Natural intoxication caused by protodioscin in lambs kept in Brachiaria pastures

• Published in: Tropical animal health and production Vol. 53; no. 3
• Main Authors: da Costa, Marlova Cristina Mioto, Ítavo, Luís Carlos Vinhas, Ítavo, Camila Celeste Brandão Ferreira, Dias, Alexandre Menezes, dos Santos Difante, Gelson, Buschinelli de Goes, Rafael Henrique de Tonissi, de Souza Leal, Eduardo, Nonato, Lucimara Modesto, Kozerski, Noemila Débora, de Moraes, Gabriella Jorgetti, Niwa, Marcus Vinicius Garcia, Gurgel, Antonio Leandro Chaves, de Souza Arco, Thais Fernanda Farias
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01-09-2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Biomedical and Life Sciences; Blood; Body weight; Brachiaria; Chromium oxides; Defoliation; Degradation; Digestibility; Dry matter; Forage; Grazing; High performance liquid chromatography; Intoxication; Kinetics; Leaves; Life Sciences; Liquid chromatography; Parameters; Pasture; Plucking; Poisoning; Regrowth; Regular Articles; Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science; Zoology; Gas production; Volatile fatty acid; Lamb; Saponin; Digestibility
• ISSN: 0049-4747; 1573-7438
• DOI: 10.1007/s11250-021-02775-3

Protodioscin poisoning of
Brachiaria
spp. has been a serious problem for lambs in grazing systems. The defoliation process can stimulate the appearance of new leaves and, the younger leaves have a lower concentration of protodioscin. Thus, it was aimed to assess the effect of different leaf offerings on the protodioscin content in forage and if protodioscin can interfere with the dry matter intake (DMI) and on metabolic and productive parameters of lambs. Twelve tester lambs (average weight 17.5 ± 3.48 kg) were divided into four groups of different levels of dry leafy matter (60, 75, 90, or 105 g/kg body weight). In addition to these, 33 regulator lambs were used as needed to adjust the leaf offerings of pasture. The animals were divided and kept in 12 paddocks, each with a tester lamb. The DMI was estimated using chromic oxide as an external marker. In vitro digestibility and degradation kinetics and ruminal, blood, and urinary parameters were measured in the forage sampled by the hand plucking method. The protodioscin concentration in forage was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. The DMI increased linearly as a result of the supply of leaves. However, the protodioscin content and its consumption showed a quadratic behavior. There was no effect of leaf supply on in vitro digestibility, in vitro degradation kinetics of forage, and on ruminal, blood, and urinary parameters of lambs. However, a negative correlation was observed between the DMI and the concentration of protodioscin at the highest level of leaf supply. This is due to the fact that in the most intense grazing, there is a stimulus for greater regrowth; therefore, there was an increase in the concentration of protodioscin in forages in older forages. Protodioscin poisoning was confirmed by urinary and blood parameters.