemicals induces specificacute toxicities, where as long term low level expo-sure causes chronic toxicity.

Pesticide pollution: Chemical pesticides wereintroduced as an important tool for pest control andhave been used extensively in human health opera-tions and agricultural applications since late 1940s.The wide spread use, solubility in lipids, environ-mental persistence and bio-magnification potentialof pesticides soon precipitated health hazards inanimals. It has been noted that among all farmchemicals, pesticides owing to their toxic potential,pose the greatest hazard and are incriminated as

127127127


the most common cause of poisoning in animals.Pesticides accounted for 85 (17.65%) of the 487reported cases of poisoning in animals globally during1986 to 1996 (Swarup, 2002).

Principal portal of pesticides’ entry to livestockis their extensive and indiscriminate use in agricul-ture and veterinary practices. Animals may become

contaminated with pesticides when treated with these

compounds or via exposure to contaminated water,

feed, buildings or pastures. Insecticides and fungi-cides are common pesticides contaminating animals.

Once in the livestock system number of pesticides

such as DDT, heptachlor, linden, etc persist and

bioaccumulate in the biological system owing to their

lipid soluble nature. Residues of these compounds

in milk are of special concern because milk is con-

sumed in large quantity by vulnerable population

and they tend to concentrate in milk fat. It was

estimated that 40% of the pesticides in human diet

are found in meat, milk and egg and this exposure,

except for occasional out-breaks has decreased in

the past few years. In India, number of studies

have revealed residues of DDT and BHC above

MRL in most samples of the milk and milk prod-

ucts (Meral and Boghra, 2004). It has been ob-

served that with imposition on use of these pesti-

cides, their residue levels in milk have decreased

considerably of late (Unnikrishanan et al., 2005).

However, milk samples collected from areas where

DDT had reportedly been used to kill mosquitoes

revealed high levels of DDT and 25% samples had

residue levels above MRL (Surendra Nath et al.,

2002). The noticeable levels of DDT and HCH

residues have also been reported in tissue samples

such as adipose tissues, liver and kidney of cattle,

sheep and goats in India (Surendra Nath et al.,

1998).

Exposure to pesticides via contamination of

livestock system may not always occur at a level

sufficient to cause acute effects and it is more likely

to precipitate chronic, sub clinical and subtle ef-

fects. At low level of exposure, effects are diverse

and can involve many systems including nervous,

immune and endocrine systems. Pesticides are also

classified as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC)

and their effects on endocrine system may be re-

sponsible for reproductive, immunotoxic, develop-

mental and carcinogenic effects. Many pesticides

mimic or interact with estrogen hormone and this

ability has been linked to breast cancer in women.

Increase in occurrence of breast cancer was asso-

ciated with increased use of pesticides in US.

The pesticide residues in milk may be much haz-ardous to vulnerable populations, especially chil-dren, who not only consume more milk, but arealso more sensitive to toxic substances due to theirhigher metabolic rate and larger brain size in pro-portion to body size than adults. Further, childrenhave variable ability to activate, detoxify and elimi-nate toxic compounds from the body. However,despite findings pointing to presence of pesticideabove permissible limits in considerably high pro-portion of milk samples in India, little informationare available on chronic effects of pesticides onanimal health and production.

Heavy metal pollutants: Metals have beenused by mankind for diverse purposes and their usefor range of industrial activities in the modern pe-riod has been responsible for their ubiquitous pres-ence in the environment as chemical contaminants.Various anthropogenic activities such as burning offossil fuel, mining and metallurgy, industries and trans-port sectors redistribute toxic heavy metals into theenvironment, which persist for a considerably longerperiod and are translocated to different compo-nents of environment including biotic segment. Bio-logically, heavy metals play both beneficial anddetrimental role. Metals such as copper, zinc, ironselenium, magnesium and manganese are essentialcomponents of several enzyme systems involved invariety of physiological activities. Some other heavymetals such as cadmium, lead, arsenic and mercuryhave little or no known beneficial biological activityand are generally regarded as toxic heavy metals.Irrespective of their role heavy metals tend toaccumulate in the body because of their persistingnature and they generally combine with one or more

128128128


bio-active ligands viz –OH, -COO-,- OPO3

H-,>C=O, -SH, -S-S, NH

2 and >NH that are essen-

tial for normal physiological function and activateseveral enzyme system.

Because of their universal presence in the en-vironment, toxic heavy metals are translocated intolivestock system via various sources such as con-taminated feed and fodder, water and soil. Moreoften than not, contamination occurs due to indus-trial pollution. But some times, natural sources maycontribute to higher levels of toxic metals in envi-ronment. To cite an example, arsenic contamination

of ground water is an important cause of poisoning

in many countries including India, and most cases

of arsenic exposure are associated with intake of

contaminated water (Jin et al., 2004). An estimated

6 million people in WB, India are presently drinking

water contaminated with arsenic >50 µg/L in an

area of 38, 865 km2 (Chowdhury et al., 2001)

which is well above the recommended permissible

limit (WHO 1993). Ground water contamination

with arsenic is also reported from Vietnam, Cam-

bodia, Bangladesh, Taiwan, Argentina, Japan, Thai-

land, Chile, Mongolia, Finland, Hungary and the

likes. Once in the animal system, the heavy metals

can contaminate food chain and pose public con-

cerns. Milk and milk products could be contami-

nated when milch animals consume water, feed

and fodder grown in polluted environment (Swarup

and Dwivedi, 2002)

Various surveys conducted by us revealed

higher levels of heavy metals in milk, eggs and other

tissues of animals from industrial vicinity. Higher lead

burden in blood and milk from animals reared in

urban localities and around polluting industrial units

have been documented from various parts of the

India and elsewhere in the world (Baars et al.,

1990). Milk lead concentration is exponentially re-

lated to blood lead (Swarup et al., 2005). It is

expected that animals exposed to industrial lead

will excrete higher lead in milk. In a study, buffaloes

that had suffered from acute industrial plumbism

were found to excrete high level of lead (1.13 ±

0.38 ppm) in milk after 6 weeks of discontinuation

of exposure (Dey et al., 1996). Other than lead,

higher levels of cadmium and mercury have been

reported in livestock in some pockets of the coun-

try.

Of all the toxic metals, lead has posed much

serious problem to animal health and production in

India and abroad. It is one of the commonest causes

of poisoning in farm animals, particularly cattle and

young animals are more susceptible. Sheep, goat

and horses are also affected, but pigs are rarely

exposed. The major sources of lead that can cause

accidental lead poisoning in animals include paints

which contain lead oxide (red lead), triplumbic

tetraoxide, lead carbonate (white lead), lead sul-

phate or lead chromate. The chief sources of lead

poisoning in cattle and other animals also include

discarded waste materials including batteries, dump

oil, oil paint container and bone-fire ash. Use of

lead containing grease, motor vehicle lubricating oil

also leads to accidental lead poisoning. Indiscrimi-

nate eating habits and pica in cattle, possibly due to

phosphorous deficiency resulting in eating of hard

object with impunity, enhances the chance of eating

lead containing substances resulting in lead poison-

ing in ruminants. Contamination of forage and wa-

terways close to shooting activities enhances the

lead content of the soil. However, maximum re-

ports of chronic lead poisoning in cattle were due

to environmental pollution from lead, iron and steel

industries, zinc smelter plant and from automobile

exhaust. Animals reared around the industrial area

and highways have higher blood lead level over and

above the minimum toxic level (0.25ppm) that is

attributed to emission from industries and motor-

ized vehicles. Emission into air leads to fall out of

lead on to the soil and fodder for animal use.

Continual ingestion of such contaminated fodder

results in chronic lead poisoning in animals. The

poisoning is also emerging as a serious concern

with the growing industrialization in India and sev-

eral reports documenting lead poisoning in livestock

in various parts of the country are now on record

129129129


as compared to very few before 1980 (Dey et al.

1996, Dogra et al.,1996, Swarup et al., 2005). It

could be due to expansion of lead-based industrial

operation and cumulative toxic potential of lead.

Toxic effects of lead range from peracute,

acute, subacute to subtle depending upon the physi-

cal and chemical nature of the lead compounds, its

composition, particle size etc. In acute poisoning,

case fatality may be as high as 100%. In cattle,

there is sudden onset of signs and the animal at

pasture may succumb within 24 hours. Staggering,

muscle tremor particularly of head and neck with

champing of jaws and frothing from mouth are mainly

encountered in acute toxicity. Nystagmus and snap-

ping of eye lids are not uncommon. Blindness, cer-

vical, facial and auricular twitching is consistent in

acute lead poisoning in animals. Animals eventually

fall with tono-clonic convulsions, pupillary dilata-

tion, opisthotonus and muscle tremor. Animal be-

comes hyperesthetic to touch and sound with in-

creased heart and respiration rate. An adult animal

exhibits a characteristic frenzy maniacal blind look

and use to charge fences and walls and attempts to

climb or jump over objects. Head pressing is a

characteristic sign in acute lead toxicity. Gastrointes-

tinal involvement is manifested in diarrhea, cramp-

ing, abdominal distension and pain. Central nervous

system involvement is seen up to 90% of lead

poisoned cases, where as 60% cases show gas-

trointestinal problems. Death usually supervenes

during the period of convulsions, mostly due to

respiratory failure.

In subacute lead toxicity in cattle, animal re-

mains alive for three to four days and shows the

clinical signs of dullness, anorexia, depression, loss

of weight and eye sight, incoordination, staggering

and sometimes, circling. The circling is not consis-

tent and animal changes the direction of circling

when it is confined within a stall or box. Muscle

tremor, hyperesthesia and grinding of teeth are

common along with mild abdominal pain, salivation,

lachrymation and alimentary tract dysfunction. Ru-

minal atony is accompanied by constipation in early

stage followed by foetid diarrhea. Animals remain

unwilling to eat and drink and stand still, reluctant

to walk, dull and depressed and sometimes, while

walking reveals drunken gait. In some other cir-

cumstances, animals remain recumbent and die

quietly. Major differentiating observations of

polioencephalomacia from lead poisoning is that in

the former eye preservation reflex is normal while in

the latter it is absent or markedly diminished. Lead

is also classified as a potential EDC, and may be

responsible for reproductive and other hormonal

problems in animals.

Fluorosis: Small amounts of fluorine were con-

sidered essential for prevention of dental caries and

osteoporosis in human. However, continuous inges-

tion of excess fluoride results in chronic fluoride tox-

icity commonly referred as fluorosis. In animals, the

condition is manifested by bony exostosis, lameness,

poor weight bearing, loss in performance and pro-

duction, inability to masticate food materials, reduced

feed conversion efficiency, poor digestibility and death

(Swarup et al., 2001). Skeletal fluorosis is charac-

terized by hyperosteosis, osteopetrosis and os-

teoporosis. Lameness is the first signs noticed in af-

fected animals and animal often crawl on knee pos-

ture due fracture of phalanx.

Long-term exposure to sub-toxic doses of fluo-

ride can induce changes in cellular metabolism and

macro- and micro-nutrient imbalances. Fluoride

exposure also impairs reproductive functions and

induces teratogenicity. High prevalence of sterility,

repeat estrous cycle, stillbirth and birth to weak

calves are often associated with chronic fluorosis.

Intake of comparatively low dietary fluoride (8-12

mg/kg) for a year was responsible for significant

increase in post-calving anoestrus and decline in

fertility in cows (Van Rensburg and de-Vos 1966).

Gaseous and other air pollutants: The air,

which animals breathe, is frequently contaminated

with air-borne pollutants such gases, particulates

and bioaerosal and endotoxins. Some of these pol-

130130130


lutants may have industrial origin, but more often,

these arise from the animals facilities themselves.

Gases like ammonia, hydrogen sulfide , methane,

carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide mainly origi-

nate from decomposition of organic matters and

respiratory excretions. They are collected in animal

houses, particularly under poor ventilation and over-

crowding conditions and affect the health, growth

and production of animals. Excess ammonia in pigs

has been associated with decreased growth, low-

ered average number of pigs weaned and porcine

stress syndrome. Ammonia is considered as the most

significant air pollutant in cattle barns and a concen-

tration of 100ppm in poorly ventilated house can

adversely affect pulmonary function in cattle. Hy-

drogen sulfide, an irritating gas, produces local in-

flammation of moist membranes of eyes and respi-

ratory system.

A host of particulates, consisting mainly dust

and microorganisms are dispersed in air of animal

houses from feed litter, manure and animal them-

selves. They can induce mechanical, chemical, in-

fectious, immunosuppressive and toxic effects in

animals. High dust levels in animal houses can beassociated with mechanical irritation, overloading oflung clearance, lesions of mucus membrane and

reduced resistance to infection. The high concen-tration of dust appears to cause reduced perfor-mance, and clinically recognizable diseases such as

atrophic rhinitis in pigs. Microorganisms and dusttogether may induce allergic and hypersensitivityreactions, and intoxication by bacterial and fungal

toxins. Airborne endotoxins have been implicated inthe pathogenesis of hypersensitivity pneumonia. Incattle and horse, asthma, allergic rhinitis and alveolitis

are primarily associated with dust and toxins origi-nating form mould feed, hay and straw. All theseconditions are often associated with poor produc-

tivity in animals.

Conclusion

The quality of life on Earth is linked inextri-

cably to the overall quality of the environment.

Growing pressures on air, water, and land resources

and increasing incidence of animal and human healthproblems due to industrial pollution has focusedglobal attention in recent years on finding novel ways

to sustain and manage the environment. Specifictoxicity , such as plumbism and fluorosis that posedserious health problems in animals in the developed

countries some years back, have shown their emer-gence in India in the recent past. Although, therehas been growing interest amongst researchers in

clinico-epidemiological and management studiespertaining to pollution related animal diseases, stillseveral gaps exist in the knowledge in this direction,

which need attention of veterinary researchers andfield veterinarians. Further, chemical pollutants maypose a major concern to food quality. Increase use

of chemicals in veterinary practice as drugs, pesti-cides and feed additives, expanding industrial sec-tor and food processing methods and environmen-

tal contamination are the principal portal of entry ofchemical pollutants into livestock system and foodproducts of animal origin. The presence of many ofthese chemicals, even in the residual form may be

detrimental to public health. These pollutants, whichcan find their way in animal products as environ-mental contaminants can be reduced through

judicious use and by improving management condi-

tions at farms, periodic monitoring of residues level,

establishment of regional laboratory with quality

assurance facilities, strict implementation of SPS

measures, extension of Hazard Analysis and Criti-

cal Control Point (HACCP) from farm to consum-

ers stage.

REFERENCES

Anonymous. (2004) Pheasants of India. World

Pheasant Association India. New Delhi, pp.3-

5.

Baars, A. J., Beek Hvan, Visser, I. T. R., Delft, W.,

Van, Fennema, G., Lieben, G.W., Lautenberg,

K., Nieuwenhuijs, J. H. M., Coulander,

PADEL, Pluimers, F. H., Haar, G. Van, De,

Jrna, T., Tuinstra L. G. M. T., Zandstra, P. and

131131131


Bruins B. (1990) Tijdschrift voor

diergeneeskunde 115: 882-890

Bell, P. A., Fisher, J. D., Baum, A. and Greene, T.

C. (1990) Environmental Psychology. 3rd

Edition. Harcoust Brace Jovanovich College

Publ.

Chowdhury, U. K., Rahman, M. M., Mandal, B.

K., Paul, K., Lodh, D. and Biswas, B.K.

(2001) Environ. Sci., 8: 393-415.

Dey S, Dwivedi S K and Swarup D. (1996) Vet.

Record, 138: 336.

Dogra R K S, Murthy R C, Srivastava A K, Gaur

J S, Shukla L J and Varmani B M. (1996)

Archives of Environ. Contamination and

Toxicology., 30: 292-297.

Jin Y, Sun G, Li X, Li G, Lu C and Qu L. (2004)

Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 196: 396-403.

Klaassen C D. (1996) Heavy metal and heavy metal

antagonists. In: Goodman and Gillmans. The

Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics.

Krook L and Maylin G A. (1979) Cornell Veteri-

narian, 69: 1-77.

Meral M and Boghra VR. (2004) Indian J. Dairy

Sci., 57: 291-303.

Powers W J. (2003) J. Dairy Sci., 86: 1045–

1051

Schwabe C W. (1984) Veterinary Medicine and

Human Health. 3rd edn. Baltimore/ London,

Williams & Wilkins. pp.562-77.

Surendra Nath B, Sarwar, Usha MA and

Unnikrishanan V. (2002) Indian J. Dairy

Biosci., 13: 98-101

Surendra Nath B, Unnikrishnan V, Gayathri V, Chitra

PS Preeja CN and Raama Murthy MK.

(1998) J. Food Sci. Technol., 35: 547-548.

Swarup D and Dwivedi S K. (2002) In: Environ-

mental Pollution and Eeffects of Lead and

Ffluoride on Animal Health. Indian Council

of Agricultural Resaerch, New Delhi

Swarup D, Patra R C, Naresh R, Kumar P and

Shekhar P. (2005) The Sci. Total Environ.

347: 106-110.

Swarup D. (2002) Domestic Animal Impacts. In:

Enclyclopedia of Pest Management. (David

Pimentel, ed.). 201–03.

Swarup D, Dey S, Patra R C, Dwivedi S K and

Ali S L. (2001) Indian J. Anim. Sci., 71:

1111-1116.

Unnikrishnan, V, Bhavadasan MK, Nath BS and

Chand Ram. (2005) Indian J. Anim. Sci., 75:

592-598

Van Rensburg S W J and de-Vos W H. (1966)

Onderstepoort J. Veter. Res., 33: 185-94.

WHO. Guideline for drinking water quality:

Recommendations. (1993) Vol. I, 2nd Edn.

Geneva.

132132132


Safety and wholesomeness is the top priority

in developing new crops through biotechnology.

Each genetically modified (GM) crop has under-

gone rigorous testing and assessment based on the

latest guidance from regulatory agencies and na-

tional and international scientific organizations. As

a result, commercialized GM crops (herbicide tol-

erance and insect protection traits) have seen an

unprecedented adoption by farmers globally over

the past decade. In 2006, the global area of biotech

crops has grown to 102 million hectares (252 mil-

lion acres) of which 68%, 19%, and 13% were

planted with herbicide tolerant, insect protected, or

combination of these traits, respectively (James,

2006). From 1996-2006, this crop technology saw

an unprecedented 60 fold increase, the fastest adop-

tion of any crop technology in recent history (James,

2006). According to James (2006), 10.3 million

farmers from 22 countries planted biotech crops in

2006. Of the 10.3 million, 90% or 9.3 million

were small, resource-poor farmers from developing

countries whose increased income from biotech

crops contributed to their poverty alleviation. Of

the 9.3 million small farmers, most of whom were

Bt cotton farmers; 6.8 million were in China, 2.3

million in India, 100,000 in the Philippines, several

thousand in South Africa, with the balance in the

other seven developing countries which grew biotech

crops in 2006. This initial modest contribution of

biotech crops to the Millennium Development Goal

of reducing poverty by 50% by 2015 is an impor-

tant development, which has enormous potential in

the second decade of commercialization from 2006

to 2015 (James, 2006).

For the first time, India grew more Bt cotton

(3.8 million hectares) than China (3.5 million hect-

ares) and moved up the world ranking by two places

to number 5 in the world, overtaking both China

and Paraguay (James, 2006).

Insect-protection traits

Insect-protected plants commercialized to date

are generally enhanced to produce insect control

proteins in planta like those made from Bacillus

thuringiensis (Bt) (Fischhoff et al., 1987; Perlak,

1990). Bt is ubiquitous gram-positive soil bacte-

rium that forms crystalline protein inclusions during

sporulation (Höfte and Whiteley, 1989). The inclu-

sion bodies consist of Cry proteins (Cry is an ac-

ronym for crystal) which are selectively active against

certain lepidopteran, dipteran or coleopteran pests.

Microbial Bt products containing Cry proteins were

first commercialized in 1961 for use in agriculture

and have been used for over 40 years (Baum et

al., 1999) with an exemplary safety record (Betz et

al., 2000). The first Bt microbial formulations were

based on Bt kurstaki strain HD 1 which produces

four Cry proteins (Cry1Aa, Cry1Ab, Cry1Ac and

Cry2Aa) active against lepidopteran pests

(Hammond et al., 2002). The cry1Ab and cry1Ac

genes in the Bt HD1 strain are the prototypes for

the genes currently expressed in maize and cotton.

In planta production of these Cry proteins confers

plant protection throughout the growing season.

Bt cotton, which confers resistance to impor-

tant insect pests of cotton, was first adopted in

India as hybrids in 2002. India grew approximately

Safety and wholesomeness of genetically modified crops for

livestock, poultry and aquaculture: focus on insect-

protected crops in India

G. F. Hartnell and B. G. Hammond

Monsanto Company, St. Louis, MO (USA)

133133133


50,000 hectares of officially approved Bt cotton

hybrids for the first time in 2002, and doubled its

Bt cotton area to approximately 100,000 hectares

in 2003. The Bt cotton area increased again four-

fold in 2004 to reach over half a million hectares.

In 2005, the area planted to Bt cotton in India

continued to climb reaching 1.3 million hectares, an

increase of 160% over 2004. In 2006, the record

increases in adoption in India continued with almost

a tripling of area of Bt cotton from 1.3 million hect-

ares to 3.8 million hectares. In 2006, this tripling

in area was the highest year-on-year growth for

any country in the world. Of the 6.3 million hect-

ares of hybrid cotton in India in 2006, which rep-

resents 70% of all the cotton area in India, 60% or

3.8 million hectares was Bt cotton - a remarkably

high proportion in a fairly short period of five years

(James, 2006).

Benefit of insect-protected traits

Farmers sustain billions of dollars in crop loss

or reduced yield due to pests that have the poten-

tial to be controlled by Cry proteins (Gianessi and

Carpenter, 1999). Insect damage can predispose

plants to fungal growth and mycotoxin contamina-

tion. Therefore protection of plants against pest

damage from pests can reduce fungal and myc-

otoxin contamination. Munkvold et al. (1999) were

the first to show that Fusarium ear rot and fumonisin

contamination were dramatically reduced in an in-

sect-protected Bt maize compared with non-Bt

maize over several years of field trials. This has

been substantiated by Dowd (2000) in the US and

by Pietra and Piva (2000) and (Bakan et al., 2002)

in the EU.

In planta protection against insect pests can

reduce the use of insecticides on the plant. Cotton

plants are normally heavily sprayed with insecti-

cides posing risks to the environment as well as to

humans especially in developing countries. Follow-

ing the commercial introduction of insect-protected

Bt cotton, there has been a significant reduction in

the use of insecticides (Gianessi and Carpenter,

1999). The accumulative reduction in pesticides

for the decade 1996 to 2005 was estimated at

224,300 MT of active ingredient, which is equiva-

lent to a 15% reduction in the associated environ-

mental impact of pesticide use on these crops, as

measured by the Environmental Impact Quotient

(EIQ) - a composite measure based on the various

factors contributing to the net environmental impact

of an individual active ingredient (James, 2006).

The work of Bennett et al. (2004) confirmed

that the principal gain from Bt cotton in India is the

significant yield gains estimated at 45% in 2002,

and 63% in 2001, for an average of 54% over the

two years. Taking into account the decrease in ap-

plication of insecticides for bollworm control,

which translates into a saving, on average of 2.5

sprays, and the higher cost of Bt cotton seed,

Brookes and Barfoot (2006) estimate that the net

economic benefits for Bt cotton farmers in India

were $139 per hectare in 2002, $324 per hectare

in 2003, $171 per hectare in 2004, and $260 per

hectare in 2005, for a four year average of ap-

proximately $225 per hectare. The benefits at the

farmer level translated to a national gain of $339

million in 2005 and accumulatively $463 million for

the period 2002 to 2005. Other studies report

results in the same range, acknowledging that ben-

efits will vary from year to year due to varying

levels of bollworm infestations. The most recent

study by Gandhi and Namboodiri (2006) reported

a yield gain of 31%, a significant reduction in the

number of pesticide sprays by 39%, and an 88%

increase in profit or an increase of $250 per hect-

are for the 2004 cotton growing season.

Safety assessment of cry insect-control pro-

teins

The safety assessment of insect-protected

cotton (Hamilton et al., 2002) and maize (Sanders

et al., 1998) have been published. The introduced

protein is extensively characterized to understand

134134134


how it functions and how similar it is to proteins

already present in foods. Bt proteins have been in

use for over 45 years with their mode of action wellunderstood. The amino acid sequence of the intro-duced protein(s) has been compared to known

toxins and allergens to assure the protein in neithera mammalian toxin nor an allergen or closely re-lated to either. Proteins are a key component of

food and feed and therefore digestibility is an im-portant aspect of the safety evaluation. To confirmthe safety of the protein, it is tested for toxicity by

testing in animals at high levels (thousands to hun-dred of thousands times greater than the highestpredicted consumption) to assure no adverse ef-

fects. As expected, given the nature and digestibil-ity of proteins, no toxicities have been observed inthese tests.

The likelihood of the protein being an estab-lished allergen or becoming an allergen is also as-sessed in detail according to international standards.

Once the safety of the protein as been as-

sessed it is important to assess the agronomic andmorphological or phenotypic parameters and com-pare them to those of the conventional counterpart

to assure there are no relevant unintended effectscaused by the transformation process or the intro-duced genes/trait. Very stringent criteria must be

met for plants developed through biotechnology.Cockburn (2002) provides an example of the pa-rameters needed when comparing maize. Next a

comprehensive comparison of the composition (keynutrients, anti-nutrients, toxins, and other compoundsnaturally found in the plant) of the plant and grain.

The GM plants, their near isogenic control and aswell as commercial varieties are grown under anumber of different environments and field condi-

tions. Typically, 60-90 different compositionalanalytes are compared to determine if the GM cropvalues fall within the range of values obtained from

the non-GM conventional varieties and publishedvalues for that crop (Hammond et al., 2002). Inassessing the nutritional and compositional equiva-

lence of Bollgard cotton to conventional cotton

varieties, over 2500 separate analyses were per-

formed on 67 components of the cottonseed and

oil including nutrients such as protein, fat, moisture,

calories, minerals, amino acids, and antinutrients such

as cyclopropenoid fatty acid, and gossypol

(Hamilton et al., 2002).

To confirm that new GM foods and feeds are

safe as their conventional counterparts, subchronic

(26- or 90-day) comparative toxicity studies are

performed with the grain from the GM, near isogenic

control and conventional varieties. A robust and

internationally recognized testing approach is uti-

lized. In addition, Monsanto conducts livestock,

poultry and/or aquaculture wholesomeness studies

with the GM crop or products derived from that

crop. Nutritional/compositional equivalence is dem-

onstrated when compared to the results obtained

from the feeding of the near isogenic control and

conventional non-GM varieties. These studies are

used to detect any biologically significant unexpected

effects relative to the conventional non-GM plant

varieties.

Mode of action

Cry proteins are produced as protoxins that

are proteolytically activated upon ingestion (Höfte

and Whiteley, 1989). Cry proteins bind to specific

receptors on the surface of midgut cells of suscep-

tible insects and form ion-selective channels in the

cell membrane (English and Slatin, 1992). The cells

swell due to an influx of water which leads to cell

lysis, the insect stops eating and dies (Knowles and

Ellar, 1987).

If receptor binding does not occur, the Cry

protein will have no effect on that organism. Re-

sults of several studies have failed to find Cry-pro-

tein-specific receptors on gut cell membranes of

various non-target mammalian species such as mice,

rats, monkeys, and humans (Hofmann et al., 1988;

Noteborn et al., 1993). This explains why the Cry

insect-control proteins are acutely toxic to target

insects at mg/kg body weight doses, but are non-

135135135


toxic to mammals dosed acutely with greater than

1 x 106 mg/kg Cry proteins (McClintock et al.,

1995; Sjoblad et al., 1992).

As a condition of registration of insect pro-

tected crops in the US, the US EPA requires Cry

insect-control proteins that will be introduced into

the plants be administered acutely at very high

dosages (generally in the thousands of mg/kg range)

to laboratory rodents as part of an overall safety

assessment. To date no biologically relevant ad-

verse effects have been observed in rodents dosed

with Cry proteins that have been bioengineered into

plants that are commercialized. Based on the ab-

sence of mammalian toxicity for the Cry proteins

tested to date, it is concluded that those Cry pro-

teins pose not meaningful risk to human or animal

health.

The class of Cry1, Cry2 and Cry3 proteins

are readily digested in vitro using simulated mam-

malian gastric fluids (EPA, 1995; Noteborn and

Kuiper, 1994). All commercialized Bt products

(Cry1Ac, Cry1Ab, Cry1F, Cry3A, Cry1Ab2,

Cry3Bb1, Cry34Ab1, and Cry35Ab1) except for

Cry 9C have been quickly inactivated in the digest-

ibility studies. These proteins are typically 60-130

kDa in size and are degraded in simulated digestion

models to polypeptides of less than 2 kDa

(Hammond et al., 2002). Bioinformatic analyses

are used to verify the absence of structural similar-

ity of Cry proteins or their degradation products to

known allergens, toxins or pharmacologically active

proteins.

Human and animal digestive systems are de-

signed to effectively degrade dietary proteins to

peptides and amino acids which are absorbed and

used to synthesize new proteins to support growth,

maintenance, reproduction and milk or egg produc-

tion. (CAST, 2006). Thus, Cry proteins would not

be expected to be absorbed intact from the gut.

Also, based on the simulated mammalian gastric

digestion assay, one would expect the Cry proteins

to be rapidly digested. The results of studies with

lactating dairy cattle, growing cattle, broiler chick-

ens and swine have not detected the presence of

transgenic protein in products and tissues from farm

animals fed currently available biotechnology-de-

rived (CAST, 2006; Flachowsky et al., 2005a). In

addition, no unexpected adverse effects were re-

ported in multigenerational studies comparing diets

with non-GM and insect-protected (Bt) maize with

quail and laying hens for 10 and 4 generations,

respectively,(Flachowsky et al., 2005b; Halle et al.,

2006).

Compositional analysis

Assessment of compositional analysis is done

to determine if biologically meaningful differences

occur between GM and non-GM crops (CAST,

2006). Analyses provide information on things such

as antinutrient factors, macronutrients, micronutri-

ents, naturally occurring toxins. The specific nutri-

ents for each crop to consider have been identified

by OECD (CAST, 2006).

Insect-protected Bt corn and cotton crops have

been shown to be comparable in composition to

their non-Bt counterparts. No biologically mean-

ingful differences in the composition of nutrients/

antinutrients in grain, seed, oil, silage or other crop

byproducts have been observed between Bt-ex-

pressing crops and their non-Bt counterparts

(Berberich et al., 1996; Sanders et al., 1998). Bt

crops are therefore agronomically and phenotypi-

cally equivalent to their non-transgenic counterparts.

Livestock, poultry and aquaculture studies

Trait providers such as Monsanto are commit-

ted to sponsoring studies to affirm that palatability

is unchanged and there are no relevant differences

in performance, meat, milk or egg quality and com-

position. In addition, the fate of the transgenic DNA

and protein were also investigated. Based on the

fact the GM crops were previously deemed to be

safe and compositionally equivalent to their non-

136136136


GM counterpart, it was not unexpected for all of

the animal feeding studies to confirm this by report-

ing no meaningful differences in animal performance

or meat, milk or eggs products and no transgenic

DNA or protein were detected in milk, meat or

eggs. (Aumaitre et al., 2002; CAST, 2006; Clark

and Ipharraguerre, 2001; Flachowsky et al., 2005a;

Hartnell et al., 2001). To date, there have been

over 100 feeding studies conducted with herbicide-

tolerant and insect-protected traits either singly or

more that one trait stacked together. Studies in-

volved, broiler chickens, laying hens, quail, lactating

dairy cattle, lactating water buffalo, growing swine,

growing cattle, beef cows, sheep, growing rabbits,

goats, and fish This paper will focus on the studies

conducted with Bt traits in cotton and maize, high-

lighting those studies conducted in India.

Cottonseed

The Cry proteins expressed in the commer-

cialized Bt-cotton developed by Monsanto include

Cry1Ac in Bollgard® and Cry1Ac plus Cry2Ab2

(both stacked) in Bollgard® II. The Cry 1 class of

proteins has selective toxicity to certain category of

insects, in this case bollworms, and requires certain

specific conditions for their effective action. The

protein has to be ingested by the target insects which

happens when the caterpillars feed on the transgenic

plant tissues. It requires an alkaline pH of 9.5 or

above for effective processing and also specific

receptors (on the brush-border membrane of mid-

gut epithelium cells of target insect) for binding before

it can kill the target insect. All these conditions are

available in bollworms and therefore the caterpillars

succumb when they feed on Bt-cotton plant. The

protein cannot act in the human or animal intestine

because their intestine is acidic, pH is about 1.5

and there are no receptors. Hence, Bt protein is

safe to such non-target organisms.

Ruminants: Singhal et al. (2006a) fed 2 kg

of nonGM cottonseed or 2 kg of Bollgard cotton-

seed expressing the Cry1Ac protein to each of 10

lactating crossbred (Karan Swiss x Karan Fries)

cows per day for four weeks. No differences in

body weight (BW), average milk yield, milk com-

position (i.e., fat, protein, lactose, SCC, fatty acid

composition), dry matter intake per 100 kg BW,

and nutrient digestibility. No Bt protein was de-

tected in milk or blood. Singh et al. (2002) fed

nonGM cottonseed and Bollgard cottonseed to each

of 10 lactating Murrah buffaloes for 35 days. No

significant differences were reported in dry matter

intake, body weight gain, total erythrocyte count,

hemoglobin, packed cell volume, plasma glucose,

serum total proteins, albumin, globulin, triglycerides

and high density lipoprotein. Researchers concluded

that Bollgard cottonseed was nutritionally similar to

the nonGM cottonseed with no adverse effects on

the health status when fed to buffaloes. Singhal et

al. (2006b) fed two groups of 10 lactating cross-

bred cows either a concentrate containing 40% of

a crushed nonGM cottonseed or Bollgard II cot-

tonseed for four weeks. Bollgard II cotton ex-

presses Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab2 proteins. No dif-

ferences were reported in body weight, milk yield,

dry matter intake, or milk composition. The 4%fat-

corrected milk was higher for the Bt group but was

attributed to chance occurrence. No Cry1Ac or

Cry2Ab2 proteins were detected in the milk and

plasma. Authors concluded that Bollgard II cot-

tonseed was nutritionally equivalent to nonGM cot-

tonseed when fed to lactating dairy cows. Castillo

et al. (2004) fed 2.5 kg of cottonseed that were

either nonGM or Bollgard or Bollgard II to lactat-

ing Argentinean Holstein cows per day for four

weeks. Dry matter intake, milk yield, milk compo-

sition, body weight and body condition score did

not differ among treatments. NonGM, Bollgard

and Bollgard II cottonseed were fed to goats in

India for 90 days (Monsanto unpublished data).

Body weight, feed intake, blood chemistry, hema-

tology, organ weights, and pathology and histopa-

thology of organs were not different among treat-

ment groups (http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/

SC0605/S00039.htm; Accessed 18JUN2007).

137137137


Poultry: Elangovan et al. (2003) fed cotton-

seed meal from Bt (Cry1Ac protein) and nonBt cot-

ton to broilers for 6 weeks. Cottonseed was incor-

porated into the diet at 10% of the diet. Rapidly

growing chicks would be sensitive to any toxic ef-

fect. No differences in feed intake, body weight gain,

feed conversion or carcass characteristics were ob-

served between the Bt and nonBt groups. In a sec-

ond study, Mandal et al. (2004) fed cottonseed meal

derived from nonBt and Bollgard II (Cry1Ac and

Cry2Ab proteins) cotton for six weeks. Body weight

gain, feed intake, feed conversion, nutrient utilization,

blood constituents and carcass traits were not sig-

nificantly different. Hamilton et al. (2004) reported

no differences in body weight gain, feed intake or

health in quail fed Bollgard II (10% of the diet as raw

cottonseed meal) for 5 days followed by 3 days on

the basal diet..

Fish: Hamilton et al. (2004) reported the re-

sults of a study where catfish were fed a diet con-

taining 20% processed cottonseed meal from either

nonBt or Bollgard II cotton for 8 weeks. There

were no significant differences in survival, weight

gain, feed conversion, or fillet composition between

the treatment groups. Similar results were found in

studies with fish fed Bollgard or Bollgard II cotton-

seed meal at the Central Institute of Fisheries Edu-

cation, Mumbai, India (Monsanto unpublished).

Allegations: Anti-biotechnology groups have

alleged that Bt cotton is unsafe based on reports of

sheep dying when grazing Bt cotton residues in In-

dia. This is in spite of the fact that there has not been

one animal feeding study to date where genetically

modified cotton was fed that has shown an unex-

pected adverse effect on the health of the animal (://

www.gene.ch/genet/2006/Jun/msg00007.html; Ac-

cessed 18JUN2007)). Therefore, based on the sci-

entific studies conducted with the Bt proteins, there

is no basis for the consumption of Bt proteins to be

the causative agent in this allegation. Cry1Ac pro-

tein is rapidly digested to amino acids and thus no

intact protein is absorbed into the bloodstream so

that the animal’s tissues and organs are never exposed

to the protein. Numerous other possibilities such as

high pesticide residues http://stinet.dtic.mil/oai/

oai?&verb=getRecord&metadata Prefix=html

&identifier=AD0840311; accessed June 25,2007),

high levels of nitrates (Bourke and Carrigan, 1992),

high levels of gossypol (Morgan et al., 1988; Randel

et al., 1992) or other toxicants in the cotton leaves

needs to be investigated. These compounds are

found in or on cotton residues independent of the

cotton being nonGM or Bollgard.

Table 1. Livestock, poultry and aquaculture studies feed-

ing Cry proteins expressed in maize.

Species Bt Protein Reference

Lactating Cry1Ab (Barrière et al., 2001; Donkin etdairy cows al., 2003)

Cry3Bb1 (Grant et al., 2003)

Cry1F (Faust et al., 2003)

Beef Cattle Cry1Ab (Böhme et al., 2001; Folmer etal., 2002)

Cry3Bb1 (Vander Pol et al., 2005)

Sheep Cry1Ab (Barrière et al., 2001)

Poultry Cry1Ab (Aeschbacher et al., 2005;Rossi et al., 2005; Taylor et al.,2003a)

Cry3Bb1 (Taylor et al., 2003b)

Cry1F

Cry1A.105,Cry2AB2 (Taylor et al. in press)

Swine Cry1Ab (Piva et al., 2001; Reuter andAulrich, 2003; Weber andRichert, 2001)

Cry3Bb1 (Hyun et al., 2005)

Cry1F (Stein et al., 2004)

Marine Fish Cry1Ab (Sanden et al., 2005)

Maize

Numerous studies have been conducted with

insect-protected maize with all concluding that the

insect-protected maize is as nutritious and whole-

some as its nonGM counterpart (Aumaitre et al.,

2002; Clark and Ipharraguerre, 2001; Flachowsky

et al., 2005a). As pointed out earlier, in some

cases Bt maize is safer than nonGM due to the

138138138


lower fumonisin content (Dowd, 2000; Munkvold

et al., 1999; Pietra and Piva, 2000). Table 1 pro-

vides a listing of the species and Cry protein(s) fed.

Measurements included feed intake, body weight,

milk yield, milk composition, feed efficiency

(Gain:Feed), carcass characteristics, and meat qual-

ity and composition. No unexpected adverse ef-

fects were observed in any of the species fed the

Cry proteins confirming the safety of the Cry pro-

teins that have been commercialized.

Kan and Hartnell (2004) reported no differ-

ences in broiler performance when fed dehulled

soybean meal that expressed the Cry1Ac protein.

Conclusion

Historically, Bt proteins have been demon-

strated to be safe since the early 1960’s. Geneti-

cally modifying crops to express Bt proteins has

provided protection against a certain class of in-

sects resulting in a reduction in the application of

chemical pesticides benefiting the environment as

well as the farmer. Bt crops or their byproducts

have been evaluated in feeding studies with lactat-

ing dairy cattle, lactating water buffalo, beef cattle,

poultry, swine, sheep, and fish. All studies have

concluded that Bt crops are as safe, nutritious, and

wholesome as their nonBt counterparts.

REFERENCES

Aeschbacher, K., Messikommer, R., Meile, L. and

Wenk, C. (2005) Poult. Sci., 84: 385-394.

Aumaitre, A., Aulrich, K., Chesson, A.,

Flachowsky, G. and Piva., G. (2002) Live-

stock Prod. Sci. 74: 223-238.

Bakan, B., Melcion, D., Richard-Molard, D. and

Cahagnier, B. (2002) J Agric Food Chem

50: 728-731.

Barrière, Y., Vérité, R., Brunschwig, P., Surault, F.

and Emile., J. C. (2001) J. Dairy Sci. 84:

1863-1871.

Baum, J. A., Johnson, T. B. and Carlton, B. C.

(1999) Bacillus thuringiensis natural and re-

combinant bioinsecticide products. Methods in

biotechnology 5: Biopesticides: use and deliv-

ery: 189-209.

Bennett, R., Ismael, Y., Kambhampati, U. and

Morse, S. (2004) AgBioForum, 7: 1-5.

Berberich, S. A., Ream, J. E., Jackson, T. L.,

Wood, R., Stipanovic, R., Harvey, P. , Patzer,

S. and Fuchs, R. L. (1996). J. Agric. Food

Chem. 44: 365-371.

Betz, F. S., Hammond, B. G. and Fuchs, R. L.

(2000). Regulatory Toxicol. Pharmacol, 32:

156-173.

Böhme, H., Aulrich, K., Daenicke, R. and

Flachowsky, G. (2001) Arch. Anim. Nutr.

54: 197-207.

Bourke, C. A., and Carrigan, M. J. (1992). Aust

Vet J 69: 165-167.

Brookes, G., and Barfoot, P. G. (2006)

AgBioForum, 9: 139-151.

CAST (2006) Safety of meat, milk, and eggs from

animals fed crops derived from modern bio-

technology. Council for Agricultural Science and

Technology Issue Paper No. 34, : 1-8.

Castillo, A., Gallardo, M., Maciel, M., Giordano,

J., Conti, G., Gaggiotti, M., Quaino, O.,

Gianni, C. and Hartnell, G. (2004) J. Dairy

Sci., 87: 1778-1785.

Clark, J. H., and Ipharraguerre, I. R. (2001) J

Dairy Sci., 84: E9-E18.

Cockburn, A. (2002) J. Biotech. 98: 79-106.

Donkin, S. S., Velez, J. C., Totten, A. K.,

Stanisiewski, E. and Hartnell, G. F. (2003) J

Dairy Sci. 86: 1780-1788.

Dowd, P. (2000) J. Econ. Entomol, 93: 1669-

1679.

Elangovan, A., Mandal, A. and Johri, T. (2003)

139139139


Asian-Aust. J. Anim. Sci. 16: 57-62.

English, L., and Slatin, S. L. (1992) J. Biochem.

Molec. Biol. 22: 1-7.

EPA (1995) Epa fact sheet for Bacillus thuringiensis

subsp. Kurstaki cry1(c) delta-endotoxin and

its controlling sequences as expressed in cot-

ton. Office of prevention, pesticides and toxic

substances: 1-17.

Faust, M. A., Smith, B., Hinds, M. and Dana G.

(2003) J. Dairy Sci., 86: 61-62.

Flachowsky, G., Chesson, A. and Aulrich, K.

(2005a) Arch. Anim. Nutr. 59: 1-40.

Flachowsky, G., Halle, I. and Aulrich, K. (2005b)

Arch. Anim. Nutr. 59: 449-551.

Folmer, J. D., Milton, C. T. and Beck. J. (2002) J.

Anim. Sci., 80: 1352-1361.

Gandhi, V., and Namboodiri, N. V. (2006) The

adoption and economics of Bt cotton in india:

Preliminary results from a study IIMA Work-

ing Paper No. 2006-09-04: 1-27.

Gianessi, L. P., and Carpenter, J. E. (1999) Agri-

cultural biotechnology: Insect control benefits.

p http://www.ncfap.org/reports/biotech/

insectco-ntrolbenefits.pdf (Accessed

18JUN2007).

Grant, R. J., Fanning K. C., Kleinschmit, D.,

Stanisiewski, E. P. and Hartnell, G. F. (2003).

J. Dairy Sci. 86: 1707-1715.

Halle, I., Aulrich, K. and Flachowsky, G. (2006).

Proc. Soc. Nutr. Physiol. 15: 114.

Hamilton, K. A., Goodman, R. E. and Fuchs, R. L.

(2002) Safety assessment of insect-protected

cotton. In: Thomas J. A. and Fuchs R. L.

Biotechnology and safety assessment eds. p

435-465. Academic Press, San Diego.

Hamilton, K. A., Pyla, P. D., Breeze, M., Olson,

T., Li, M., Robinson, E., Gallagher, S. P.,

Sorbet, R. and Chen, Y. (2004) J. Agric. Food

Chem. 52: 6969-6976.

Hammond, B. G., Stanisiewski, E. P., Fuchs, R. L.

and Hartnell, G. F. (2002) Safety assessment

of insect-protected crops: Testing the feeding

value of Bt corn and cotton varieties in poultry,

swine and cattle. In: Testing for genetic ma-

nipulation in plants (Jackson, J. F., Linskens,

H. F. and Inman, R. B. eds). No. Molecular

Methods of Plant Analysis vol. 22. p 119-137.

Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg.

Hartnell, G. F., Stanisiewski, E. P., Hammond, B.

G., Astwood, J. D. and Fuchs, R. L. (2001)

Nutritive value and safety of Bt corn grain and

forage for ruminants. In: 62nd Minnesota Nu-

trition Conference & Minnesota Corn Grow-

ers Association Technical Symposium, Septem-

ber 11-12, 2001, Bloomington, MN. p 182-

192.

Hofmann, C., Luthy, P., Hutter, R. and Pliska, V.

(1988) Eur J Biochem 173: 85-91.

Höfte, H., and Whiteley, H. R. (1989) Microbiol.

Rev., 53: 242-255.

Hyun, Y., Bressner, G. E., Fischer, R. L., Miller, P.

S., Ellis, M., Peterson, B. A., Stanisiewski, E.

P. and Hartnell, G. F. (2005) J. Anim. Sci.,

83: 1581-1590.

James, C. (2006) Global status of commercialized

biotech/GM crops: 2006, ISAAA Briefs No.

35-2006, Ithaca, NY.

Kan, C. A., and Hartnell, G. F. (2004) Poult. Sci.

83: 2029-2038.

Knowles, B. H., and Ellar, D. J. (1987) Biochem.

Biophys. Acta., 924: 509-518

Mandal, A. B., Elangovan, A. V., Shrivastav, A.

K., Johri, A. K., Kaur, S. and Johri, T. S.

(2004) Br. Poult. Sci., 45: 657-663.

McClintock, J. T., Schaffer, C. R. and Sjobald, R.

D. (1995) Pestic. Sci., 45: 95-105.

140140140


Morgan, S., Stair, E. L., Martin, T., Edwards, W.

C. and Morgan, G. L. (1988) Am. J. Vet.

Res., 49: 493-499.

Munkvold, G. P., Hellmich, R. L. and Rice, L. G.

(1999) The Am. Phytopathol. Soc. 83: 130-

138.

Noteborn, H. P., and Kuiper, H. A. (1994) Safety

assessment strategies for genetically modified

plant products: A case study of Bacillus

thuringiensis-toxin tomato. Biosafety of foods

derived by modern biotechnology, BATS.

Noteborn, H. P., Rienenmann-Ploum, J. M., Van

den Berg, M. E., Alink, G. M., Zolla, L. and

Kuiper, H. A. (1993) Food safety of transgenic

tomatoes expressing the insecticidal crystal pro-

tein cry1ab from Bacillus thuringiensis and

the marker enzyme aph(39)ii. . Med. Fac.

Landbouww. Univ. Gent.: 58/54b.

Perlak, F., Fuch, R, Dean, D, McPherson, S,

Fischoff, D. (1990) Proc. Nat’l. Acad. Sci

88: 3324-3328.

Pietra, A., and Piva, G. ( 2000) Occurrence and control

of mycotoxins in maize grown in italy. In: Pro-

ceedings of the 6th International Feed Produc-

tion Conference, Piacenza, Italy. p 226-236.

Piva, G., Morlacchini, M., Pietra,A., Piva, A. and

Casadei, G. (2001) J. Anim. Sci. 79: 106.

Randel, R. D., Chase Jr., C. C., and Wyse, S. J.

(1992) J. Anim. Sci., 70: 1628-1638.

Reuter, T., and Aulrich, K., (2003) Eur. Food Res.

Technol. 216: 185-192.

Rossi, F., Morlacchini, M., Fusconi, G., Pietri, A.,

Mazza R., and Piva, G. (2005) Poul. Sci., 84:

1022-1030.

Sanden, M., Berntssen, M. H. G., Krogdahl, A.,

Herme, G.-I. and McKellep, A.M. (2005) J

Fish Diseases 28: 317-330.

Sanders, P., Lee, T., Groth, M., Astwood, J. and

Fuchs, R. (1998) Safety assessment of insect-

protected corn. Biotechnology and safety as-

sessment: 241-256.

Singh, J. D., Tiwari, D. P., Kumar, A. and Kumar,

M. R. (2002) Effect of feeding transgenic

conttonseed vis-a-vis non-transgenic cotton-

seed on haematobiochemical constituents in

lactating murrah buffaloes. In: Xth International

Congress, Asian-Australasian Association of

Animal Production Societies (AAAP), Ashok

Hotel, New Delhi, India. p 257-258.

Singhal, K. K., Kumar, S., Tyagi, A. K. and Rajput,

Y. S. 2006a. Indian J. Anim. Sci., 76: 532-

537.

Singhal, K. K., Tyagi, A. K., Rajput, Y. S., Singh,

M., Perez, T. and Hartnell, G. F. (2006b). Ef-

fect of feeding cottonseed produced from

Bollgard II® cotton on feed intake, milk pro-

duction, and milk composition in lactating

crossbred cows. XIIth Animal Science Con-

gress 2006 Congress Proceedings Page 757

Abstract.

Sjoblad, R. D., McClintock, J. T. and Engler, R.

(1992) Regul. Toxicol. Pharmacol. 15: 3-9.

Stein, H. H., Sauber, T., Rice, D., Hinds, M., Peters,

D., Dana, G. and Hunst, P. (2004) J. Anim.

Sci. 82: 328-329.

Taylor, M. L., Hartnell, G. F., Riordan, S. G. ,

Nemeth, M. A., Karunanandaa, K., George,

B. and Astwood, J. D. (2003a) Poult. Sci.,

82: 823-830.

Taylor, M. L., Hyun, Y., Hartnell, G. F., Riordan,

S. G., Nemeth, M. A., Karunanandaa, K.,

George, B. and Astwood, J. (2003b) Poult.

Sci., 82: 1948-1956.

Vander Pol, K. J., Erickson, G. E., Robbins, N. D.,

L. L., Berger, Wilson, C. B., Klopfenstein, T.

J. , Stanisiewski, E. P. and Hartnell, G. F. (2005)

J. Anim Sci. 83: 2826-2834.

Weber, T. E., and Richert, B. T. (2001) J. Anim.

Sci., 79: 67.

141141141


According to the FAO statistics human popu-

lation will increase from current about 6.5 to 9 billion

people (about 40 % more) on the earth in 2050

(Steinfeld et al., 2006), but the estimated need for

meat (from 229 to 465) and milk (from 580 to

1043 mio t per year) will nearly double in this time.

The reason for such a development is a higher

demand of food of animal origin with increased

income in many countries (Keyzer et al., 2005).

The consumption of meat, fish, milk and eggs con-

tributes to meet the human requirements in amino

acids and many trace nutrients. Furthermore, foods

of animal origin have a considerable enjoyment value

and are considered as a parameter of living stan-

dard.

The production of food of animal origin is con-

suming high amounts of resources and need much

land for feed production. In addition to the tradi-

tional competition of land use between production

of vegetarian food for human consumption and feed

production for animal production, land area is in-

creasingly being used for bio-energy/fuel produc-

tion in response to the challenge of global warming,

as areas for settlements and as natural protected

areas. Possible strategies to overcome this situation

include:

- Continued investments to increase plant yield

and animal performances with traditional and

innovative biotechnology.

- Improved efficiency of utilizing resources (land,

water, fertilizer, fuel etc.).

- Lower consumption of animal protein by

people with current over consumption

Plant breeding and cultivation are the starting

points for feed and food security during the next

years. The perspectives mentioned above are real

challenges for plant breeders all over the world.

The most important objectives for plant breeders

can be summarized as followed

- High yields with low external inputs (low input

varieties) such as water, phosphorus, fuel, plant

protection substances etc.

- Lower concentrations of toxic substances such

as secondary substances, mycotoxins fromtoxin-developing fungi, toxins from anthropo-genic activities or geogenic givens

- Lower concentrations of substances that influ-

ence the use or bioavailability of nutrient suchas lignin, phytate, enzyme inhibitors, tannin etc.

- Higher concentrations of the feed value deter-

mining components such as nutrient precur-sors, nutrients, enzymes, prebiotics, essentialoils etc.

From the global view of feed and food secu-

rity low input varieties have the highest priority.

Undesirable substances cannot be removed fromfeedstuffs, or can only be removed with great effort(Flachowsky, 2006). From the perspective of ani-mal nutritions, this goal is of major significance forthe improvement of the percentage of value-deter-mining components of feedstuffs under European

conditions, because of the availability of various feed

additives on the market. An increase of essential

nutrients (e.g. amino acids, vitamins, trace elements

etc.) could be very favourable in some other re-

gions of the world.

Potential of GM plants, current status, feeding to

animals and open questions

Gerhard Flachowsky

Institute of Animal Nutrition, Federal Agricultural Research Centre (FAL)

Bundesallee 50, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany

142142142


It is possible to fulfil the objectives mentioned

above by conventional plant breeding. But in the

future methods of biotechnology may be more flex-

ible, more potent and faster. Presently we are in the

starting phase of this technology. Therefore geneti-

cal engineering of plants seems to be a technology

with a high potential to contribute to the solution of

global problems. Of course the technique needs

further improvements and more public acceptance

as presently. The current stage of nutritional assess-

ment of feeds from GMP and future challenges will

be analysed in the paper.

Current status

The cultivation of GMP increased worldwide from

1.7 (1996) to 102 million ha. Currently, soybeans

(60), corn (24), cotton (11) and canola (5 % of

global GM area) are the most important GM-crops.

They are modified mainly for agronomic traits. Such

plants are characterized by so-called input traits

(GMP of the first generation) without substantial

changes in composition or nutritive value.

GMP of the second generation (with output

traits) should contain more special nutrients (e.g.

amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, enzymes etc.) or

less antinutritive substances (e.g. mycotoxins, in-

hibitors, allergens etc.).

GMP can be used in a wide variety to feed

animals such as:

- Vegetative and generative plants or parts of

plants (e.g. green forage, seeds, roots, tubers

etc.)

- Conserved products from GMP (e.g. silage, hay)

- By-products of agriculture and food produc-

tion, obtained from the processing of GMP

(e.g. straw, by products of milling, of the starch,

oil, sugar and brewing industries).

Many studies were published for nutritional and

safety assessment of feeds from GMP. Feeds from

GMP with input traits (1st generation)

Most of the area under GMP is cultivated with

plants of the first generation. Numerous scientific

associations and expert panels proposed guidelines

for the nutritional and safety assessment of feeds

from first generation (EFSA 2004; ILSI 2003).

Based on the recommendations, nutritional studies

with first generation GMP feeds have been under-

taken worldwide.

Since 1997, 16 studies were performed at the

Institute of Animal Nutrition of the German Federal

Agricultural Research Centre (FAL) in Braunschweig

to determine the effect of first generation GMP feeds

on the nutrition of dairy cows, growing bulls, grow-

ing and finishing pigs, laying hens, chickens for fin-

ishing, as well as with growing and laying charac-

teristics of quails. This research was recently sum-

marized by Flachowsky et al. (2007). The majority

of feeds tested in the studies (e.g., Bt-maize, Pat-

maize, Pat sugar beet) were grown under similar

conditions to their isogenic counterparts in the ex-

perimental fields at FAL. The composition of feeds

was analysed, and animal studies were used to

assess nutritional qualities, including parameters such

as digestibility, feed intake, health and performance

of target animal species, and effects on food quality

Fig. 1 A) Body weight of female quails (age: 6 weeks),

(B) laying intensity and (C) hatchability of quails fed

with isogenic (¦) and transgenic (Bt, ?) corn in a 10

generations experiment (Flachowsky et al., 2005b)

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

Bo

dy w

eig

ht

(g p

er

an

imal)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Layin

g i

nte

nsit

y (

%)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Generations

Hatc

hab

ilit

y (

% o

f in

c.

eg

gs)

Overall means

(Range of generations)

Isogenic

180.1

(172.0 – 190.1)

Transgenic

176.9

(171.9 – 181.7)

Isogenic

81.3(75.9 – 87.8)

Transgenic

81.4(77.1 – 88.4)

Isogenic

77.4

(66.8 – 90.5)

Transgenic

76.7

(67.0 – 83.2)

A

B

C

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

Bo

dy w

eig

ht

(g p

er

an

imal)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Layin

g i

nte

nsit

y (

%)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Generations

Hatc

hab

ilit

y (

% o

f in

c.

eg

gs)

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

Bo

dy w

eig

ht

(g p

er

an

imal)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Layin

g i

nte

nsit

y (

%)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Generations

Hatc

hab

ilit

y (

% o

f in

c.

eg

gs)

Overall means

(Range of generations)

Isogenic

180.1

(172.0 – 190.1)

Transgenic

176.9

(171.9 – 181.7)

Isogenic

81.3(75.9 – 87.8)

Transgenic

81.4(77.1 – 88.4)

Isogenic

77.4

(66.8 – 90.5)

Transgenic

76.7

(67.0 – 83.2)

A

B

C

143143143


derived from the animals. Reproduction was also

considered in generation studies with quails (Fig. 1)

and laying hens (4 generations).

Both chemical analyses and the animal studies

reveal no significant differences between GMP feeds

and their isogenic counterparts (Table 1) and hence

strongly support their substantial equivalence. Our

results agree with more than 100 studies published

in the literature and reviewed recently (Fachowsky

et al., 2007).

Mycotoxin contamination of some GMcrops

is lower than non-GM which may be one exception

to their substantial equivalence. For example, Bt

maize is less severely attacked and weakened by

the corn borer and might have a greater resistance

to field infections, particularly Fusarium fungi, which

produce mycotoxins. Evidence of reduced myc-

otoxin contaminated in GMcrops has been demon-

strated in some but not all cases, as summarized by

Fachowsky et al., (2005a). In long-term studies,

numerous researchers, investigated the influence of

levels of corn borer infestation of isogenic and Bt

hybrids on mycotoxin contaminated. Most research-

ers concluded that a lower level of mycotoxin con-

tamination was observed in the transgenic hybrids,

despite the considerable geographical and temporal

variation observed (Figure 2).

Feeds from GMP with output traits (second

generation)

Second generation GMP are characterized by ei-

ther: an increased content of desirable traits, such

as

l Nutrient precursors (e.g., â-carotene)

l Nutrients (amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins,

minerals etc.)

l Substances which may improve nutrient digest-

ibility (e.g., enzymes)

l Substances with surplus effects (e.g., prebiotics)

l Improvement of sensoric properties/palatabil-

ity (e.g., essential oils, aromas) or a decreased

content of undesirable substances such as:

l Inhibiting substances (e.g., lignin, phytate)

l Toxic substances (e.g., alkaloids, glucosinolates,

mycotoxins).

At present, detailed standardized test proce-

dures are not available to analyze feeds from sec-

ond generation GMP. Possible approaches for test-

ing those feeds were recently reviewed by

Flachowsky and Böhme (2005). Recommendations

for nutritional and safety assessment of feeds from

second generation GMP are being developed by

EFSA (2007) and ILSI (2007).

The following points should be considered when

making a nutritional assessment of second genera-

tion GMP feeds. Feeds with intended beneficial

physiological properties relating to amino acids, fatty

Fig. 2 Mycotoxins in isogenic (100 %) and Bt-corn (%

of isogenic corn; data from some references,

Flachowsky et al., 2005a)

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Deoxynivalenol Zearalenone Total Fumonisines

Myco

toxin

s i

n %

isogenic

Bt-corn

Table 1. Experiments comparing first generation GE feeds

with isogenic counterparts (Flachowsky et al.,

2005a)

Animal Number of Nutritional assessment

experiments

Ruminants No unintended effects in

- Dairy cows 23 composition (except

- Beef cattle 14 lower mucotoxins

- Others 10 concentration in Bt plants)

Pigs 21 No significant differences

Poultary digestibility and animal

- Laying hens 3 health as well as no

- Broilers 28 unintended effects on

performances of animals

Others and composition of food

(Fish, rabbits etc.) 8 of animal origin

144144144


acids, minerals, vitamins and other substances may

contribute to higher feed intake of animals and/or

improved conversion of feed/nutrients into food of

animal origin. Furthermore, the excretion of nitro-

gen, phosphorus and other nutrients may be re-

duced. Consequently, depending on the claimed

difference due of the genetic modification, the ex-

perimental must be designed to demonstrate these

effects. Specific, targeted experimental designs are

necessary to show the efficiency of the altered

nutrient constituents.

Genetic modifications may be associated with

side effects (Cellini et al., 2004; Böhme et al.,

2007) and the larger the modification, the greater

the changes. As the basis for comparative ap-

proaches, special animal studies seem to be neces-

sary to examine these questions. Therefore the

nutritional and safety assessment of feeds from GMP

of the second generation GMP is a significant chal-

lenge for animal nutritionists. Commercial isogenic

counterparts (at least 3) should act as control to

show, what in normal is animal studies (Mc Naughton

et al., 2007).

The fate of transgenic DNA and transgenic

proteins

The consumption of feeds from GMP resulted

in the intake of transgenic DNA and proteins; there-

fore, studies were conducted on their fate during

processing, within the gastrointestinal tract of ani-

mals, and the potential to which extent transgenes

or their products may be incorporated into animal

tissues (Flachowsky et al., 2005a). Studies in this

field were excellently reviewed by Alexander et al.

(2007) recently.

Results on the fate of DNA can be summa-

rized as followed:

- DNA is a permanent part of food/feed (daily

intake: human: 0.1 – 1 g; pig: 0.5-4 g ; cow:

40-60 g).

- DNA is mostly degraded during conservation

(silage making) and industrial processing as well

as in the digestive tract (pH, enzymes).

- Small fragments of DNA may pass through the

mucosa and may be detected in some body

tissues (especially leucocytes, liver, and spleen).

- Fragments of high-copy number genes from

plants have been detected in animal tissues to

a higher extent than from low-copy numbers.

- No data exists showing that tDNA is charac-

terized by unique behaviour compared to na-

tive plant-DNA during feed treatment and in

the animals.

The fate of novel proteins in feed from GMP

consumed by animals has also generated interest

arising from consumers questions. Results from the

studies can be summarized as follows (Alexander

et al., 2007):

- In ruminant feed, proteins are mostly degraded

in the rumen, and microbial protein and by-

pass proteins are degraded by enzymes in the

smaller intestine, similar to non-ruminants.

- The chemical and physiological properties (in-

cluding microbial and enzymatic degradation)

of novel proteins have been intensively tested.

- Intact novel proteins have not been detected

outside of the digestive tract in target animals

(also not in animal tissues and products).

- There is no evidence that novel proteins are

characterized by unusual chemical/physical

properties distinct from native protein.

Further research need

There exist some open question despite of the

high number of results showing a substantial and

physiological equivalence of feeds from GMP of

the first generation (Flachowsky et al., 2005a &

2007).

Such questions deal with

- Unintended effects by phenotype selection or

145145145


investigation of defined constituents (Cellini et

al., 2004). In own studies (Böhme et al.,

2007, Table 2) we observed side effects in

GM-rapeseed (higher content of glucosinolates

20.4 vs 13.2 µmol/g) and GM-potatoes (more

904 vs 728 mg/kg DM alkaloids).

- Interpretation of feeding studies with certain

unintended effects or disturbances in feeding

studies (Table 3).

- Interpretation of results of feeding studies with

statistical significance, but not biological rel-

evance (Mc Naughton et al., 2007; Seralini et

al., 2007).

- Consequences of experimental designs to in-

clude more commercial controls in order to

assess the biological range in animal studies

(Mc Naughton et al., 2007; ILSI 2007).

Conclusions

From the data presented above, the following

conclusions can be drawn:

- Presently, over 500 mio. hectares of GMP have

been cultivated worldwide.

- Most animal studies have been done using first

generation GMP.

- No unintended effects in composition (except

lower mycotoxins) or nutritional assessment of

feeds from first generation GMP were regis-

tered in any of the more than 100 studies with

food producing animals.

- Novel experimental designs are necessary for

the nutritional and safety assessment of feeds

from second generation GMP.

- Transgenic DNA and novel protein do not

demonstrate unique properties during feed

treatment or in animals.

- Feeds from GMP of the first generation, pres-

ently on the market, are much more investi-

gated than traditional feeds.

Table 2. Side effects in GM-rapeseed (rich in middle

chained fatty acids) and inulin synthesizing

potatoes (Böhme et al., 2007)

Rapeseed Total- Alkenyl- Indolyl-

glucosinolates GSL GSL

(µmol/g) (µmol/g) (µmol/g)

Isogenic 13.2 20.4 9.6

GM-rapeseed 16.3 3.6 4.1

Potatoes Total a-Chaconine a-Solanine

alkaloids (mg/kg DM) (mg/kg DM)

(mg/kg DM)

Isogenic 728 524 204

GM-potatoes 904 652 252

Table 3. Comments to some animal studies which certain disturbances after feeding of GMP

Authors Study Result Comments

Ewen and Pusztai Lectin-potatoes to rats Influence of intestinal-trat, Scientific study, no practical

(1999) disturbance of reproduction relevance

Malatesta et al. RR soybean to mice: Increased cell nucleus in liver and Methodical weaknesses,

(2002a,b) comkparison with wild variety pancreas comparison with wild variety,

What is normal? Relevance of

results?

Scholtz et al. Feeding of 50% Bt-corn in Differences in some enzymatic Physiological relevance,

(2006) longterm study in qualils activities between both groups what is normal? Other

results after repetition of study

Mc Naughton et al. Maize event No differences, but liver of female Values in physiological range;

(2007) DAS-59122-7 in broilers rats was 3 g/kg bw. heavier overestimation of data; what is

(p<0.05) normal? Statistical significance

but biological not relevant.

Seralini et al. (2007) New analysis of the rat Some differences in liver and kidney Critical analysis of the 90 days

feeding study by the notifier parameters rat study, differences not directed,

(Monsanto) with MON 863 statistical significant, but

biological not relevant

146146146


- Case by case studies are necessary to answer

open questions and to find out clarifications

for unintended effects.

In summary plant biotechnology may contrib-

ute in the solution of future problems of mankind.

Nutritional and safety assessment of feeds from

GMP of the second generation is a real challenge

for animal nutritionists.

REFERENCES

Alexander, T.W. et al. (2007) Anim.Feed Sci.

Technol., 133: 31-62

Böhme, H., Rudloff, E., Schöne, F., Schumann,W., Hüther, L., Flachowsky, G. (2007). Arch.

Anim. Nutr., 61: 1-9

Cellini, F., Chesson, A., Coquhonn, I., Constable,A., Davies H.V., Engel, K.-H., Gatehouse,A.M.R., Kärenlampi, S., Kok, E.J., Legnay,J.J., Lehesranta S., Noteborn, H.P.J.M.,Pedersen, J., Smith, M. (2004). Food Chem.

Toxicol., 42: 1089-1123

EFSA (European Food Safety Autority) (2004)EFSA J., 99: 1-93

EFSA (2007) Safety and nutritional assessment ofGM plant derived Foods/Feed. The role ofanimal feeding trials. Draft (in preparation)

Flachowsky, G., and Böhme, H. (2005) J. Anim.

Feed Sci., 14: Suppl. 1, 49-70

Flachowsky, G., Chesson, A., Aulrich, K. (2005a).Arch. Anim. Nutr., 59: 1-40

Flachowsky, G. (2006) LandbauforschungVölkenrode – FAL Agricultural Research,

Special Issue, 294: 290 p.

Flachowsky, G., Aulrich, K., Böhme, H., Halle, I.(2007). Anim. Feed Sci. Technol., 133: 2-30

ILSI (2003) Best practices for the conduct of ani-mal studies to evaluate crops genetically modi-fied for input traits. International Life SciencesInstitute, Washington, D.C. 62 p. http//www.ilsi.org/file/bestpracticescas.pdf.

ILSI (2007) Best practices for the conduct of ani-mal studies to evaluate crops genetically modi-fied for output traits. Int. Life Sci. Inst., Wash-ington D.C. (in press)

Keyzer, M.A., Merbis, M.D. Pavel, L.F.P.W., andVan Wesenbeck, C.F.A. (2005) Ecological

Economics 55: 187-202.

Mc Naughton, I.L., Roberts, M., Rice, D., Smith,B., Hinds, M., Schmidt, J., Locke, M., Bryant,A., Rood, T., Layton, R., Lamb, I., Pelaney,B. (2007) Anim. Feed Sci. Technol., 132:227-239

Seralini, G.-E., Cellier, D., de Vendomris, J.S. (2007)Arch Environ. Contam. Toxicol., 1-7

Steinfeld, H., Gerber, P., Wassenaar, T., Castel, V.,Rosales, M., de Haan, C. (2006) Livestock’s

long shadow: Environmental issues and op-

tions. Food and Agriculture Organization ofthe United Nations (FAO), Rom.

147147147


We all know that customer is king! The de-

mand of customer for good quality food with lim-

ited or no use of antibiotic, growth hormones &

synthetic performance enhancers is a challenge to

animal scientist & nutritionist in particular. For any

healthy produce, the health of the animal is of prime

importance.

Feed being an important component of live-

stock profitability has also received due importance

in recent years. Many years of research have helped

to elucidate the basic principles of metabolism and

nutrition. This has resulted in an extensive body of

information relating to the nutritional requirement of

Livestock. Major impediments of meeting these

requirements at minimum cost relate to the inability

of the animal to access all the potential nutrients in

the diet and to absorb an ideal balance of nutrients

from the digestive tract. Also, increasing cost of

feed has led to the acceptance of even the sub-

standard feed. In turn, infections of feed origin,

diminished reproductive efficiency & compromised

immune status have become quite common. In the

present scenario, considering the high feed cost and

low availability of high quality feed ingredients

coupled with inevitable environmental changes (in-

fectious and non-infectious), the only way left is to

improve the health & immune status of livestock so

as to help them adapt with changing conditions.

It is here the concept of Greek physician

Hippocrates, “Let thy food be thy medicine” has

started gaining acceptability resulting in usage of

herbals/Ayurveda formulations for improving farm

profits. But, the key question is, people needto understand its scientific relevance & clini-cal effectiveness.

What is Ayurveda?

Ayurveda Ayur-Life, Veda-Knowledge, in San-

skrit), the science of life is the oldest medical dis-

cipline. It is a holistic approach to remedies of mala-

dies affecting humans and animals. Herbals are in-

tegral part of most of the medical therapies men-

tioned in Ayurveda. Natural substances of plant

origin have been used and are being used through-

out the world for human and animal health care. In

many parts of the world herbalism serves the health

care needs and forms a part of primary health care

system. It is estimated that 80% of the world popu-

lation living in developing countries still relies on

plants for health. Ayurveda not only takes care of

treatment of human & animals but also places great

emphasis on prevention of illnesses and maintenance

of health.

Basic principles of Ayurveda

Holistic approach: “To Restore Health by Har-

mony between Various Body Systems & the Envi-

ronment.”

Pro-host approach: To Strengthen the Body De-

fense System & Fight Infection.The sages of

Ayurveda emphasized on the importance of health

& preventing the disease. This was achieved by

developing or strengthening the immune system to

fight all possible infections for treatment of diseases.

Historical milestones

Ten thousand years ago, since the beginning of do-

mestication of animals, stock raisers and handlers

have cared for the health of their livestock. Prob-

ably, from the same time they have been experienc-

Efficacy of herbal feed additive for livestock

M. J. Saxena, K. Ravikant and Anup Kalra

Ayurevet Ltd, New Delhi, India

148148148


ing with their own veterinary theories and techniques.

The oldest known veterinary texts originated from

India, Egypt and China. Studies of Ancient Egyp-

tian veterinary knowledge and skills show the pres-

ence of basic surgery and herbal veterinary medi-

cines at that time. History of herbal veterinary

medicine dates back to the era of Mahabharata

(5000 B.C.), the record of which is available in the

form of a treatise and manuscripts on ancient vet-

erinary medicines. (Nakul Samhita, Asvaayurveda,

Sarsangraha).

Health and health index

“Health” has been a major concern at all time

for individual, family, community, society and one

of the key service area for Government(s) every-

where in the world. Health – the word itself in

all its expression and meaning is widely perceived

as something beneficial or good (Healthier orga-

nization, Healthy appetite, healthy profits) but

in medical context implies “absence of disease”.

However in true sense and in relation to life is the

perfect state of co-ordination & balance of living

being (be it human or Animal) with environment,

diet and self. Degree of this coordination deter-

mines the Health Index. The two extremes of this

health index are perfect co-ordination (optimum

health) and unbalanced mis-coordination (health

disorders & diseases). Health and productivity in

animals is directly related and usage of herbal for

better health & productivity to achieve maximum

economic gain is widely practiced in many part of

the world.

International scenario of Ayurveda

People all over the world, since centuries, have

utilized, locally available herb. Most of such indig-

enous knowledge has been handed over down

through the ages by oral tradition & later through

the recorder manuscript & treatise.

The global herbal market is about US $62

billion which is growing around 10-15% annually as

against a growth rate of 3% for allopathic pharma-

ceuticals and is expected to reach US $5 trillion by

the year 2050. Indian share of the world trade of

herbal products is negligible (around Rs.450crore)

as of now. China’s exports of traditional Chinese

medicines/ herbs are to the tune of US $5 billion.

The number of people using herbal products rose

by 50% last year in the USA. In Japan, 147 herbal

medicines are eligible by national health insurance

scheme. Germany gives equal importance for

phytopharmaceuticals having excellent quality stan-

dards. In Australia, annual expenditure on alternate

medicine is around US $621 million. According to

estimates the sale of Allium sativum (garlic) contain-

ing products in USA is to the tune of US $50million

per year.

Advancement and interest in Ayurveda

The scientific & technological advancement in

the field of diagnostics, material analysis, instrumen-

tation & introduction of the latest biological screen-

ing models in the last four decades has revived the

interest of modern scientist & health care practitio-

ners in herbals. Additionally, the development of the

resistance of pathogens & parasites against the

deadly chemicals developed in last few decades

coupled with ever growing concern of toxicity &

damage to the environment has also helped in cre-

ating renewed interest in the science of herbals or

Ayurveda.

The herbs mentioned in the Ayurveda have been

critically evaluated, their genus & species & active

parts have been identified, and their chemical investi-

gation for identification of active principles, confir-

mation of biological activities & safety data have been

scientifically studied & established. Ayurvedic prac-

titioners have been innovative and dynamic and the

process of discovery of newer remedies is still on.

The information on several herbs which have

withstood the scientific evaluations in latest screen-

ing models testify the wisdom of our ancestors for

having identified such plants from nature & collec-

149149149


tive wisdom fro the traditional usage is continuingtill date.

Ayurveda in animal health care

Since our ancient times, the science of Ayurvedahad lot of relevance in animals too. This can betraced back to the times of Mahabharata. Nakul,the youngest of the Pandvas was known to be aqualified vet & was an expert in treating elephants,horses & other animals. Our ancient old text booksor granths viz AshvaAyurveda, GarudPuran aretestimony that Ayurveda has been documented &practiced on animals as for not only treating thembut also to improve their productivity.

In Animal Husbandry, the requirements for rem-edies have been constantly changing with changesin the methods of rearing animals to such an extentthat the requirements of present day farm animalremedies are entirely different from those prevalenta couple of decades ago. Major developments inthe field of animal breeding have led to the adop-tion of highly specialized breeds of animals that excelin different traits for which they have been hand-picked. For example cross bred cow now pro-duces more milk. The layer bird produces morethan 300 eggs in a year. Pigs grow much faster &produce lean meat.

Use on Ayurveda in livestock: Indian scenario

Over these years use of Herbal specialties hashelped the farmer in improving health & productiv-ity of his livestock. The most important thing inAyurveda is Garbage In, Garbage Out (GIGO) Thismeans if you use the right raw material you will getthe positive response. Of course, appropriate pro-cessing is equally important. Let us take look atsome of the important areas which may be of con-cern to the vet & the animal owner.

Stress in livestock

Scientific studies validated by numerous clinicaltrials have shown that one of the major causes of all

ailments faced by farm animals today is stress caused

by the intensive breeding and management practicesis faced by nearly each and every animal being rearedfor commercial and recreational purposes. Fast and

efficient production of high quality farm produce fromlow quality inputs is in itself a stressful proposition.Such stress is almost always accompanied with im-munosuppression, and this predisposes these animalsto other ailments infectious or otherwise which aredetrimental to farm profits and sometimes even fatal.The production loss because of various stresses inanimals may be estimated to the tune of around Rs.2.0 crores approx.

Adoption of Ayurvedic remedies for counteringthe causes and the effects of stress is therefore a prom-ising application afforded by this ancient school ofhealing in the field of animal production. Some com-monly available and extensively used herbs can betaken up here to highlight the research efforts put inby the scientific community and clinical benefits per-ceived in target animals.

Mangifera indica (Amra ghansatva) has po-tent anti-oxidant and immunostimulatory activity. Thealcoholic extracts of stem and bark of Mangifera in-dica Linn produced increase in humoral antibody(HA) titre. Aqueous extract provided significant andbetter protection against induced oxidative damagecompared to other antioxidants like vitamin C andVitamin E.

Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) is one ofthe most highly esteemed plants in Ayurveda be-longing to the class of plants called as “rasayana”or “rejuvenative”. It has potent Antistress,Immunomodulator and antioxidant activities.

Pharmacological studies and biological evalua-tions of Ocimum sanctum (Tulsi) leaves extracts(aqueous and ethanol) have shown adaptogenic prop-erties, which improve endurance and resistance whentested against a battery of stress-induced conditionsindicating non-specific mode of actions. Further, Tulsipossesses potent immunostimulatory properties.

The antistress and performance enhancementeffect was reflected in a study conducted on broiler

150150150


breeders. The herbs were found to improve hatch-ability, Reduce egg rejection and better vaccinationresponse in parent flock even after stoppage oftheir supplementation. The positive effect was trans-ferred to the progeny in the form of high maternalantibody titre, more day old chick wt. and lessearly chick mortality

Reproductive efficiency

Another major area which affects the farm

profits is reproductive efficiency. It is a commonly

observed complaint under field conditions that ani-

mal has retained placenta after parturition. In ad-

vent of above, the animal does not come in eostrus.

Even if the animal comes in heat, it does not con-

ceive. The estimated losses in India because of the

improper reproductive efficiency may be to the tune

of R.10 cr +/annum. In such cases, the most effec-

tive step advised is cleansing of uterus immediately

after parturition. This followed by timely induction

of heat & conception for next calving. In such cases

herbs along with trace minerals have been found to

play a significant role. The same has been docu-

mented scientifically & is an established fact now.

Important Herbs for improving reproductive

efficiency are roots and leaves of Plumbago

zeylanica (Chitraka) are known to posses ecbolic,

anti-inflammatory and anti oxidant actions. Aleo

barbedensis (Kumari) possesses anti-inflammatory

and antibacterial property. Aristolochia indica

(Sunanda) possesses stimulant, abortificient & anti-

inflammatory properties. Gloriosa superba

(Agnishikha) possesses stimulant, abortificient ac-

tions. Peganum harmala (Harmal) possesses an-

algesic, antimicrobial & stimulant action. These herbs

when put together have in general found to be very

useful in helping the animal for timely expulsion of

the placenta. These herbs have been validated sci-

entifically for their actions.

Mastitis in animals

Mastitis is one of the most important produc-

tion diseases causing deterioration in milk quality &

quantity. The annual losses due to mastitis in India

are to tune of 1000 cr Mastitic milk is unfit for

human consumption & may pose severe health haz-

ards. Owing to multiple etiologies & its association

with udder Immunity it is difficult to eradicate mas-

titis. Therefore control of mastitis in milch animals is

the first & foremost step for “Clean & quality milk

production.”

The key to control of Mastitis is to educate

the farmer on various aspects of hygiene, udder

health, nutrition & timely detection of mastitis with

special focus on improving udder defense mecha-

nism. Ayurvet though it’s Mastitis Management Cell(MMC) has been undertaking lot of education &

extension work in the farmers interest. The recent

Technical Symposium on dairy, “Mastitis & milk

quality “was one step towards Mastitis control.

Some important herbs which are known to

have positive impact on udder Immunity & bringing

the animal back into production are as under:

Roots of Glycyrrhiza glabra (Yashti madhu)

are useful in inflammatory affections & also have a

good antioxidant action. Roots of stems Cedrus

deodara (Devadaru) have potent antibacterial, an-

tifungal, would healing properties. The major action

of Ocimum sanctum (Tulsi) include Immuno-modu-lator, Antistress & adaptogenic amd that of Cur-

cuma longa (Haldi or Haridra) are anti-inflamma-

tory, Antifungal, Antibacterial & Antioxidant. For-

mulation containing above herbs have been scien-

tifically validated for its benefit in terms Controlling

mastitis & improvement in milk Quality & quantity

Mycotoxins

Like stress, in modern livestock operations,

Mycotoxins has become a menace especially for

the poultry industry despite all measures taken dur-

ing harvesting, storage and processing of food grains.

The problem of mycotoxicosis is grave in tropical

countries including India due to conducive climate

for growth.

151151151


The menace of mycotoxins is worldwide which

retard the carbohydrate, protein, lipid and vitamin

metabolism along with reduced nucleic acid synthe-

sis and mitochondrial respiration. The feeding of

contaminated feed stuffs result in anorexia, growth

depression, enteritis, salivation, nephritis, osteoar-

thritis, jaundice, damage of liver and reduction in

milk production. Apart from this the breeding effi-

ciency of the animal gets hampered affecting the

farm profits

Although traditional remedies and plant mate-

rials are in use for the hundreds of years to control

the fungal infection in human and animal including

contamination of feed stuff, the recent advances in

the research has validated their usefulness in vari-

ous stages of Mycotoxins control viz., fungal growth,

toxin production, neutralization & detoxification in

the body.

Allium sativum, Solanum nigrum and

Azadir-achta indica are few examples of such

plants now have been validated for their anti My-

cotoxins property. Allium sativum extract exhibited

100% inhibitory action on growth of the fungus and

aflatoxin AFB1 production with the spores of As-

pergillus parasiticus in rice culture and incubated at

30oc for 5 days. Azadirachta indica leaf extracts

added to fungal growth media at 1,5,10,20 and

50%v/v concentration prior to inoculation essen-

tially blocked (98%) aflatoxin biosynthesis at con-

centrations greater than 10%v/v. In another trial,

the addition of Solanum nigrum to diets of Wistar

Albino female rats which received daily

intraperiotoneal injection of Aflatoxin B1 improved

the quantity of some nutrients having a direct influ-

ence on drug-metabolizing enzyme and in turn the

activity of liver drug metabolizing enzymes which

help in detoxification of aflatoxin B1. These above

mentioned herbs have also shown the clinical ben-

efits when used along with the feed contaminated

with commonly found mycotoxins Aflatoxin B1 and

Ochratoxin on day old broiler birds reared for 42

days. The ameliorative effects of these herbs along

with commonly used mycotoxin binder HSCAS was

evident by 10-15% higher body wt., better FCR

reflecting efficient feed conversion along with higher

humoral and cellular immune response in treated

groups vis a vis contamination group.

The above instances are but glimpses from the

vast and virgin world of Ayurveda through the clear

eye of modern science. Despite a plethora of infor-

mation having been already garnered over a period

of time, Ayurveda is still shrouded under the green

blankets of the forests and the thick beard of the

seers. For Ayurvedic remedies to be accepted in

mainstream medicine and for the masses to refrain

from indiscriminate use of contemporary system of

therapy, this precious gift from Mother Nature must

be given its due place among contemporary sys-

tems of therapy. The statement assumes a greater

significance in light of the immense contribution made

by allopathic medicine. Allopathic medicine can not

be replaced by not only Ayurveda but any system

of medicine. The need is therefore to chalk out a

comprehensive, objective driven and well-monitored

plan to explore further the intricacies of Ayurveda

with the help of modern scientific tools to identify

potential areas of efficient application. This infor-

mation thus generated should be disseminated; their

adoption encouraged facilitating a harmonious inte-

gration with conventional therapy.

152152152

Silver Jubilee Year of Animal Nutrition Society of India TROPNUTRICON - 2007Silver Jubilee

Year

The proper balance of protein, energy, vitamins,

and minerals is needed to make a successful nutrition

program. Cattle cannot perform to their genetic po-

tential if their mineral needs are not met, even if they

receive 100% of their protein and energy needs.

Minerals are an integral part of the total nutrient man-

agement system as they are essential for growth and

reproduction and are involved in a large number of

digestive, physiological and biosynthetic processes

within the body. The most obvious function is as com-

ponents of body organs and tissues and to provide

structural support. In addition they act as electro-

lytes, as constituents of body fluids and as catalysts

in both enzyme and hormone systems. Therefore, they

fulfill several important functions for the maintenance

of animal, growth and reproduction as well as health

status. The mineral elements that are of particular im-

portance are categorized into major (calcium, phos-

phorous, potassium, sodium, chlorine, sulfur and

magnesium) and trace elements (iron, iodine, cop-

per, zinc, manganese, cobalt, selenium, fluoride and

molybdenum).

Based on identification of one or more meta-

bolic function, at least 15 minerals are regarded as

essential. They are required in small quantities as

compared to other major nutrients like protein and

energy and generally are considered to have less

immediate impact on overall performance and eco-

nomic efficiency but should never be overlooked astheir deficiency can have a marked effect on pro-ductivity, particularly reproduction and health.

There is an apparent increase in mineral defi-ciencies in tropical countries, and the reasons in-clude 1. improved genetic selection of livestock for

better growth rates and higher production, 2.

changes in traditional cropping practices with poor

soil management, improved fertilization methods or

improved plant breeding, 3. modification of tradi-

tional feeding programs to improve production and

use of feed additives. In recent years number of

mineral disorders in livestock which may be char-

acterized as chronic or marginal have been reported.

In tropical countries animals are mostly fed on crop

residues, natural grasses, tree leaves and shrubs.

In such diets the mineral content is generally low

and their availability to the host is not known.

Intensive cultivation of pastures, changes in agricul-tural practices and differences in agro-climatic con-ditions and infusion of superior germplasm for up-grading the production trait of cattle and the changesin techniques used for feed processing and manu-facturing have greatly altered the mineral need of

animals and the ways they have to be met. Theplants derive the minerals from soil, and the animalsfrom the plants / feed they consume and there is adirect interrelationship between soil, plant and ani-mals, which may not be linear always. Several fac-tors regulate the transfer of minerals from soils to

plants and from plants to animals. Soil character-istics (pH, moisture), the type of plant (green fod-der vs mature straws etc.), the physiological statusof the animal (lactating, growing) and the accompa-nying feed, all of these collectively or individuallycontribute on the mineral uptake and utilization.

Soil and its effect on mineral deficiency in

animals

The mineral content of soils depend not only on

Implications for minerals deficiency in ruminants and

methods for its amelioration

C. S. Prasad, N. K. S. Gowda, D. T. Pal

Animal Science Division, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi -110 011, India

2,3 National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology, Bangalore-560 030, India

153153153


the parent material but on a complex of pedogenic

factors like laterization, calcification and salinization.

Translocation further occurs by processes of surface

erosion, leaching, evaporation and redeposition ofminerals on the surface. Of the total mineral con-centration in soils, only a fraction is taken up by theplants. The "availability" of minerals in soils dependsupon their effective concentration in soil solution.Several factors influence the uptake of minerals bycrops and pastures from the soil. These include 1)soil acidity 2) soil moisture 3) soil temperature 4)plant variety 5) fertilization 6) organic matter andmicrobial activity of soil. For trace mineral absorp-tion the pH has the most marked effect on theavailability. Alkaline soils lead to an increased bio-logical availability of some trace elements such as Seand Mo. With decreasing soil pH, Se is less avail-able, but the uptake of some cationic metals like Cuis increased. Soil leaching, erosion and long termcropping lead to a depletion of trace minerals. Cropmanagement and climatic conditions also influencethe eventual trace mineral level in feeds. Fertilizationand / or heavy rainfall can result in lush pasturegrowth and the dilution of some trace minerals.

With increased soil pH, there was drasticdecrease in Manganese (Mn) content. Water log-ging of a soil results in conversion of an aerobicto an anaerobic environment in the root zone area.The concentration of N in the plant tends todecrease and that of P increases with increasingmoisture level, but no definite trends are seen forother minerals. The soil temperature and seasoncan influence the uptake of minerals with respectto the growth of the pastures. At low tempera-tures, the mineral uptake is slower possibly be-cause of depressed root extension and membranepermeability.

With the advent of Green Revolution, deficien-cies of micronutrients were observed widely in sev-eral Indian soils and crops. Zn deficiency was widelyobserved in rice, wheat, maize, groundnut, cottonand their residues in the intensively cultivated irri-gated areas. Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu,

Madhya Pradesh and Haryana as well as all Indo-Gangetic Alluvial plains showed extensive deficiencyof Zn in soil. Though much less extensive, the de-

ficiencies of Mn, Cu and Fe were also found in the

soil of different agro-climatic zones of the country.

Plant and its effect on mineral deficiency in

animals

Feeds / fodders are the main source of miner-

als for livestock. Grazing animals receive certain

level of minerals from water and soil ingestion. Of

the minerals present in soil only a fraction is taken

up by plants depending on geophysical / chemical

conditions as explained above. Plant mineral con-

tent is dependent on other factors like type of soil,

plant species, stage of maturity, pasture manage-

ment and agro-climatic conditions.

Mineral concentrations and availability are

mainly affected by four interdependent factors:

l the genus, species, or variety of crop

l type and mineral concentration of soil

l climatic or seasonal conditions

l stage of plant maturity

Genus, species, or varietal effects: Plant vari-

eties growing on the same soil under the same en-

vironmental conditions show marked differences in

mineral uptake. Legumes are superior in mineral

efficiency to the grasses particularly in terms of Ca

and Mg uptake. In general, legumes are higher in

calcium, copper, zinc, iron, and cobalt than grasses.

In contrast, grasses tend to be higher in manganese

and molybdenum than legumes when grown on the

same soil. Most of the trace mineral concentration

was higher in pasture legume species than other

grasses. Research has shown that even variety within

a species affects mineral composition. Straws and

stovers are deficient in most of the minerals. They

contain excess of silica, oxalate and tannins which

may interfere in the utilization of other minerals /

nutrients. Plant requirement of certain minerals (Mn,

Zn, K) may exceed animal requirements and cer-

tain minerals may be required at higher levels in

154154154


animals (Na, Cl, I, Co and Se). Mature plants are

low in minerals as most of the minerals may get

accumulated in seeds due to translocation.

Mineral needs for Animal

The mineral needs of the animals depend on

the requirement and the availability of minerals. The

mineral requirement is related to animal output and

therefore providing minerals in the diet is particu-

larly important for high producing animals. For cal-

culating the mineral requirements, it is necessary to

know the type of feed ingredients that are used in

the ration along with the accompanying roughage

source (grass / straws / stovers). The requirement

of minerals for different classes of livestock is dis-

cussed subsequently.

Several factors govern the uptake of minerals

from soil to plants and plants to animals and exist-

ence of soil-plant-animal interrelationship for some

trace elements has been reported. The status of

micronutrients in soil, plant and animals would be a

useful tool in understanding the severity of the de-

ficiency for providing cost effective supplementa-

tion for improving production, reproduction, and

profitability of livestock owners.

The surveys conducted under All India Coor-

dinated Research Project in different agro-climatic

zones of the country suggest that nearly all forages

are deficient in one or more minerals and that there

is a widespread occurrence of the deficient levels

of calcium, phosphorous, copper and zinc for rumi-

nants grazing forages. In addition, trace mineral

concentrations in forages vary much more than do

protein and energy concentrations. This is further

complicated by the fact that the availability of min-

erals may be affected by the distribution and form

of minerals in the feedstuff, as well as interactions

with other minerals or dietary components that in-

hibit absorption or utilization of a given mineral. The

mineral deficiencies in ruminants fed forages often

result from low availability rather than low concen-

tration of a given mineral.

Mineral distribution in animal body

The minerals are generally stored in bones,

muscles and other soft tissues which are primary

storage sites (Table 1). Most minerals are distrib-

uted more evenly in the body and exist in accor-

dance with their function. Based on their tissue

concentration the minerals have been classified as

major and micro minerals.

Requirements

The mineral requirements can be expressed in

amounts per day or per unit of the product or as

percentage of the dietary dry matter intake. The

Table 1. Mineral distribution in animal body

Element In body Primary storage

Macrominerals, %Calcium 1.4 Bones and soft tissuesPhosphorus 0.74 Bones and soft tissuesMagnesium 0.04 Bones, musclesSodium 0.18 Extra cellular fluidsChlorine 0.11 Intracellular / extracellur

fluidsPottasium 0.25 Skin, muscles and intra

cellur fluidsSulphur 0.15 Liver, muscles, skin

Micronutrients, ppmIron 70 HaemoglobinCopper 2 All tissuesZinc 30 Skin, hair, wool and other

tissues

Molybdenum Traces All tissuesCobalt Traces Liver, bone, kidneyIodine Traces ThyroidManganese Traces Liver, bone, pancreas,

kidney

former is more accurate but the later is simpler and

practical as long as there is no variation in the feed

intake. Where the dry matter intake varies consid-

erably (particularly when straws and stovers are

fed), the expression in absolute amount may be

more appropriate. Feeding low quality roughages

results in increased faecal endogenous losses of Ca

and P leading to increased requirements of these

minerals. Presence of certain antinutritional factors

like oxalates, silicates and phytates beyond a par-

155155155


ticular level may affect the utilization of certain min-

erals like Ca, P, Zn, Mn and Fe. Also the need to

supplement minerals may be more in animals with

parasitic infestation. Mineral requirement are highly

dependent on the level of productivity. Increased

growth rates and milk production will greatly in-

crease mineral requirements. Marginal mineral de-

ficiencies, under low levels of production become

more severe with increased levels of production.

Dairy animals producing more than 10 litters of milk

have a greater requirement of Ca & P as compared

to low yielder as milk contains high concentration

(0.11 - 0.13%) of these two elements.

Similarly the requirement for zinc for spermato-

genesis and testicular development in male sheep

are higher than for growth. Manganese requirement

is also lesser for growth than for fertility in sheep.

Important difference in mineral utilization can occur

due to breed variation and also the nutritional status

of the animals. The variation in the efficiency of

mineral absorption within breeds could be as high

as 5 - 30 % for magnesium, 40 - 80 % for phos-

phorus and 2 - 10 % for copper. When the energy

and protein supplies are adequate there is a higher

requirement for minerals with better utilization with

improved livestock performance. The micronutrient

requirement can be influenced by metabolic or nu-

tritional factors that result in other elements

complexing specific microelements rendering them

nutritionally unavailable to animals. Most of the

nutrient requirements have not accounted for rela-

tives' new information that describes the effect of

nutrition on immune function, and many of the re-

quirements have not been evaluated in terms of

optimal reproduction. There is reason to suggest

that optimal immune responsiveness and decrease

resistance and cobalt deficiencies have been shown

to alter various components of the immune system.

Requirements for copper can vary from 4 to 15

mg/kg depending largely on the concentration of di-

etary molybdenum and sulfur. The recommended con-

centration of copper in cattle diets is 10 mg Cu/kg

diet. This amount provides adequate copper if the

diet does not exceed 0.25 percent sulfur and 2 mg

Mo/kg diet. Less than 10 mg Cu/kg diet may meet

requirements of feedlot cattle as copper is more avail-

able in concentrate diets than in forage diets. Copper

is believed to react with thiomolybdates in the rumen

to form poorly absorbed insoluble complexes.

Thiomolybdates can result in copper becoming tightly

bound to plasma albumin and unavailable for bio-

chemical functions. They also may directly inhibit cer-

tain copper-dependent enzymes. Sulfur reduces cop-

per absorption, perhaps via formation of copper sul-

fide in the rumen. High concentrations of iron and

zinc also reduce copper status, which may increase

copper requirements.

Sulfur in feedstuffs is largely a component of

protein. Dietary sulfur requirements may be higher

when diets high in rumen bypass protein are fed

because of sulfur's limitation for optimal ruminal fer-

mentation. Sulfur supplementation may be needed

when urea or other nonprotein nitrogen sources

replace natural preformed protein. Mature forages,

forages grown in sulfur-deficient soils, corn silage

and sorghum x sudangrass are low in sulfur. Sor-

ghum forages seem inherently low in sulfur relative

to other forages.

Trace minerals in production and reproduction

of ruminants

The mechanism of mineral-reproduction inter-

actions is not fully understood because of the com-

plexity of neuro-hormonal dialogue. Some minerals

act directly on the gonads, while others act through

hypophyseal - pituitary - gonadal axis. Elements

like Se once considered toxic, is known to improve

both male and female fertility when supplemented in

organic form as selenomethionine. During repro-

ductive events reactive metabolites of oxygen are

produced and are removed through antioxidant

process by Se and vitamin E and provide a conve-

nient environment for reproduction. Similarly other

trace elements like Cu, Zn, Mn, Cr and I also act

156156156


as co - factors or activate enzymes and helps in

hormone synthesis and hence influence biochemical

functions associated with reproduction.

Because of their role in the endocrine system

and in tissue integrity, minerals have a beneficial

role to play in resumption of follicular growth and

fertility in dairy cows and buffaloes. The potential

for minerals to play a significant role in herd fertility

is indisputable. The minerals that affect reproduc-

tion in ruminants are generally found within the trace

element group, although deficiencies of calcium and

phosphorous can also affect the fertility. Reproduc-

tive problems are frequently reported in association

with trace mineral deficiencies, particularly copper,

zinc, selenium and manganese.

Zinc deficiency in ruminants has been postulated

to weaken the skin and other stratified epithelia as well

as reducing the basal metabolic rate following infec-

tious challenge. Zinc is a co-factor for many proteins

and enzymes involved in acute phase response to in-

fection and inflammation. Because the mammary gland

is a skin gland, it is likely that zinc will have a positive

role in its protection. Skin integrity of the teat has been

shown to be specially linked with mastitis prevention.

Zinc activates several enzyme systems and is a com-

ponent of many metalloenzymes. It plays a vital role in

hormone secretion, especially related to growth, re-

production, immunocompetence and stress. Zinc is

also involved in the generation of keratin and in skin

nucleic acid and collagen synthesis as well as in the

maintenance of normal vitamin A concentration in

plasma and in ovarian function. Many animals there-

fore require supplemental zinc in the diet for normal

body function because of either low levels in the di-

etary ingredients or the presence of antagonistic fac-

tors, which decrease the bioavailability of the element.

Antagonism might be due to metals ion interactions

such as iron or copper. Source of fibre has also been

reported to decrease the availability of zinc.

Manganese (Mn) is involved in the activities of

several enzyme systems including hydrolases, kinases,

decarboxylases and transferases as well as Fe-con-

taining enzymes which require Mn in their activity. It

is therefore involved in carbohydrate, lipid and pro-

tein metabolism. It is also needed for bone growth

and maintenance of connective and skeletal tissue.

Mn also plays a role in reproduction and in immuno-

logical function. Mn deficiency results in abnormal

skeletal growth, increased fat deposition, reproduc-

tive problems and reduced milk production.

Selenium (Se) is a semi-metal that is very simi-

lar to sulfur in its chemical properties. It is an es-

sential component of glutathione enzyme system,

and a deficiency of selenium will leave the cell vul-

nerable to oxidation and increase the requirement

of vitamin E. It has therefore been usual to supple-

ment in the diets of all classes of animals, because

of its antioxidant properties.

Sulfur is a component of the amino acids me-

thionine, cysteine and cystine; the B-vitamins, thia-

min and biotin; as well as a number of the organic

compounds. Sulfate, a component of sulfated mu-

copolysaccharides, also functions in certain detoxi-

fication reactions. All sulfur-containing compounds,

with the exception of biotin and thiamin, can be

synthesized from methionine. Ruminal microorgan-

isms are capable of synthesizing all required organic

sulfur-containing compounds from inorganic sulfur.

Sulfur is also required by ruminal microorganisms

for their growth and normal cellular metabolism.

Cobalt is an essential trace element in ruminant

diets for the production of vitamin B12, which has

4% cobalt in its chemical structure, by the rumen

microbes to meet the vitamin B12 requirements of

both the ruminal bacteria and the host animal. This

means that a cobalt deficiency is really a vitamin

B12 deficiency. The NRC recommends the dietary

requirement of dairy cattle for Co as 0.11 mg/kg;

however, ruminal synthesis of B12 increased nearly

20-fold in sheep when dietary Co was increased

from 0.1 to 0.5 mg/kg. In the ruminant, the effi-

ciency of production of vitamin B12 from Co is

low, only about 3%; however, efficiency increases

to about 13% when Co intake is low. So, the

157157157


measurements of the amount of dietary cobalt con-verted to vitamin B12 in the rumen have rangedfrom 3 to 13 percent of intake. The relative pro-duction of cobalamin and the cobalamin analogs,which have no B12 activity is affected by the diet.In general, diets that are largely composed of rough-ages tend to promote greater production of cobal-amin, and diets containing larger amounts of con-centrates tend to reduce cobalamin production andto lower the ratio of cobalamin to the various ana-logues of vitamin B12.

Mineral deficiency

Mineral deficiencies occur more often whenanimals are confined within a given area and areclosely dependent on soil profile and plant structurein that limited area. Deficiencies of minerals are morecommon in tropical countries where poor qualitystraws / stovers are the major roughages. Calciumdeficiency can occur in soil in humid regions underconditions in which rainfall exceeds evapotranspira-tion and where bases have been depleted and soilacidity has developed. Calcium deficiency has beenwidely reported from many parts of the world andin India. However, the lower incidence of calciumthan phosphorus disorders is attributable to threemajor factors (a) higher concentration of Ca than ofP in the leaves and stems of most plant species; Pis concentrated in seeds, (b) a wider distribution ofP-deficient than Ca-deficient soils and (c) a lesserdecline in the concentration of Ca than of P withadvancing maturation of the plant. Further, inclusionof bran and oil cakes in ruminant diets at higherlevels impairs the Ca :P ratio, thus affecting themineral utilization Most naturally occurring mineraldeficiencies in ruminants are associated with spe-cific geographic regions.

Tropical animal husbandry is mostly semi-in-tensive. The small holding livestock system is de-pendent mainly on grazing and crop residues assource of dry matter. Mineral imbalances are quitecommon in this system and there have been evi-

dences of trace mineral deficiency/excess in differ-

ent regions of the country. Many recent studies have

indicated the deficiency of Cu and Zn in most fod-

ders available in different regions and the level of

Fe and Mn in most feeds and fodders was quite

high. There are incidences of low reproductive ef-

ficiency in livestock in most regions, which is often

attributed to the deficiency of Cu, Zn, or Mn. The

trace mineral deficiency in livestock in industrial areas

due to more lead and cadmium also has been re-

ported. The areas of high rainfall and hilly regions

are likely to be deficient in iodine and selenium,

which needs much investigation.

Diagnosis and assessment of mineral deficiency

The diagnosis and assessment and thus preven-

tion of trace mineral deficiency need a thorough un-

derstanding of the factors like age of animal, season,

clinical signs, soil profile, plant mineral content and

feeding practices. Based on these preliminary infor-

mation, further biological diagnostic tests can be fol-

lowed for confirmation. In general mineral deficiency

is diagnosed by observing the clinical symptoms. But

mineral deficiency signs are often confusing as the

observed symptoms can be associated with more than

one mineral and can be combined with the effects of

protein and/ or energy inadequacy, various types of

parasitism, toxic plants, infectious diseases or with

deficiency of other micronutrients. Except for charac-

teristic signs like goiter in iodine deficiency or white

muscle disease in selenium deficiency, most trace el-

ement deficiencies produce non-specific signs such as

loss of appetite, retarded growth, unthriftiness or re-

productive problems, and hence clinical / pathological

examination of biological materials is required. Some

mineral like Ca, Mg and P are stored in body tissues

and their deficiency symptoms are exhibited only after

a period of time. Calcium and phosphorous deficiency

can be observed more quickly, particularly in high

producing animals and fast growing calves. Critical

values of certain minerals in soil, plant and animals are

provided in Table 2, which will be of much use in

ascertaining the mineral deficiency. Certain naturally

158158158


occurring mineral deficiency / toxicity is directly re-

lated to soil characteristics as in case of fluoride, Se

and Mo, but the level of mineral in soil does not nec-

essarily indicate its availability to plants growing on the

soil. Other limitation of plant mineral analysis is the

biological availability and factors influencing the utili-

zation like chelating agents, mineral antagonism etc.

Analysis of mineral content in body tissues is a better

indicator of the mineral adequacy because mineral

deficiency result in subnormal concentration of the

element and will usually be associated with clinical

signs, however for certain minerals due to homeo-

static mechanisms the levels may remain normal even

during deficiency, but will respond positively to supple-

mentation. Research is being conducted for using bio-

chemical markers like specific enzymes / tissues to

assess the mineral status more precisely.

Commonly used indices of mineral element

status in animals

There are numerous measures of essential

mineral element status, including growth rate, tissue

and physiological fluids concentrations, enzyme con-

centrations and activities, chemical balance and

mobilizable stores. Blood and its specific nutrient

concentrations provide a useful but frequently inad-

equate index. The first limiting biochemical system

should provide the most valid index, but in many

cases it is not known or not readily measured.

Chemical balance and mobilizable stores provide

valid measures but are difficult to determine. Two

indices are infinitely more valuable than one and

should be determined if possible. More research is

needed to establish valid indicators of nutritional

status for mineral elements.

Indices used for mineral element adequacy are:

l Growth rate

l Blood and plasma concentrations

l Hair concentrations,

l Biopsy tissue concentration

l Enzyme concentrations and activities,

l Physiological functions

l Chemical balance

l Mobilizable stores

Table 2. Critical values of trace minerals (ppm) for assessment of status

Element Soil Feed/fodder Animal bodyNormal level (serum) Deficient

Fe 2.5 50 1-2 < 1<40 (liver-wet weight)

Cu 0.3 8 0.65-1.2 < 0.2 - 0.6125-600 (liver, DM) < 33 - 125 (liver-wet weight)

Zn 1 30 1-2 < 0.6-0.825-200 (liver DM) <25-40 (liver DM)

Mn 5 40 6-70 ppb < 5 ppb> 13 (liver DM) < 7 (liver, DM)

I - 0.1-0.2 0.1 - 0.4 total I < 0.05-0.10 I0.04 - 0.13 (Proteinbound) < 0.03-0.0520-100 ppb T 4 (protein bound)

< 7-30 ppb T 4

Co - 0.08-0.1 - < 0.5 ng/ml (rumen fluid)< 0.05 (liver)Vit B12 < 0.1-0.2 ppb

Mo - 0.5 - -

Se - 0.1 0.2-1.2 (whole blood), < 0.2 -0.5 (liver, DM)1.2-2.5 (liver DM) < 0.06-0.2 (whole blood)

< 0.03

159159159


l Immune competence and

l Behaviour and appearance

Subclinical mineral deficiencies are thought to

be very widespread and are likely to be of more

economic significance than are easily recognized

cases. With inadequate mineral intakes, animals may

have lower milk production, growth and reproduc-

tive efficiency without recognizable signs. So, it is

utmost important to diagnose the mineral inadequate

animals at marginal or sub optimum levels. The

current study at National Institute and Animal Nu-

trition and Physiology (NIANP), Bangalore is pro-

posed to investigate the response of several putitive

indices of Cu and Zn status, including, ceruloplas-

min, Cu/Zn-Super oxide dismutase, plasma con-

centrations, tissue and wool concentrations to Cu

and Zn supplementation in sheep. Data emanating

from the study indicated the potential of these indi-

ces as indicators of sub optimal Cu and Zn status

in healthy sheep population.

Amelioration of mineral deficiency

Strategic approach for mineral supplemen-

tation: Performance of livestock in the tropics is

mainly governed by the quality and quantity of nu-

trients provided in the diet. In most of the devel-

oped countries, the principal means by which cattle

producers try to meet the requirement is through

use of free - choice dietary minerals. This is neither

practical nor cost effective in developing countries

where the livestock are fed on crop residues and

concentrate by products. Where compounded con-

centrate diets are not fed, it is necessary to rely on

both indirect and direct methods of providing min-

erals.

Indirect methods of Mineral supplementation

Enrichment of soil with essential minerals

through fertilization: Indirect provision of minerals

to grazing livestock includes, mineral fertilization of

pasture and altering soil pH, however this may not

be always feasible due to complex soil - plant -

animal interrelationship. In the indirect approach,

soil treatment of deficient minerals would make these

elements accumulate in plants. For instance soil

treatment of cobalt and selenium will improve their

concentration in plants without having any effect on

plant yield. This effect may be neutralized in high

alkaline or calcareous soils, as the uptake of cobalt

by plants in such soils would be affected. Copper

application makes it more available to plants in soils

low in molybdenum content, but will not be effec-

tive when soils contain high molybdenum. High

application of NPK fertilizers reduces the calcium,

magnesium and sodium availability to plants. So

the approach to enrich the soil through micronutri-

ent supplementation may not be very cost effective

and also may not yield the desired results due to

the variation in soil profile in different zones. Trace

element intakes that can be improved by fertiliza-

tion include selenium, cobalt, copper, zinc, boron,and possibly nickel.

Direct methods of mineral supplementation

In India the livestock farmers provide somequantity of cakes, bran, rice polish and husk as

concentrate supplement to productive animals. Un-

productive animals are generally allowed to graze.

Except in some parts of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar

Pradesh green fodder is not fed to the animals.

Some quantity of greens are offered during rainy

season which are grown on the bunds in the field.

The animals do not receive any mineral supplement

and even salt is not being fed. The possible reasons

would be the high cost involved and lack of aware-

ness. The direct approach of supplementing micro-

nutrients in the diet of cattle depending on the se-

verity of deficiency may be a more practical method.

The most efficient method of providing trace min-

erals is through mineral mixture mixed with concen-

trate feed ingredients. This assures an adequate intake

of mineral elements by each animal. This procedure

represents an ideal system for providing supple-

160160160


mental minerals but it cannot be used with grazing

cattle, which receive little concentrates and depend

on forages or where concentrates are not fed. Use

of mineral supplements in the form of mineral mix-

ture or mineral licks and premixes are most com-

monly used methods. Supplementation can also be

achieved through feeding compound feeds, oral

drenching or dosing or by administering slow re-

leasing mineral boluses which are retained in the gut

and in the form of injectable preparations. Heavy

pellets of the mineral or soluble glass which has the

specific mineral impregnated into it are lodged in

reticulo - rumen are useful in steady supply of

specific minerals continuously for long periods. This

approach is useful during peak period of milk pro-

duction to overcome certain metabolic disorders

like milk fever and grass tetany.

Supplementation of area-specific mineral salts

Feeding of 'free - choice' mineral supplementscould be the easiest way of supplementing minerals.

Alternatively providing area - specific mineral salts

based on the deficiency of minerals in soil, plant

and animals in different agro-climatic zones are most

appropriate and cost effective method of mineral

supplementation. The former approach could some-

times lead to deleterious effect, as some of the

minerals may be available in excess than require-

ments/needs affecting utilization of other minerals.

For example, excess of calcium disturbing the Ca -

P ratio, excess of selenium affecting sulphur utiliza-

tion, excess of molybdenium and sulphur reducing

copper absorption and excess of iron disturbing

copper metabolism. More practical method is of

supplementing only the deficient minerals through

area specific mineral salts by assessing the mineral

status in soil, feeds and fodders and in animals in

different agro-climatic zones. This approach has been

found to improve the reproductive efficiency in cross-

bred cattle under field conditions and this technol-

ogy has been successfully implemented at Co-

operative milk union feed manufacturing plants. In

order to achieve this there is a need to have a

comprehensive data on the micronutrients status of

different agro-climatic zones of the country.

Supplementation through locally available min-

eral rich natural feed resources

One of the other cost effective method of

mineral supplementation is to provide feed and plant

sources rich in the specific micronutrient, which are

commonly being fed / grown in that particular re-

gion. For example cakes, brans & rice polish are

rich sources of phosphorus. Similarly top feeds /

tree leaves and legumes are good sources of cal-

cium, copper and zinc. Some of the unconven-

tional feed resources are also rich in certain miner-

als. In general legume fodders, cultivated green

fodders and tree leaves are good sources of Ca,

Fe, Zn, Cu, Co and Mn and oil cakes and bran are

good sources of P, Zn, Cu and Mn. The details are

presented in Table 3.

Supplementation of more bioavailable form of

mineral salts (chelated minerals)

Efficient production and reproduction in do-

mestic animals require that the essential nutrients in

a diet be provided in appropriate amounts and in

forms that are most biologically useful. Of late there

is a growing interest in the use of organic or che-

lated minerals due to the better bioavailability, im-

proved reproductive performance, immune re-

sponse, decrease in the incidences of mastitis and

carcass quality. Organic forms of Zn and Cu as

Zn-methionine or Cu-lysine bypass the rumen and

are available at intestine, thus protecting the essen-

tial amino acids from degradation and make them

available for absorption in the gut. Zn-methionine

supplementation in cattle has improved disease re-

sistance and prevented foot rot and hoof problems.

Copper in chelated form would have an advantage

over an inorganic form when Mo level is high, as it

may escape the complexing. A mixture of Zn, Mn,

Cu, Co, Se in organic forms may stimulate feedintake and growth during stress period. The asso-

161161161


ciation of Se was known only to glutathione peroxi-dase . But recently it has been known that Se is apart of at least 25 selenoproteins and Se researchand its practical applications are fast developingand are very promising. The use of Se- enrichedyeast appears to become a reality in dairy cattlenutrition replacing the traditional inorganic Se. Theorganic form of these minerals also has an antioxi-dant property, thereby improving the feed efficiencyand immunity of animals. These chelated mineralscan be of much use in areas of severe deficiency oftrace minerals like tropical feeding systems, but the

cost benefit ratio need to be established.

Mineral biofortification of plants:

One sustainable agricultural approach to re-

ducing the mineral deficiencies in livestock animals

is to enrich major staple food crops (rice, wheat,

maize) with minerals through plant breeding strate-

gies. Biofortification of plants with minerals may be

a promising and cost-effective intervention. The

idea is to breed food crops for higher micronutrient

content, which can be done through crossbreeding

or genetic engineering. It is time to move forward

with a strong program to develop nutrient-rich crop

varieties, demonstrate their impact on human and

animal nutrition. So, finding the appropriate answers

on future mineral research requires the coordinated

efforts of soil scientists, plant scientists and animal

nutritionists.

Conclusions

Minerals play a significant role in production

and reproduction either singly or in combination.

Overcoming the deficiency or imbalance of min-

erals improves the productive efficiency of live-

stock to great extent. Hence minerals are to be

Table 3. Categorization of common tropical feeds based on mineral content

Mineral Mineral Good sources Mineral Moderate sourcescontent % content %

Ca 1.5-2.0% Legumes, tree leaves 0.5-0.7% Cultivated grassesP 2-3 % Wheat / rice bran, rice 0.3-0.5% Green fodders, local grasses

polish, oil cakes

Mg 0.3-0.5% Green fodders, legumes 0.1-0.3% Local grassesFe 1000-5000 Legume fodders, cultivated 500-1000 Cereal green fodders,

ppm green fodders, mixed local ppm oil cakes and brans,grasses, oil seed cakes, tree tree leaves and dry fodders.leaves, meat meal and top feeds.

Cu 30-70 ppm Legume fodders, cultivated 15-30 ppm Local grasses, oil cakes,green fodders, tree leaves, cereal by products,castor cake, groundnut haulms. top feeds.

Zn 150-300 ppm Legume fodders, oil seed cakes, 50-150 ppm Cultivated green fodders,bran, meat meal. cereal green fodder, top feeds,

unconventional feeds liketapioca meal, coffee husk, rubberseed cake, tree leaves likeglyrecidia, neem, jack, banana.

Mn 100-250 ppm Wheat bran, rice bran, paddy 40-100 ppm Green fodders, leafy vegetation.and ragi straw, Lucerne fodder.

I 0.1-0.7 ppm Marine products, oil seed cakes, -iodized salt, yeast.

Co 0.2-0.6 ppm Legume fodders, animal proteins, -fermented products.

Mo 0.5-1.5 ppm Legumes, green grasses. -

162162162


considered in tropical feeding system not in iso-

lation but as a part of total nutrient management

system. The emphasis should be on ways of

mineral supplementation cost-effectively based on

prevailing livestock farming system and available

resources. Bioavailability of minerals should be

given emphasis while supplementing and better

bioavailable inorganic salts or organic / chelated

form of trace minerals are to be used for enhancing

the efficiency of utilization. While suggesting the

mineral requirement for livestock, the level of dry

matter intake, physiological status and mineral

content of feed / fodder are to be considered.

Though trace elements have not received much

attention in formulating diets, their long term prac-

tical impact on production, reproduction and im-

munity should not be ignored.

Future areas of research

l Mineral mapping of areas of maximum risk

based on their content in soil, plant and live-

stock and overcoming the mineral imbalance

through strategic measures using local resources

and location specific mineral mixtures.

l Better understanding the impact of trace ele-

ments on reproductive events and enhance-

ment of fertility.

l Measures for enhancing the bioavailability of

minerals and suggesting requirement based on

bioavailability and use of organic / chelated

minerals.

l Suggesting mineral requirement for different

physiological functions like growth, lactation,

immunity and reproduction.

l Detailed studies on newer trace elements for

establishing their essentiality.

l Long term measure of genetic improvement of

both plant and animals for enhancing mineral

availability and utilization.

l Antioxidant potential of minerals and their che-

lates.

l Biofortification of plants for micronutrients and

their impact on animal production.

Further Reading :

1. Lyons, M.P., Papazyan, T.T. and Surai, P.F.

(2007) Asian - Aust. J. Anim. Sci. 20: 1135.

2. Spears, J.W. (2003) J. Nutr. 133 (suppl) :

1506-1509.

3. Kincaid, R.L. 1999. Proc. Am. Soc. Anim.

Sci. 1-8.

163163163


Nutritional inadequacies occur in almost all parts

of the world especially in livestock reared underunorganized farming system. Grazing ruminants are

the most likely species to suffer from a condition of

such under nutrition due to insufficient supply of

nutrients through the forage they graze upon. In the

tropics under-nutrition is cited to be one of the

major constraints towards efficient animal produc-

tion and inadequate mineral nutrition is perhaps a

more limiting factor in this regard compared to the

deficiency of energy and protein. Grazing livestock

usually does not receive mineral supplementation,

except for common salt, and must depend largely

on forages to supply their mineral requirements.

However, only rarely, can forages completely sat-

isfy all mineral requirements for livestock. There-

fore, mineral supplementation, when dictated by local

conditions, can be a low cost input to the improve-

ment of livestock production. However, mineral

supplementation beyond the need of the animals

may yield only diminishing returns and hence, to

elicit the maximum benefit out of the supplementa-tion a specific strategy must be chalked out prior tothe start of the mineral supplementation. In this paperan attempt has been made to discuss about thesestrategies which include the knowledge about thenatural sources of mineral elements, the soil-plant

and soil-plant-animal interrelationship and the needfor mineral supplementation under different feedingand management regime.

Natural sources of minerals

Farm animals derive a high proportion of their

mineral nutrients from the feeds and forage they

Strategic supplementation of minerals to livestock:

An Indian perspective

Tapan K. Ghosh and Sudipto Haldar

Department of Animal Nutrition, Faculty of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

West Bengal University of Animal & Fishery Sciences, Kolkata-700037, India

consume. Hence, factors determining the mineral

content of the plants are also the factors which

basically determine the mineral intake of livestock.

The mineral concentration of forage crops depends

on four basic factors:

i) the variety of the crop

ii) the soil type on which the plants grow

iii) seasonal condition and climate during the plant

growth

iv) stage of maturity of the forage crops

Besides, some human factors like soil treat-

ment and application of fertilizers, plant breeding

and selection of high yielding cultivars may signifi-

cantly amend the mineral composition of the result-

ant crops from the varieties they supplant

(Underwood and Suttle, 1999).

Mineral concentrations in plants generally re-

flect the adequacy with which the soil can supply

absorbable minerals to their roots. However, plant-

availability is a factor that determines the accumu-

lation of the soil mineral into the plant species and

the primary reason for the existence of areas defi-

cient in some minerals like phosphorus (P), sodium

(Na), cobalt (Co) and selenium (Se), is that the

soils of the areas are inherently low in plant-avail-

able supplies of these minerals (Underwood and

Suttle, 1999).

Factors affecting concentrations of minerals in

soil and forage crops.

Physicochemical factors: Mineral uptake by plants

and hence their mineral composition are greatly in-

164164164


fluenced by soil pH. For example, molybdenum (Mo)

uptake by plants increases as soil pH rises and,

therefore, Mo induced copper (Cu) deficiency in

grazing livestock is likely to occur in areas having

alkaline soil pH. Liming, used commonly to im-

prove the quality of soil, therefore, may induce Cu

deficiency in grazing livestock by increasing pasture

Mo concentration. Water logging on the other hand,

greatly increases Co, Mo and manganese (Mn)

contents of pasture plants (Adams and Honeysett,

1964). Thus, soil conditions greatly influence the

value of the forage plants as sources of minerals for

grazing livestock.

Human factors: Application of fertilizers to

amend the quality of soil greatly influences the qual-

ity of soil as a supplier of minerals to the forage

crops. Most soil in the tropics supply insufficient P

for maximum crop or pasture growth, and yields

can be increased by applying P fertilizers (Jones,

1990). Super-phosphate applications to pastures,

over and above those required for maximum plant

growth responses, can result in herbage of improved

palatability and digestibility but expected responses

may not always materialize (Winks, 1990). Heavy

applications of potassium (K) fertilizers can raise

herbage yields and K contents, while at the same

time depressing herbage magnesium (Mg) and Na.

Similarly, application of nitrogenous fertilizers has

versatile effects on soil mineral contents. Nitrogen

(N) fertilizers in general increases the risk of min-

eral deficiencies occurring in grazing livestock es-

pecially in areas where the availability of the miner-

als is towards a lower side (Hopkins et al., 1994).

The widely held view towards the relationship be-

tween the applications of N fertilizers and the min-

eral contents of plants is that the use of such fertil-

izers increases yield of forage and thus by exporting

the minerals increases the risk of their deficiency at

subsequent times.

Ambience and plant factors: External factors,

notably climate and season, which can be modified

by irrigation and management practices, have pro-

found effect on soil mineral profile (Underwood and

Suttle, 1999). Forage concentration of Cu is posi-

tively proportional and that of Se is inversely pro-

portional to rainfall. The P and K contents of crop

and forage decline markedly with advancing matu-

rity and season affects the concentration of P more

in legumes than in grasses (Coates et al., 1990).

The concentration of Mg, zinc (Zn), Cu, Mn Co,

Mo and iron (Fe) fall as the plants mature. De-

crease in mineral concentrations with advancing age

are usually reflections of increases in proportion of

stem to leaf and old to new leaves, stems and old

leaves having lower mineral concentrations that

young leaves (Minson, 1990).

The availability of minerals to animals

The evaluation of feeds and feed supplements

as sources of minerals depends not only on the

total mineral content or concentration but also on

how much can be absorbed from the gut and used

by the animals' cells and tissues. This in turn, de-

pends on:

i) the age and species of the animals

ii) the intake of the mineral relative to the need

iii) the chemical form in which the mineral is in-

gested

iv) the amounts and proportions of other dietary

components with which it interacts metaboli-

cally

v) environmental factors like the accessibility and

intensity of sunlight (Ammerman et al., 1995)

Accurate measurement of the availability of a

particular mineral element is not possible to deter-

mine in livestock without involving the radio-iso-

tope study (for detail review see Underwood and

Suttle, 1999).

The net flow of utilizable mineral to the grazing

animal, in particular, is likely to vary widely from

season to season and from year to year. Where

mineral nutrients in herbage are marginal in respect

of animal requirements, changes in concentrations,

brought about by atmospheric, climatic or seasonal

165165165


influence and by plant maturity and seed shedding,

can obviously be significant factors in the incidence

of severity of deficiency states in livestock wholly

or largely dependent on those plants. Hence, it is

important to appreciate the cyclical nature of min-

eral nutrition before breaking the problem down

into smaller compartments, and there is a need to

frequently reassess the adequacy of mineral sup-

plies experienced by the animals, especially the

grazing ones.

Detection of mineral imbalance in animals

The detection of a mineral imbalance is usually

based on clinical, pathological and biochemical ex-

aminations of the animal tissues and body fluids.

Soil mineral analyses may also have some diagnos-

tic values. Analysis of the mineral contents of the

plant materials and the concentrate is yet another

tool to be explored. However, the information ob-

tained from any one of these sources alone is rarely

conclusive and the ultimate criterion of any mineral

inadequacy, imbalance or excess is the improve-

ment in growth, health, fertility or productivity that

occurs in response to appropriate changes in the

intake or utilization of the mineral(s) in question

(Phillippo, 1983).

Significance of soil mineral: Soils that are ab-

normal in a given mineral tend to produce plants

that are abnormal in that mineral. On a broad geo-

graphical basis, areas where some mineral imbal-

ances are likely to occur can be predicted by

mapping techniques. However, prediction of a min-

eral imbalance from the data obtained by soil analy-

ses is far from simple for the following reasons:

i) the yield of the plant as well its mineral con-

tents is affected by soil mineral status

ii) different species and strains of plants can vary

greatly in mineral composition even when grow-

ing on the same soil

iii) climatic and seasonal conditions, as well as the

stage of growth, affect the mineral composi-

tion of plants

iv) chemical form of the mineral, soil pH and other

physicochemical properties of soil may affect

the uptake of mineral from soil

The concentration of mineral in soil is thus an

uncertain guide to its concentration in the crop.

Pasture and feed mineral concentrations: An

initial assessment of the actual or likely occurrence

of a dietary mineral inadequacy or excess can be

made by comparing the mineral composition of the

diet with appropriate standards. However, the de-

tection and diagnosis of mineral disorders of dietary

origin based entirely on mineral analysis of the feed

can be misleading due to the following reasons:

i) In foraging situations, the diet sample collected

may not represent the material actually eaten

by the animal because of selective grazing and

soil contamination in the field especially where

there is a mixture of pasture and browse ma-

terials (Fordyce et al., 1996).

ii) Estimates of mineral intake take no account

of differences in absorption or utilization by

the animal. For example, a particular dietary

level of total P may be adequate for poultry if

it is an inorganic or non phytin form but inad-

equate when it is present as phytate P. The

adequacy of a particular dietary concentration

of calcium (Ca) varies with the vitamin D sta-

tus of the animal. Similarly, certain concentra-

tions of Cu can be inadequate when Mo and

sulphur (S) intakes are high but adequate or

even excessive when dietary Mo and S are

low.

Nevertheless, measurement of the total con-

centration of a mineral in the pasture or ration can-

not always detect or predict inadequacy or toxicity

of that mineral in the animal.

Clinical and pathological changes in the animal:

All mineral deficiencies and excesses are manifested

by clinical and pathological disturbances. However,

differential diagnosis is important. Mild deficiency

or excess is especially difficult to identify because

their effects are indistinguishable from those result-

166166166


ing from semi-starvation or underfeeding, protein

deficiency or intestinal parasitism. Numerically and

economically, mild abnormalities exceed severe ab-

normalities in importance (Arthur, 1992).

A dietary deficiency of a mineral is sooner or

later reflected in subnormal concentrations of the

mineral in certain of the animals' tissues and fluids,

and a dietary excess of a mineral is similarly re-

flected in above-normal concentrations. Moreover,

both deficiencies and toxicities are usually accom-

panied by significant tissue or fluid changes in the

concentrations of particular enzymes, metabolites

or organic compounds with which the mineral in

question is functionally associated. Many of these

changes can be detected before the onset of clini-

cally obvious signs of deficiency or excess in the

animal (Underwood and Suttle, 1999).

Soil-plant-interrelationship

Macro-minerals: The soil-plant-animal interre-

lationship with regards to mineral concentrations has

a profound influence on the mineral status of grazing

livestock. The understanding of the soil-plant-animal

interrelationship is necessary because grazing live-

stock hardly receive any mineral supplement except

for common salt, and must depend largely on for-

ages to meet their mineral requirements though for-

ages rarely meet this requirement owing to moderate

to severe deficiency of mineral elements existing in

soil, especially in tropical climatic conditions (Valdes

et al., 1988). It has been stated earlier that soil pH

is one of the key factors governing the concentration

of minerals in soil. A strongly acid condition usually

causes a decline in solubility of soil macro-minerals

while a strongly alkaline pH affects absorption of

anions like Mn. The maximum rate of mineral ab-

sorption occurs at a pH ranging from 5 to 7. Hence,

soil pH measurement is important while studying the

soil-plant-animal inter relationship before chalking

out the strategy for mineral supplementation.

Comprehensive studies in this regard are lack-

ing in Indian conditions. Nevertheless, studies con-

ducted abroad on similar soil and climatic condi-

tions revealed (Table 1) that P is perhaps the most

limiting macro-mineral in soil. Aluminum (Al) induced

aggravation of soil P deficiency occurs when soil

pH falls below 5.5 (Prabowo et al., 1990). Based

on the criterion of adequacy Ca in soil may be

described as adequate, Mg as moderately adequate

and K as variable and dependent on climatic fac-

tors with higher incidence of deficiency being re-

corded in the rainy season compared to the dry

season (Morillo et al., 1989). A further fact with

regards to the importance of soil aluminum concen-

tration comes into light from the data presented in

Table 1. Acidic conditions of soil may lower the pH

of soil below 5.5 and increases the extractable Al

concentration in soil. An increased soil Al may re-

duce the available P content in soil and reduce P

uptake by plants grown on such soils. The Venezu-

Table 1. Macro-mineral concentration (ppm) in tropical agro-climatic conditions in relation to soil pH

Element Critical value Indonesia1 Venezuela2 United States3 India

Kerala4 Karnataka5

pH 5.8-6.0 4.03-4.8 4.8-5.5 5.2-7.2 (6.5) 5.93-7.04

Aluminum 1215-1247 181-336 93-575

Calcium <71 652-1065 86-100 2.5-17.3 30-90 (61.8) 30-350

Potassium <62 156-178 40-45.9 2.3-108

Magnesium <30 329-364 189-199 13.2-193 6-60 (29.7) 10-90

Phosphorus <17 13-18 4.98-9.34 252-960 48.4-120.5 (78.1) 9.92-55.97

1Prabowo et al., 1990; 2Morillo et al., 1989; 3Pastrana et al., 1991; 4ICAR Net Work Project on Micronutrients in

Animal Nutrition and Production (1999); 5Gowda et al., 2002

167167167


elan data is an ideal example of the effects of soil

pH on soil Al and P concentration.

but not in the green forage. Paddy straw constitutesthe bulk of the ration and hence the P deficiency ob-served in paddy straw was perhaps reflected in the

serum concentration as well. It is noteworthy that thecompounded feed mixtures hardly exhibited any de-ficiency with regards to the concerned macro-ele-

ments. However, wide variation in Ca:P ratio wasobserved in the bran which perhaps aggravated theP deficiency in the animals. This was in contrary tothe distribution of Mn which, despite being marginalin the green and dry roughages, did not exhibit a de-ficient concentration in the serum of the cattle grazing

over such pasture [Figure 2 (c) & 2 (d)]. The defi-ciency of one or more number of major and microelements notwithstanding, critical deficiency symp-

toms were not apparent in the animal population.However, every possibility remains that sub clinicaldeficiency conditions, especially with regards to re-

productive and immune systems would remain to af-fect the performance level of these animals.

Minerals : The need for strategic supplemen-

tation

Mineral supplementation is needed to correct defi-ciencies in animal diets. Supplementation of miner-

als is considered to be the least cost way for aug-menting productivity especially in grazing ruminants.Organized farming systems make use of compound

feeds which contain mineral supplements and hence,do seldom suffer from mineral inadequacy. Samples

of compound feeds collected from different states

0

0 .2

0 .4

0 .6

0 .8

C a P

C r i t i c a l v a l u e S tr a w G r r e n fo d d e r

ELEMENT IN SOILELEMENT IN SOILELEMENT IN SOILELEMENT IN SOIL

‘Availability’ depends on: Geochemistry, pH drainage

ELEMENT INELEMENT INELEMENT INELEMENT IN PLANT PLANT PLANT PLANT

Availability Appetite Absorptive capacity Selective grazing

ELEMENT INELEMENT INELEMENT INELEMENT IN ANIMAL ANIMAL ANIMAL ANIMAL

Soil ingestionSoil ingestionSoil ingestionSoil ingestion

Initial reserves Stage of development

Rate of production Environment

A SUFFICIENT SUPPLY?A SUFFICIENT SUPPLY?A SUFFICIENT SUPPLY?A SUFFICIENT SUPPLY?

Stocking rate, rainfall

Availability’

Fig. 1 Factors influencing the flow of an element

from soil to the grazing animal. (Underwood

and Suttle, 1999)

Extensive studies to determine the soil-plant-

animal interrelationship with regards to different trace

elements particularly Cu, Mn, Fe and Zn have been

undertaken in India especially under the aegis of the

Net Work Project on Micro-Nutrients in AnimalNutrition and Production of the Indian Council of

Agricultural Research. The findings of this project

have well depicted the micro-nutrient status of In-

dian soil, plants and that of the animals reared on

those soil and plants.

Fig. 2 (a) Concentration (% dry matter) of calcium

and phosphorus in composite straw (paddy and

bajra) and green fodder in Karnataka (source:

Gawda et al., 2002)

Figures 2 (a) & 2 (b) depicts the status of Ca

and P in the composite straw and green roughage as

well as that of the serum in the cattle grazing over

such pasture. P deficiency was ubiquitous in straw

0

2

4

6

8

1 0

C a P

C r i t i c a l v a lu e D ry z o n e

Fig. 2 (b) Concentration (mg/dl) of calcium and phospho-

rus in serum samples of grazing cattle in Karnataka

(source: Gawda et al., 2002)

168168168


and analyzed in various laboratories in India would

support this statement (Table 2). This is also the

reason for not experiencing mineral deficiency dis-

orders in most of the poultry and swine operations.

Nevertheless, the discussion in the previous sec-

Table 2. Concentration of some major (%) and trace elements (ppm) in compound livestock feed in India

State Ca P Ca:P Mg Cu Zn Fe Mn

Critical level <0.3 <0.25 2:1 <0.2 <8.0 <30.0 <50.0 <40.0

Assam1 0.76 - - 0.47 5.6 22.6 93 38.6

Gujarat2 0.66 1.34 - 0.67 20.5 79.2 1032 146.1

Himachal Pradesh 0.93 1.00 0.93 - 13.9 51.6 - -

Karnataka3 0.98 1.51 0.65 0.68 12.6 39.4 508 -

Kerala4 0.98 0.92 1.06 0.58 16.3 49.3 828 -

Rajasthan5 0.76 1.11 0.68 0.64 25.9 106.1 829 105.9

West Bengal6 1.4 0.9 1.7 - 5.4 25.9 431 87.1

Source: 1 Buragohain et al., 2006; 2 Garg et al., 2003; 3 Gowda et al., 2002; 4 ICAR Net Work Project on Micronutrients

in Animal Nutrition and Production, Trissur Center, Kerala (1999); 5 Garg et al., 2005; 6 ICAR Net Work Project on

Micronutrients in Animal Nutrition and Production, Kolkata Center, West Bengal (2004)

0

1 0

2 0

3 0

4 0

5 0

6 0

7 0

C u M n

ppm

C r i t i c a l v a l u e S t r a w G r e e n f o d d e r B r a n

0 .0

0 .5

1 .0

1 .5

2 .0

2 .5

C u M n F e

µg/m

l

C r i t i c a l v a lu e S e r u m

Fig. 2 (c) Concentration (ppm) of trace elements in

composite straw (paddy and bajra) and green fodder

in Karnataka (source: Gawda et al., 2002)

Fig. 2 (d) Concentration (µg/ml) of trace elements in

serum samples of grazing cattle in Karnataka (source:

Gawda et al., 2002)

tions indicate that the grazing ruminants are mostprone to deficiency of one or more mineral ele-ments since the forage they graze on hardly supplyan adequate amount of minerals the animals requirefor different productive and reproductive purposes.The situation gets confounded and rather aggra-vated because of the supplementation strategyadopted by the animal owners and interestingly thesituation is almost similar across the country.

The economic criterion of the farmers in Indiais one of the major factors driving their animalstowards a mineral deficient or sufficient feeding regi-men. Studies conducted in various states in Indiarevealed that farmers do adopt almost a uniformfeeding regime of their animals cutting across thestate boundaries. The landless and the marginalfarmers keep their animals on grazing and supple-ment straw (paddy, wheat, bajra or maize depend-ing on the availability and locality) as the basalroughage. This practice is common even a farmerbelongs to a better economic niche. Nevertheless,feeding home made concentrate mixture is the prac-tice followed only by a small fraction of the farm-ers. It is noteworthy that feeding cultivated greenfodder is seldom practiced in most of the states.This is obvious because land has become limitedfor fodder cultivation. However, in some states likeRajasthan and Gujarat green fodder availability islimited because of extreme climatic condition andfrequent drought. Tree leaves constitutes an alter-

native source of green fodder.

169169169


The data presented in Table 3 is a clear rev-

elation of macro and micro mineral status of the dry

and green roughages in Indian condition. The data

are almost a national representation and are col-

lected across the country from different agro cli-

matic and soil conditions. Interestingly, the data is

not too widely dispersed and the coefficient of

variation (not shown) is found to be insignificant.

The table brings into fore the following facts:

l There exists almost moderate to severe defi-

ciency of Ca and P in dry roughage

l Moderate deficiency with regards to P is there

in green roughage

l Trace elements are adequate in dry and green

roughage though Cu is just marginal in the dry

roughages in most of the samples in the sur-

veyed areas

l Fe concentration is much above the minimum

critical level and its supplementation seems to

be unnecessary

To assess how the mineral status of feeds andfodder affect the mineral balance in grazing rumi-nants Das et al. (2003) conducted a survey in twodifferent agro-climatic regions of West Bengal andthe findings are summarized in Figure 3.

Fig. 3 Liver concentrations of trace elements in cattle

grazing over red laterite (Zone 1) and new alluvial

(Zone 2) soil of West Bengal (Das et al., 2003)

Liver biopsy study in the said agro-climaticregions indicated that the grazing cattle were defi-cient in Cu and had just a marginal status with re-

gards to Mn. Apart from a severe deficiency of Ca

Table 3. Major (%) and trace (ppm) element concentration in dry and green roughages in India

Ca P Ca:P Mg Cu Zn Fe Mn

Critical level <0.3 0.25 2:1 <0.2 8.0 <30 <50 <40

Mineral content of straw (include paddy, maize and bajra straw)

Assam 0.63 - - 0.44 7.2 21.4 122.3 43.6Kerala 0.26 0.09 2.9 0.21 10.0 55.0 866.4 -Himachal Pradesh 0.09 0.03 3.0 - 1.9 15.8 - -Rajasthan 0.28 0.09 3.1 0.21 6.0 28.6 356.4 168.2Haryana 0.31 0.12 2.6 - 26.0 14.5 176.0 16.5West BengalCoastal soil 0.12 0.06 2.0 - 7.4 29.0 226.4 272.8Laterite soil 0.15 0.04 3.8 - 10.6 32.3 262.5 22.3Alluvial soil 0.13 0.06 2.2 - 8.3 41.1 224.4 23.9Calculated mean 0.25 0.06 2.43 0.28 9.7 29.7 319.2 91.2

Mineral content of green roughage (include pasture grass and non leguminous cultivated fodder)

Assam 0.6 - - 0.06 24.3 24.3 330.8 109.9Kerala 0.3 0.2 1.4 0.22 10.2 48.6 627.2 -Himachal Pradesh 0.53 0.19 2.8 0.19 10.8 30.4 365 60.8Rajasthan 0.87 0.22 4.0 0.62 11.5 30.4 422 92.3Haryana 1.56 0.19 8.2 - 28.5 24.1 342 38.0West BengalCoastal soil 0.42 0.17 2.5 - 53.01 42.63 403.53 35.66Laterite soil 0.49 0.21 2.3 - 6.2 22.7 323.1 71.8Alluvial soil 0.42 0.26 1.6 - 4.9 24.9 297.8 78.9Calculated mean 0.65 0.18 2.85 0.27 18.7 31.0 388.9 69.6

0

2 0

4 0

6 0

8 0

1 0 0

1 2 0

PPM

Z n C u M n

C r i t i c a l l e v e l

Z o n e 1

Z o n e 2

170170170


and P in dry roughage, the green fodder were lim-

iting in Cu and Zn which was reflected in the liver

concentrations of the concerned trace elements. It

is noteworthy that blood levels of the said elements

did not reveal any such deficiency perhaps because

of the homeostatic mechanism that operates for all

the nutrients in animal systems.

Need for the region specific mineral supple-

mentation

It has already been emphasized repeatedly that

it is the ruminants that depend predominantly on

forages do require mineral supplementation as they

seldom receive adequate supplies of particular min-

erals because of moderate to sever deficiencies of

one or more mineral elements in dry and green

roughages. The problem is not so drastic in the

organized farm sector or in the poultry and swine

operations (McDowell, 1985) and hence, our dis-

cussion will focus on the need of the grazing rumi-

nants (Table 4).

Prior to opt for the supplementation a few points

need to be assessed and assured.

l The distribution of the mineral elements in the

soil and local feed resources

l The existence of the practice of mineral supple-

mentation in the area concerned

l The average productivity of animals in the said

area

l Calculation of the mineral requirement of the

animals

l Formulation of the mineral mixture containing

all the elements needed by the animals

l Finally, fortification of the diet with the said

mineral mixture

The dietary mineral level that will just promote

optimal response is the minimum requirement. The

optimal allowances permit animals to achieve their

full genetic potential for optimal performance. Be-

yond the optimal zone, mineral concentrations range

from levels still safe, but uneconomical, to concen-

trations that cause toxicity and death. It is important

to note that there is no single exact requirement for

a mineral element and neither is there a single safe

or maximum level at which a mineral can be toler-

ated without adverse effect.

Table 4. A good free choice mineral supplements: an In-

dian picture

1. Contains a minimum of 6-8% total P. In areas where

forages are consistently lower than 0.2 % P, mineral

supplements in the 8-10 % P range are preferred.

2. Has a Ca:P ratio not substantially over 2:1

3. Provides a significant proportion (i.e. about 50%) of

the trace element requirements for Co, Cu, I, Mn, Zn

and Se if required. Fe is not needed in most circum-

stances.

4. Is sufficiently palatable to allow close to adequate

consumption in relation to requirements.

5. Has an acceptable particle size that will allow ad-

equate mixing without smaller size particles settling

out.

6. Is formulated for the area involved, the level of

animal productivity, and the environment in which it

will be fed and is as economical as possible.

Adopted from: McDowell (1985)

Free Choice mineral supplement: Free-choice

mineral supplements are generally considered only

for livestock that do not have access to concen-

trates, as minerals for those receiving concentrates

are generally provided as part of the concentrate

mixture. As a low-cost insurance complete mineral

supplements should be available to grazing livestock

free choice (McDowell 1985). A "good" free choice

mineral supplement should have the following char-

acteristic features:

Fortification of diet with mineral supplements:

The main consideration for animals receiving miner-

als as part of their concentrate diet is whether each

animal consumes an adequate amount of the con-

centrate mixture to provide the correct calculated

intake of each mineral. Assuming the correct level

of biologically available mineral is prepared in a

mineral premix, the important question remains,

171171171


whether the correct amount was added and prop-

erly mixed in the concentrate mixture. The proper

concentration in the final concentrate mixture should

periodically be confirmed by analysis of the more

critical mineral elements.

It is virtually impossible to measure the actual

dry matter intake of livestock on pasture though the

requirements are based on dry matter intake. Ac-

tual dry matter consumption often becomes a great

factor to be judged for calculating the actual amount

of an element to be supplemented in the diet. It is

generally assumed that the dry matter intake ranges

between 7-10 kg for adult grazing cattle and a 2%

body weight is considered a rough estimate of for-

age dry matter intake by cattle.

Biological availability of an element, which

implies the availability of that element to some or-

ganism for use, is yet another factor that governs

supplementation strategy.

Organic minerals: A new age supplementa-

tion strategy: The key to the effectiveness of a mineral

supplement is not necessarily its biological availabil-

ity, but its biological activity. Traditionally, inorganic

salts such as oxides, sulfates and carbonates have

been added to the diet to provide the desired amount

to meet the requirements of the animals. These arebroken down to varying extents during digestion to'free' ions' and are then absorbed. However, theymay also complex to other dietary molecules andbecome difficult to absorb or, if completelycomplexed, totally unavailable to the animal. Thus,the availability of the element may vary substantially.Because of these uncertainties, the levels providedin the diet are often higher than the minimum amountrequired for the optimum performance, often result-ing in over-supply and unnecessary wastage withobvious environmental impact. In this regard theorganically complexed mineral elements have dis-cernible edge over their inorganic counterparts. Thechelated or the proteinate forms of the minerals mayutilize the peptide or amino acid uptake pathwaysof absorption in the small intestine and hence, canavoid the mineral-mineral interaction for the sameabsorptive pathway. Thus, the organically complexedminerals are not only more bio-available but alsomore bio-active.

Economic aspects of chelated and protein-ate forms of trace elements: Economic responseis the key concern. Chelated minerals cost 10 to 15times more per milligram of mineral compared to

inorganic sources. Commercial chelated mineral pro-

Table 5. Relative bioavailability of some major and trace elements

Element Source Reference compound Relative bioavailability %

Calcium Ca carbonate - 40-57

Bone meal Ca carbonate 63-138

Ca chloride Ca carbonate 71-132

Calcite Ca carbonate 49

Di calcium phosphate Ca carbonate 56-126

Phosphorus Bone meal Di calcium phosphate 30

Di calcium phosphate - 33-85

Rock phosphate Di calcium phosphate 17-54

Defluorinated phosphate Di calcium phosphate 29-85

Zinc Zinc sulfate Zinc oxide 100

Zinc chloride Zinc oxide 42

Zinc carbonate Zinc oxide 58

Zinc methionine Zinc oxide 103-133

Manganese Manganese carbonate Mn sulfate 20-46

Manganese oxide Mn sulfate 25-39

Manganese methionine Mn sulfate 102-157

Source: Ammerman et al. (1995)

172172172


grams cost range from 4 cents to 18 cents per cow

per day (depending on the combination and level of

chelated minerals selected). Two approaches are

listed below:

1. Supplement one-third of selected trace miner-

als as chelated mineral (400 g of zinc as or-

ganic zinc) and two-thirds as inorganic mineral

(800 g of zinc as zinc sulfate for example).

2. Feed recommended levels (Table 5) as inor-

ganic minerals (1200 g as zinc as zinc sulfate)

plus an additional 25 percent as chelated zinc

(300 g of zinc as organic zinc for example).

It has been observed that instead of total re-

placement of inorganic minerals with organically

complexed mineral elements, it will always be a

more prudent approach to opt for a partial replace-

ment of the conventional inorganic forms of supple-

mental minerals with the respective organic forms.

This will save the economy of the farmers and will

promote the productivity at the same time.

Concentration of an element in the min-

eral mixture: The concentration of each element

in a mineral mixture is yet another factor which

needs to be considered. After evaluating the

bioavailability of the mineral mixture, the daily in-

take of mineral mixture and that of total dry matter,

the concentration of each element can be used to

calculate the amount of each element that will be

furnished per animal, expressed as a percentage or

parts per million of total DM intake. This can be

compared to the total requirement of that element

to determine whether a significant amount is being

furnished. It is difficult to determine what consti-

tutes a significant portion of the requirement for

each mineral that should be supplied by the mineral

mixture, but it is generally believed the figure should

be 25-50% for the trace elements. In zones known

to have a trace element deficiency, 100% of

the requirements for these elements should be pro-

vided.

Table 6. Trace elements in an adequate supplement

Element Estimated Minerals in mixture (%) for

maximum each percent of the

requirement requirementa

p p m 25 50 100

Cobalt 0.1 0.0005 0.001 0.002

Copper 10 0.05 0.10 0.20

Iodine 0.8 0.004 0.008 0.016

Manganese 25 0.125 0.25 0.5

Zinc 50 0.25 0.50 1.0

Iron 50 0.25 0.50 1.0

Selenium 0.2 0.001 0.002 0.004

a This assumes for cattle an average consumption of 50g/

d of mineral mixture and 10 kg/day of total dry matter.

The above table illustrates the estimated trace

element requirements and percentages of each ele-

ment required in a cattle mineral mixture to meet

25, 50 or 100 % of the requirement, based on an

estimated daily consumption of 50 g. With less

consumption, the mineral supplement should con-

tain a higher percentage of each mineral, and a

lower intake of dry matter would reduce the per-

centage of minerals required in the mixture.

Supplementation strategy

Supplementation strategy for mineral elements

will depend on the status of the animal and the

economic condition of the farmers. The latter factor

is important since it is the economy that ultimately

governs the overall husbandry practice of livestock

and hence their feeding regimen. Nevertheless, min-

eral supplementation for livestock is considered to

be the least cost insurance for a better productivity

and hence, can be recommended for the farmers

belonging to economically lower social strata.

Animals that do not receive concentrates are less

likely to receive an adequate mineral supply and

free choice mineral mixtures described above would

be the ideal for such animals. However, free choice

minerals are not palatable enough to ensure suffi-

cient consumption and are, therefore, consumed ir-

regularly. Since consumption of the free choice

minerals are highly variable intake may not be ad-

173173173


equate to meet the mineral deficiency in the for-

ages.

While formulating the supplementation strategy

some factors need to be remembered:

Plant maturity: As plants mature, mineral con-

tents decline and hence the need for mineral supple-

mentation increases when a dry or drought condi-

tion prevails for a while in a year.

Energy-protein supplements: Protein and en-

ergy supplements that also provide minerals de-

crease both the need and desire for free choice

minerals.

Individual requirements: The level of pro-

ductivity and the physiological condition like gesta-

tion and lactation of an animal influence the mineral

need.

Supplementation strategy for grazing ru-

minants receiving no concentrate: Animals that

primarily depend on pasture have different supple-

mentation needs than those receiving concentrates.

Free choice mineral mixture or a mineral lick is the

preferred option to supplement these animals. A

urea-molasses-mineral block would be an effective

strategy to supplement a protein substitute and the

mineral simultaneously especially when the quality

of the forage is poor. P is generally limiting and

hence a free choice mineral mixture containing ad-

equate Ca, P, common salt and selected trace el-

ements is needed to be supplied. Fe is always an

excess in most of the agro-climatic zones of India

and need not to be supplemented. Areas having

deficient Se require its supplementation while those

(like the northern plains encompassing Punjab,

Haryana, upper Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan) show-

ing toxic levels of Se need sulfur in the mineral

premix as the antagonist of Se.

Supplementation strategy for grazing ru-

minants receiving concentrate: The best means

of providing minerals to ruminants receiving con-

centrates would be to combine the minerals with

the concentrate diet, including Ca, P, and a trace

mineralized salt (NaCl plus Co, Cu, I, Mn, Se and

Zn depending on local need). Fe may be included

if condition deserves for. The less dietary forage

intake, the higher level of Ca and P is required. S

may be added to the premix if non-protein nitrogen

is added to the concentrate. The balance of indi-

vidual minerals is important in this regard to ensure

proper absorption and utilization of the minerals.

In organized farming sector as well, the most

common method to deliver trace minerals to dairy

cattle has been trace mineralized salt. Feed tags

must be carefully reviewed to determine the level

(mg per day) that is being offered and if the mineral

form is biologically available. Customized trace

mineral premixtures are becoming more common

because they can be formulated to balance mineral

profiles and meet mineral needs depending on the

farm condition. Forage testing is recommended for

Zn, Cu and Mn and if conditions desire then Fe as

well on an annual basis to establish herd micro-

mineral profiles, evaluate feed changes, and avoid/

correct mineral imbalances.

Mineral supplementation - A practical approach

It is essential to exploit the enormous scope of

mineral supplementation for augmenting the produc-

tive performance of grazing ruminants. Supplemen-

tation of minerals not only bolsters the overall meta-

bolic responses of the animals but at the same time

increases the overall availability of organic nutrients

by augmenting the latter's bioavailability. However,

comprehensive strategy should be there to address

the local need first which can later be broad based

by describing the requirements on the basis of the

agro-climatic zones or soil type. As an initiation to

this approach a study was conducted in the red and

laterite agro climatic zone of West Bengal to ascer-

tain the actual status of mineral supplementation in

the red and laterite soil of West Bengal (Kundu

2004). The survey revealed that the feeding regi-

men, which may be categorized as follows, de-

pends largely on the economic criteria of the farm-

ers (Table 7).

174174174


Table 7. Feeding regimen of cattle vis-à-vis the economic

criterion of the farmers (n = 510 farmers) in

the red and laterite agro-climatic zones of West

Bengal

Land Feeding regime of Percentage

holding animals

(acre)

Landless Only grazing 1.8

1-2 Grazing + paddy straw 18.8

6-7 Grazing + limited

amount of a single

unit concentrate 40.2

3-4 Grazing + paddy

straw + single unit

concentrate (mustard

oil cake) 18.0

8-10 Grazing + compounded

feed) + paddy straw +

mineral mixture 1.2

It appears from the above table that the farm-

ers, except those belonging to Category V, followed

the traditional feeding system based on grazing and

paddy straw for their cattle. These animals hardly

received any supplemental mineral and, hence, were

prone to mineral deficiency which could be revealed

from the data presented in Table 8.

The study revealed that the animals suffered

from severe deficiency of Ca and Zn while the in-

take of P was just marginal. Intake of Cu was

adequate and that of Fe and Mn was well above

the respective requirement levels. A closer scrutiny

of the mineral concentration of the locally available

feeds and fodder fed to the animals would help

further to explain these observations.

The study revealed that the existing feeding

regimen could fulfill the requirements for mainte-

nance of the animals only and not for any additional

productive purpose.

A digestibility trial under field captivity was con-

ducted in which 12 animals were fed with a control

diet simulating the feeding regimen followed by the

category IV farmers (Table 7) and a similar number

of animals were fed with the same diet but were

supplemented with 75 mg elemental Cu, 202.5 mg

elemental Zn, 150 mg elemental Mn, 10.6 g Ca and

8.2 g P. The trace elements were supplemented as

sulfated salts while Ca and P were supplemented as

Table 8. Intake of dry matter (kg), macro (%) and micro (ppm) elements in cows grazing on the red and laterite soil(n = 274)

Body weight Dry matter Ca P Cu Fe Zn Mn Maximum estimated requirement

0.43-0.60 0.31-0.40 8.0 50.0 40.0 40.0

<120 3.47 0.28 0.36 11.3 492 22.8 205.5

121-140 3.55 0.29 0.35 11.7 496 23.8 212.4

141-160 3.47 0.31 0.39 12.3 531 25.3 224.1

160-180 3.64 0.35 0.35 11.5 486 23.5 207.3

Mean 3.53 0.29 0.36 11.7 501 23.9 212.4

Table 9. Macro (%) and micro (ppm) mineral status of feed stuffs in the red and laterite agro-climatic zone of WestBengal†

Feed/fodder Ca P Mg Cu Fe Zn Mn

Paddy straw 0.27 (57.1) 0.08 (100) 0.17 (71.4) 7.94 (64.3) 188.9 17.3 (92.9) 136Pasture grass 0.37 (39) 0.58 0.32 (15) 18.3 904 31.7 (39) 312Rice husk 0.17 (86) 0.57 0.301 8.68 (92.9) 550 23.6 (92.9) 223Mustard cake 0.53 1.00 0.51 15.4 285 37.8 113Tree leaves 0.72 0.44 (16.6) 0.44 19.9 (16.6) 314 9.45 (66.6) 162

† The figures in parenthesis indicate the percentage of samples showing concentrations below the minimum criticallevel (minimum sample size n = 30)

175175175


di-calcium phosphate. The cows were fed in stalls

with rice husk, mustard oil cake, paddy straw and

freshly cut pasture grass for a period of 6 months.

Before formulating the supplementation strategy the

bioavailability of the mineral elements from the feed

sources were not considered. The mixture was top

dressed on the concentrate mixture every day.

The digestibility coefficient of dry matter, or-

ganic matter and crude protein increased signifi-

cantly (P<0.05) due to the supplementation of the

mineral combination. Intake of digestible crude pro-

tein increased by 140 g/animal/day and that of TDN

increased by 420 g/animal/day in the cows receiv-

ing the supplemental mineral mixture. Interestingly,

intake of dry matter and other nutrients per se did

not vary due to mineral supplementation which sug-

gests that a strategic supplementation regimen of

minerals could effectively enhance the bio-availabil-

ity of the organic nutrients without appreciably in-

creasing the nutrient intake. This in turn, may lead

to an increased feed utilization efficiency and ensure

a positive energy balance. It may be noted that Fe

was not supplemented in the diet owing to its high

concentration in the feeds and the fodder. Mn was

supplemented to counter a possible antagonism in

the gut that may take place due to the higher Fe

ingestion and Cu was supplemented just as a sort

of a "top up" strategy.

Fig. 4 Digestibility coefficients of nutrients in cows

receiving specific major and trace element

supplementation

The most intriguing aspect of the supplemen-

tation strategy was the improvement in the repro-

ductive performance of the animals (Table 9) which

is suggestive of the beneficial impact the mineral

supplementation do impart on the reproductive

performance of the anestrous dairy cows and heif-ers. All the animals selected for the above studywere suffering from anestrous with no apparent ab-normality in the reproductive system from the ana-tomical and pathological point of view. Under nu-trition causes failure or cessation of estrus cycleand may delay sexual maturity in heifers. The presentstudy reveals that a judicious supplementation ofmineral elements may improve the physiological andreproductive performance of the indigenous cattlepopulation very much prone to nutritional deficiencydue to feeding regimens highly skewed towardsgrazing and paddy straw with little supplementationof concentrates and practically no mineral elements

added in the diet.

Table 10. Reproductive performance of cows and heifers

maintained under semi intensive management

system in the red and laterite agro-climatic

zone of West Bengal supplemented with spe-

cific major and trace elements*

Variable Cow Heifer

n 55 51

Age, yr. 7.5 4.4***

Body weight, kg 137.2 120.4

Calf per cow (#) 2.4 -

Animals showing 40 (72.7) 34 (66.7)estrus (#)

Days to estrus 87.3 91.6

Animals 37 (67.3) 25 (49)conceived (#)

Service per 1.56 1.49

conception (#)

*The values represent the cumulative observation of a

period spanning over 6 months. All the animals had

been suffering from a condition of anestrous of non-

specific etiology. The reproductive system did not show

any anatomical or pathological abnormality. Figures in

parenthesis indicate the percentage of total number of

animals with estrus or pregnancy.

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

Dry matter Organic matter Crude protein

-' supplement +' supplement

176176176


REFERENCES

Adams S.N. and Honeysett J.L. (1964) Austr. J.

Agricu. Res., 15: 357-367.

Ammerman C.B., Baker D.H. and Lewis A.J.

(1995) Bioavailability of nutrients for ani-

mals. Academic Press, New York.

Arthur J.R. (1992) Proc. Nutr. Soc. Australia, 17:

91-98.

Buragohain R., Ghosh M.K., Baruah K.K., Pathak

P.K. and Bhattacharya M. (2006) Anim. Nutr.

Feed Technol., 6: 289-294.

Coates D.B., Kerridge P.C., Miller C.P. and Winter

W.H. (1990) Trop. Grassland, 24: 209-220.

Das A., Ghosh T.K. and Haldar S. (2003) Indian

J. Anim. Sci., 73: 448-454.

Fordyce F.M., Masara D. and Appleton J.D. (1996)

Stream sediment, soil and forage chemistry as

predictors of cattle mineral status in north east

Zimbabwe. In: Environmental Geochemistry

and Health. (Appleton J.D., Fuge R. and

McCall G.H.J., eds.) Geological Society Spe-

cial Publication No. 113, London, pp. 23-37.

Garg M.R., Bhanderi B.M. and Sherasia P.L. (2003)

Anim. Nutr. Feed Technol., 3: 179-188.

Garg M.R., Bhanderi B.M. and Sherasia P.L.

(2005) Anim. Nutr. Feed Technol., 5: 9-20.

Gowda N.K.S., Prasad C.S., Ramana J.V. and

Shivaramaiah M.T. (2002) Indian J. Anim.

Sci., 72: 165-170.

Hopkins A., Adamson A.H. and Bowling P.J. (1994)

Grass Forage Sci., 49: 9-20

Jones R.J. (1990) Trop. Grasslands, 24: 131-139.

Kundu B. (2004) Studies on trace element supple-

mentation on nutritional and reproductive

performance of dairy cattle in the red and

laterite agro-climatic zones of West Bengal.

Ph.D. Thesisi submitted to the West Bengal

University of Animal & Fishery Sciences,

Kolkata, India.

McDowell, L.R. (1985) Minerals in animal and

human nutrition (Tony J Cunha ed.). Aca-

demic Press, New York.

Minson D.J. (1990) Forages in ruminant nutri-

tion. Academic Press, San Diego, California,

pp. 208-229.

Morillo D., McDowell L.R., Chicco C.F., Perdomo

J.T., Conrad J.H. and Martin F.G. (1989) Nutr.

Reports International, 39: 1247-1262.

Pastrana R., McDowell L.R., Conrad J.H. and

Wilkinson N.S. (1991) Small Rumin. Res., 5:

9-21.

Philippo M. (1983) The role of dose response tri-

als in predicting trace element disorders. In:

Trace Elements in Animal Production in

Veterinary Practice. (Suttle N.F., Gunn R.G.,

Allen W.M., Linklater K.A. and Wiener G.

eds.). British Society of Animal Production

Special Publication No. 7, Edinburgh, pp. 51-

60.

Prabowo A., McDowell L.R., Wilkinson N.S.,

Wilcox C.J. and Conrad J.A. (1990) Buffalo

J., 1: 17-32.

Underwood E.J. and Suttle N.F. (1999) The Min-

eral Nutrition of Livestock (3rd edition).

CABI Publishing, London.

Valdes J.L., McDowell L.R. and Koger M. (1988)

J. Prod. Agric., 1: 351-355.

Winks L. (1990) Trop. Grasslands, 24: 140-158.

Documents

4023459 Tropnutricon Compendium 1