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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

Alan J. Duncan ,
Pilar y  and
Sheila A. Young
Alan J. Duncan*
Affiliation:
Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen, AB15 8QH, UK
Pilar y
Affiliation:
Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen, AB15 8QH, UK
Sheila A. Young
Affiliation:
Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen, AB15 8QH, UK
*
*Corresponding author: Dr Alan Duncan, fax +44 (0) 1224 311556, email a.duncan@mluri.sari.ac.uk
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Abstract

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

Keywords

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

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