Tithonia diversifolia forage for the control of gastrointestinal strongyles in young cattle

Yohanka Lezcano-Más¹, Mildrey Soca-Pérez², Eugenio Roque-López³, FélixOjeda-Garc ía², Rey. Machado-Castro² and Dayamí Fontes-Marrero⁴

¹Universidad de Matanzas. Carretera a Varadero Autopista, km 3 ½ Matanzas, Cuba
² Estación Experimental de Pastos y Forrajes Indio Hatuey, Universidad de Matanzas, Cuba
³ Universidad Agraria de La Habana, Mayabeque, Cuba
⁴ Universidad de Ciego de Ávila Máximo Gómez Báez, Ciego de Ávila, Cuba
E-mail: yohanka.lezcano@umcc.cu

ABSTRACT

A study was conducted in order to determine the effect of the inclusion of Tithonia diversifolia (tree marigold) forage on the control of the infestation by gastrointestinal strongyles in grazing young cattle, in the rainy (RS) and dry season (DS). The experimental design was completely randomized, with two treatments (tree marigold and supplementation with concentrate feed) and four repetitions in time. The evaluated indicators were: parasite rate (FEC) of gastrointestinal strongyles, protein percentage and phytochemical composition of the foliage. A significant effect was observed on the reduction of the parasite rate of the animals which consumed tree marigold forage (150 and 450 epg for the DS and RS, respectively), with regards to those of the control group, whose values exceeded 500 and 3 500 epg, respectively. It is concluded that the protein content and the presence of secondary metabolites contributed to the decrease of the parasite rate, for which tree marigold can be a forage plant with potential for ruminant production.

Key words: parasite diseases, metabolites, medicinal plants.

Parasite diseases, due to their high distribution, are considered one of the most important problems that affect cattle production worldwide, especially in tropical countries, where pastures constitute the feeding basis of ruminants and the edaphoclimatic conditions favor the development of these parasites (Nari, 2011; Soca et al., 2011).

Due to the above-explained facts, the establishment of integral control programs which consider such aspects as supplementation is necessary; for this purpose forage plants of high nutritional value can be used as part of the diets of the animals, especially those that contain secondary metabolites (Soca et al., 2010; Torres-Acosta et al., 2012).

Among these forage plants is Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl.) A. Gray (tree marigold) which originated in Central America and has been introduced in the tropic throughout the world (Murgueitio et al., 2013). This species has many qualities that allow to classify it as forage plant of high potential for animal production, among which its easy establishment, the resistance to frequent cutting and the tolerance to poor soils can be mentioned. It is appreciated among farmers for its acceptable nutritional value, mainly due to its capacity for nitrogen accumulation (Fasuyi et al., 2013; Ruiz et al., 2014).

It is a medicinal plant, acknowledged throughout the world for its biological properties because of the richness of its chemical structure, in which phenolic compounds and alkaloids are present (Abe et al., 2015), besides essential oils with significant antibacterial and antioxidant activity (Miranda et al., 2016). However, the studies related to its antiparasitic properties in animals are scarce. For all the above-mentioned reasons, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the inclusion of T. diversifolia forage on the control of the infestation by gastrointestinal strongyles in grazing young cattle.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Location and climate. The study was conducted at the Pastures and Forages Research Station Indio Hatuey (EEPFIH), in the Perico municipality, Matanzas province, Cuba. The soil has flat topography and is classified as lixiviated Ferralitic Red (Hernández et al., 2003). In the experimental area, the climate is characterized by two well-defined seasons: a rainy (RS) one from May to October, when 80 % of the rainfall occurs; and a dry season (DS), from November to April. The mean annual rainfall is higher than 1 200 mm and the average temperature is 25 ºC.

Experimental design. A completely randomized design was used, with two treatments: A) T. diversifolia forage + king grass CT-169 + mineral salts ad libitum (experimental), and B) commercial concentrate feed for calves (1 kg/animal/day) + king grass CT-169 + mineral salts ad libitum (control). For the calculation of the T. diversifolia intake the offered feed-consumption-refused feed relation was considered, until being included in 40 % of the diet. The animals had an adaptation period of 21 days before starting the experiment.

Animals. Calves of both sexes were used (nine animals per treatment), of the genotype 5/8 Holstein x 3/8 Zebu, with an age of six months and an average weight of 86 kg, which were homogeneously distributed at the beginning of the experiment with regards to the parasite infestation rate, expressed in the fecal egg count (FEC). The study lasted for two years and in both of them the DS and RS were evaluated, in study cycles of six months, for which it was necessary to change the animals at the beginning of each cycle, considering the defined characteristics regarding weight, age and genotype.

Experimental area. All the animals grazed in the same area (2 ha), divided into fourteen paddocks of approximately 1 428 m² (0,14 ha each) and a strip for the access to water. Regarding the pastureland management, a rotation was made every 42 days (three days of permanence and 39 resting days) in both seasons. The floristic composition is shown in table 1.

The animals stayed in restricted rotational grazing (3-5 hours) in the morning, and the remainder of the day, in confinement, where they received the feedstuffs that composed the diet.

Experimental measurements. Every fifteen days the rate of parasite infestation by gastrointestinal strongyles was determined, through the modified McMaster technique, described by Arece et al. (2002). Additionally, the feces were pooled for each experimental group, in order to determine the genera present in each one (Roberts and O'Sulivan, 1952).

For the determination of the crude protein and the qualitative characterization of the secondary metabolites present in the edible fraction (leaves and fresh stems), the experimental procedure suggested by Lezcano et al. (2012a, 2012b) was taken into consideration.

Statistical analysis. The program Infostat, free version, was used, from the inference procedure based on two samples for t-test, with a significance level of p < 0,05.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The use of T. diversifolia forage as supplement in the diet of grazing young cattle produced a significant effect on the reduction of the parasite rate of the animals in both seasons, which reaffirms the potentialities of this species for animal production in the tropics.

In the DS (fig. 1) the parasite rate showed stable values that did not exceed 150 epg, which are considered low and do not affect the production threshold of the animals, according to Quiroz et al. (2011). However, in the group which did not consume forage the values of the FEC were higher than 500 epg.

This same trend could be appreciated in the RS (fig. 2). Thus, the experimental treatment showed significant differences with regards to the control during the months from September to November, with FEC values lower than those of the animals which did not consume forage as supplement. It should be stated that the control treatment showed an infestation peak since that moment and reached parasite rates higher than 3 500 epg, for which it was necessary to apply another control strategy, because otherwise the life of the animals would be endangered.

The results, in both seasons, were related to the consumption of the forage plant, which contributed to improving the protein-energy ratio in the diet of the animals, if the nutritional value of this plant is taken into consideration (table 2). According to Medina et al. (2009) and González-Castillo et al. (2014) this species shows high contents of protein, soluble carbohydrates and tannins, which help to improve the ruminal balance regarding the energy and protein contribution. The above-explained facts imply higher efficiency for the transformation of ammonia into microbial protein, and a decrease in the energy costs of the animals (Gallego-Castro et al., 2014).

According to Ekeocha (2012), for its chemical composition this species is appropriate to be used as protein concentrate feed in ruminants, and can be a good substitute of raw materials such as wheat bran, due to its acceptable crude fiber and nitrogen content; this allows the animal to obtain the energy it requires for its productive development.

The supplementation with protein forage plants improves the nitrogen contribution to the rumen, but to maximize the efficiency the use of adequate carbohydrate sources, soluble as well as structural, is necessary. T. diversifolia has a favorable composition in protein and carbohydrates, compared with other forage shrub species (Gallego-Castro et al., 2014).

In this sense, several authors have mentioned the role of nutrition, and especially of protein (Hoste et al., 2005; Torres-Acosta et al., 2012; Arece et al., 2013), as one of the factors with higher influence on the host parasite relation, because in animals that consume diets with acceptable protein contents it decreases the susceptibility and prevalence of parasites, immunological statuses and capacities to produce under parasite infestation are developed, and less severe pathophysiological effects and clinical signs are observed than in those that ingest diets with low protein values.

On the other hand, tree marigold shows secondary metabolites in the edible fraction leaf-fresh stem (table 2) which from the practical point of view is the most used by the animals, with tannins standing out, which increase the formation of bypass protein in the rumen, facilitate digestibility and contribute to an adequate digestive functioning (Ruiz et al., 2014), and alkaloids, which are the most representative in this forage plant. Such compounds stand out among the biochemical substances with anthelmintic effect on parasite control (Medina et al., 2014).

Because of the complexity of the involved elements, it is difficult to infer exactly what could be occurring in this process, because the information is scarce and is the object of profound discussion. There are several hypotheses about the action mechanism of secondary metabolites and their interrelation with gastrointestinal nematodes, explained in literature through the anthelmintic activity of tannins, which is supported on the capacity of forming complexes with the proteins of the parasites of the gastrointestinal tract or binding to the free proteins and reducing the availability of nutrients (which causes larval death due to inanition), or binding to the cuticle of the glycoprotein-rich larvae and causing their death (Cala et al., 2012; Hoste et al., 2012). Nevertheless, it is very likely that antiparasitic effects are not only the result of a specific metabolite, but that they are also due to the combined presence or to the synergism among them.

T. diversifolia is one of the most used medicinal plants throughout the world for its varied biological properties, such as: antiparasitic, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial (Chagas-Paula et al., 2012). Terpenoids and sesquiterpene lactones comprise the most studied classes of secondary metabolites and the ones with the highest phytochemical interest, due to its pharmacological potentialities (Abe et al., 2015), which are mainly found in the edible parts and whose therapeutic actions as diuretic, expectorant and healing elements are acknowledged (Villalba and Provenza, 2005).

It is concluded that the utilization of the T. diversifolia forage as supplement in the diet of grazing young cattle constitutes a strategy for the control of gastrointestinal strongyles, from the results in the parasite rate of these animals.

The authors thank the collaboration of researchers Milagros de la Caridad Milera, Yolai Noda and Juan Francisco González, of the EEPFIH, without whose help it would have been impossible to finish this study and to publish its results.