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Cited by 84Ruminant Nutrition and Digestive PhysiologyAnimal Nutrition and PhysiologyAnaerobic Digestion and Biogas Production

Use of gallic acid and hydrolyzable tannins to reduce methane emission and nitrogen excretion in beef cattle fed a diet containing alfalfa silage1,2

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Aboagye, Isaac A, Oba, Masahito, Koenig, Karen M, Zhao, Guangyong Y, Beauchemin, Karen A·2019·Journal of Animal Science
DOI 10.1093/jas/skz101PMC PMC6488321
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Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of different forms of hydrolyzable tannin [HT; source (chestnut, CN; tannic acid, TA); subunit (gallic acid, GA)] on apparent total-tract digestibility, methane (CH4) production, and nitrogen (N) utilization in beef cattle fed an alfalfa silage-based diet. Eight ruminally cannulated heifers with an initial BW of 480 ± 29.2 kg (mean ± SD) were used in a double 4 × 4 Latin square experiment. The experiment consisted of four 28-d periods (14-d adaptation, 14-d measurements) and a 7-d washout between periods. The animals received a basal diet with 19.8% CP (DM basis) content containing 75% alfalfa silage, 20% barley silage, and 5% supplement (DM basis) with or without different forms of HT. The dietary treatments were as follows: control (no HT), GA (1.5% of diet DM), TA (1.5% of diet DM), and CN (2% of diet DM). Animals were fed 95% of their ad libitum intake during the measurement phase. Total fecal excretion was collected for 4 d, CH4 was measured for 72 h using respiration chambers, and ruminal fermentation variables and plasma urea N (PUN) concentration were measured on 2 nonconsecutive days before and after feeding. The restricted DM (DMI; 10.79 ± 1.076 kg/d) and nutrient intakes did not differ (P ≥ 0.22) among treatments. Furthermore, apparent DM digestibility (60.3 ± 0.86%) was not affected (P = 0.20) by treatment, but CP digestibility decreased for TA and CN compared with control and GA treatments (63.1 vs. 69.0%; P < 0.001). Total VFA concentration tended (P = 0.089) to increase for GA compared with control and TA (134 vs. 125 and 126 mM) and intermediate for CN (129 mM). The PUN concentration was lower for all HT treatments compared with control (196 vs. 213 mg/L; P = 0.02). Both TA and CN increased the proportion of N excreted in feces and decreased the proportion in urine compared with control and GA (43.9% vs. 37.8% and 56.1% vs. 62.2%; respectively; P < 0.001). However, the proportion of urea N in urinary N decreased for all HT treatments compared with control (47.2% vs. 51.2%; P = 0.02). Also, GA tended to decrease CH4/DMI (20.4 vs. 22.3 g/kg DMI; P = 0.07) and decreased the proportion of GE intake emitted as CH4 (5.16 vs. 5.71%; P = 0.04) compared with control. Thus, among the different forms of HT applied to a high-protein alfalfa silage-based diet, both TA and CN had no effect on CH4 production, but decreased CP digestibility and shifted N excretion from urine to feces, whereas GA (i.e., HT subunit) decreased CH4 production and decreased the proportion of urea N in urinary N in beef cattle without affecting CP digestibility. Thus, feeding the HT subunit, GA, has the potential to decrease environment impact of ruminants (lower CH4 and ammonia emissions), without decreasing animal performance.

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  • As a subunit of hydrolyzable tannin, gallic acid has the potential to decrease the environmental impact of ruminants by lowering CH4 and NH3 emissions without decreasing animal performance.

    “As a subunit of HT, gallic acid has the potential to decrease the environmental impact of ruminants (by lowering CH4 and NH3 emissions) without decreasing animal performance (180).”

    From Phytogenic Additives Can Modulate Rumen Microbiome to Mediate Fermentation Kinetics and Methanogenesis Through Exploiting Diet–Microbe Interaction (2020) · cites this paper as [180]

    The Introduction identifies gallic acid as a component of hydrolyzable tannins, and the Methane Emission Measurement conclusion says it has potential to lower CH4 without reducing feed digestibility in beef cattle on a high-protein forage diet (page unavailable). But that conclusion says gallic acid may not reduce overall NH3 emissions from manure relative to the other tannins; it proposes N2O, not NH3, as the other emission it may lower. The paper reports feed intake and digestibility, not animal performance directly. (LLM, conf=0.90)

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Authors
Aboagye, I. A., Oba, M., Koenig, K. M., Zhao, G. Y., & Beauchemin, K. A.
Affiliations
  • Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (CA)
  • University of Alberta (CA)
  • China Agricultural University (CN)
Corresponding author
Beauchemin, Karen A
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Animal Science
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2019-03-25
Volume
97
Issue
5
Pages
2230-2244
ISSN
  • 0021-8812 (ISSN-L)
  • 1525-3163
DOI
10.1093/jas/skz101
PMC
PMC6488321
OpenAlex
W2942954659
Cited by
84
References
53
Citations by year
2026: 13 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 5
FWCI
13.00
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Animal Science (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Agronomy and Crop Science › Ruminant Nutrition and Digestive Physiology
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Animal Science and Zoology › Animal Nutrition and Physiology
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Building and Construction › Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Production
Keywords
gallic acid, hydrolysable tannins, chestnut tannin, tannic acid, methane emissions, enteric methane, nitrogen excretion, beef cattle, alfalfa silage, rumen fermentation, volatile fatty acids, plasma urea nitrogen, protein digestibility, ruminant feed additives, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, nitrogen use efficiency, heifers, barley silage
MeSH terms
Diet, High-Protein, Medicago sativa, Ammonia, Animals, Hordeum, Cattle, Diet, Feces, Female, Fermentation, Gallic Acid, Methane, Nitrogen, Silage, Urea, Dietary Supplements, Hydrolyzable Tannins

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