Rates of urinary toxin excretion in unprotected steers fed Leucaena leucocephala

O'Reagain, Joseph H., Graham, Sam R., Dalazell, Scott A., and Shelton, Max (2014) Rates of urinary toxin excretion in unprotected steers fed Leucaena leucocephala. Tropical Grasslands - Forrajes Tropicales, 2. pp. 103-105.

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View at Publisher Website: https://doi.org/10.17138/tgft(2)103-105
 
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Abstract

Leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala) is a productive, nutritious, leguminous forage tree with high capacity for ruminant liveweight gain. The plant does, however, contain the non-protein amino acid, mimosine, which is degraded within the rumen to 3-hydroxy-4(1H)-pyridone (3,4-DHP) with potential to cause adverse effects on animal health and production. Stock can be protected via rumen inoculation with the bacterium Synergistes jonesii, which is capable of degrading the toxin. However, surveys have demonstrated that subclinical toxicity persists in Queensland herds (Dalzell et al. 2012).

Currently, testing for toxicity involves analysis of urine samples using high performance liquid chromato-graphy (HPLC); a colorimetric urine test protocol has also been developed with the aim of providing a robust and reliable means for routinely testing herds (Graham et al. 2013). A significant problem affecting interpretation of the results from either method is the high variation in the concentrations of toxins excreted by animals on similar diets and by individual animals over time (Dalzell et al. 2012). Factors such as feed intake, water consumption and urine volume, as well as timing of sampling may be the cause of this variation.

This research investigated the effects of sample timing by measuring the time taken for mimosine and its breakdown products to present in the urine following the introduction of leucaena to the ration of cattle naïve to the plant.

Item ID: 82843
Item Type: Article (Short Note)
ISSN: 2346-3775
Keywords: Leucaena, toxicity, mimosine, 3-hydroxy-4(1H)-pyridine, 2,3-Dihydroxypyridine, steers, Synergistes jonesii
Copyright Information: ropical Grasslands−Forrajes Tropicalesis an open-access journal published by Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
Date Deposited: 11 Jul 2024 01:17
FoR Codes: 30 AGRICULTURAL, VETERINARY AND FOOD SCIENCES > 3003 Animal production > 300399 Animal production not elsewhere classified @ 100%
SEO Codes: 10 ANIMAL PRODUCTION AND ANIMAL PRIMARY PRODUCTS > 1004 Livestock raising > 100401 Beef cattle @ 50%
10 ANIMAL PRODUCTION AND ANIMAL PRIMARY PRODUCTS > 1005 Pasture, browse and fodder crops > 100505 Sown pastures (excl. lucerne) @ 50%
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