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Opportunities and Challenges for the Use of Tannin Sources in Ruminant Nutrition

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A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 August 2021) | Viewed by 8491

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Eliana Jerónimo

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Guest Editor

Centro de Biotecnologia Agrícola e Agro-Alimentar do Alentejo (CEBAL), Instituto Politécnico de Beja (IPBeja), Beja, Portugal
Interests: ruminant nutrition; ruminant production; non-conventional feeding resources; lipid metabolism; fatty acids; lipid oxidation; antioxidants and antioxidant mechanism; plant secondary compounds; animal products quality

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Tannins are a complex group of phenolic compounds widespread throughout the plant kingdom, occurring at different levels and structural types in several ruminant feeding sources. Recent years have seen an increasing interest in the use of plants and plant extracts rich in tannins in ruminant diets for improving animal health and wellbeing, product quality and feed efficiency, as well as to mitigate the environmental impact of ruminant production systems.

Although promising, the results on the use of tannins in ruminant nutrition are controversial, resulting in detrimental, innocuous, or beneficial effects. Several factors, such as the type and chemical structure of tannins, the amount ingested, composition of the basal diet, and the species of animal can contribute to the inconsistent response to tannins.

However, to achieve the optimal conditions for the use of tannins in the ruminant diets and to avoid detrimental effects, further works are needed in different research topics.

This Special Issue is interested in both reviews and original research papers on the use of tannin feed sources in ruminant nutrition with a focus on the fate of tannins in animals, action mechanisms, the impact on ruminal metabolism and feed efficiency, and the effects on animal performance, health and wellbeing and product quality.

Dr. Eliana Jerónimo
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Tannins
Ruminant nutrition
Ruminal metabolism
Feed efficiency
Quality of products
Animal health and wellbeing

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 1086 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characterization, Density and In Vitro Controlled Release Properties of Mimosa (Acacia mearnsii) Tannin Encapsulated in Palm and Sunflower Oils

by Shehu Lurwanu Ibrahim and Abubeker Hassen

Animals 2021, 11(10), 2919; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ani11102919 - 9 Oct 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1830

Abstract

Tannin has gained wider acceptance as a dietary supplement in contemporary animal nutrition investigations because of its potential to reduce enteric methane emission. However, a major drawback to dietary tannin intake is the bitter taste and instability in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). The utilization of fats as coating materials will ensure appropriate masking of the tannin’s aversive taste and its delivery to the target site. The aims of this study were to encapsulate mimosa tannin with palm oil or sunflower oil, and to assess the microcapsules in terms of encapsulation efficiency, morphology, density, and in vitro release of tannin in media simulating the rumen (pH 5.6), abomasum (pH 2.9) and small intestine (pH 7.4). The microencapsulation of mimosa tannin in palm or sunflower oils was accomplished using a double emulsion technique. The results revealed that encapsulated mimosa tannins in palm oil (EMT^P) and sunflower oil (EMT^S) had high yields (59% vs. 58%) and encapsulation efficiencies (70% vs. 68%), respectively. Compared to unencapsulated mimosa tannin (UMT), the morphology showed that the encapsulated tannins were smaller in size and spherical in shape. The UMT had (p < 0.01) higher particle density (1.44 g/cm³) compared to 1.22 g/cm³ and 1.21 g/cm³ for the EMT^S and EMT^P, respectively. The proportion of tannins released by the UMT after 24 h in the rumen (94%), abomasum (92%) and small intestine (96%) simulated buffers, reduced (p < 0.01) to 24%, 21% and 19% for the EMT^S and 18%, 20% and 16% for the EMT^P in similar media and timeframe. The release kinetics for the encapsulated tannins was slow and steady, thus, best fitted by the Higuchi model while the UMT dissolved quickly, hence, only fitted to a First order model. Sequential tannin release also indicated that the EMT^S and EMT^P were stable across the GIT. It was concluded that the microencapsulation of mimosa tannin in palm or sunflower oils stabilized tannins release in the GIT simulated buffers with the potential to modify rumen fermentation. Further studies should be conducted on the palm and sunflower oils microcapsules’ lipid stability, fatty acid transfer rate in the GIT and antioxidant properties of the encapsulated tannins. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Opportunities and Challenges for the Use of Tannin Sources in Ruminant Nutrition)

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13 pages, 308 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Increasing Doses of Condensed Tannins Extract from Cistus ladanifer L. on In Vitro Ruminal Fermentation and Biohydrogenation

by Olinda Guerreiro, Susana P. Alves, Mónica Costa, Maria F. Duarte, Eliana Jerónimo and Rui J. B. Bessa

Animals 2021, 11(3), 761; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ani11030761 - 10 Mar 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2230

Abstract

Cistus ladanifer (rockrose) is a perennial shrub quite abundant in the Mediterranean region, and it is a rich source in secondary compounds such as condensed tannins (CTs). Condensed tannins from C. ladanifer were able to change the ruminal biohydrogenation (BH), increasing the t11–18:1 and c9,t11–18:2 production. However, the adequate conditions of the C. ladanifer CTs used to optimize the production of t11–18:1 and c9,t11–18:2 is not yet known. Thus, we tested the effect of increasing the doses of C. ladanifer CT extract (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 g/kg dry matter (DM)) on in vitro rumen BH. Five in vitro batch incubations replicates were conducted using an oil supplemented high-concentrate substrate, incubated for 24 h with 6 mL of buffered ruminal fluid. Volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and long chain fatty acids (FA) were analyzed at 0 h and 24 h, and BH of c9–18:1, c9, c12–18:2 and c9, c12, c15–18:3, and BH products yield were computed. Increasing doses of C. ladanifer CTs led to a moderate linear decrease (p < 0.001) of the VFA production (a reduction of 27% with the highest dose compared to control). The disappearance of c9–18:1 and c9,c12–18:2 as well as the production of t11–18:1 and c9, t11:18:2 was not affected by increasing doses of C. ladanifer CTs, and only the disappearance of c9, c12, c15–18:3 suffered a mild linear decrease (a reduction of 24% with the highest dose compared to control). Nevertheless, increasing the C. ladanifer CT dose led to a strong depression of microbial odd and branched fatty acids and of dimethyl acetals production (less than 65% with the highest dose compared to control), which indicates that microbial growth was more inhibited than fermentative and biohydrogenation activities, in a possible adaptative response of microbial population to stress induced to CTs and polyunsaturated fatty acids. The ability of C. ladanifer to modulate the ruminal BH was not verified in the current in vitro experimental conditions, emphasizing the inconsistent BH response to CTs and highlighting the need to continue seeking the optimal conditions for using CTs to improve the fatty acid profile of ruminant fat. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Opportunities and Challenges for the Use of Tannin Sources in Ruminant Nutrition)

Review

Jump to: Research

25 pages, 561 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceReview

Condensed Tannins as Antioxidants in Ruminants—Effectiveness and Action Mechanisms to Improve Animal Antioxidant Status and Oxidative Stability of Products

by David Soldado, Rui J. B. Bessa and Eliana Jerónimo

Animals 2021, 11(11), 3243; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ani11113243 - 13 Nov 2021

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 3191

Abstract

Condensed tannins (CTs) are widely distributed in plants, and due to their recognized antioxidant activity are considered as possible natural antioxidants for application in ruminant diets. A wide range of CT-rich sources has been tested in ruminant diets, and their effects on animal antioxidant status and oxidative stability of their products are reviewed in the present work. Possible mechanisms underlying the CT antioxidant effects in ruminants are also discussed, and the CT chemical structure is briefly presented. Utilization of CT-rich sources in ruminant feeding can improve the animals’ antioxidant status and oxidative stability of their products. However, the results are still inconsistent. Although poorly understood, the evidence suggests that CTs can induce an antioxidant effect in living animals and in their products through direct and indirect mechanisms, which can occur by an integrated and synergic way involving: (i) absorption of CTs with low molecular weight or metabolites, despite CTs’ poor bioavailability; (ii) antioxidant action on the gastrointestinal tract; and (iii) interaction with other antioxidant agents. Condensed tannins are alternative dietary antioxidants for ruminants, but further studies should be carried out to elucidate the mechanism underlying the antioxidant activity of each CT source to design effective antioxidant strategies based on the use of CTs in ruminant diets. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Opportunities and Challenges for the Use of Tannin Sources in Ruminant Nutrition)

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