Short Lecture "Polyphenol composition and antioxidant capacity of multispecies pastures grown in Ireland – medicinal implications for sustainable ruminant nutrition"

Recent intensification of ruminant production systems has led to a rise in both nitrogen pollution and occurrence of animal diseases. Integration of multispecies pastures, comprising grasses, forage legumes and herbs, may offer a promising strategy to reduce nitrogen fertilizer usage, while also introducing a variety of phytochemicals with potential benefits for animal health. In particular, polyphenols have been linked to antioxidant, antimicrobial and anthelmintic properties. This study compares the phenolic composition of multispecies (comprising perennial ryegrass, timothy, white clover, red clover, chicory and plantain) to two other conventional grazing systems (monoculture ryegrass and binary-culture ryegrass and white clover) during the Irish summer grazing season (July-September). Polyphenolic concentrations and antioxidant capacity were assessed using colorimetric assays (TPC, FRAP and DPPH) and Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry/Mass Spectrometry. Total Phenolic Content (TPC) was found to be higher in multispecies (65.55 GAE mg/g) (p<0.01), with concentrations having one-and-a-half-fold increase from July to September (p<0.01). Multispecies had the highest mean levels of formononetin (7.76 mg/g) and biochanin A (2.80 mg/g) (p<0.05). In contrast, chlorogenic acid was the predominant polyphenol in monoculture and binary systems, with 19.02 and 10.69 mg/g, respectively (p<0.05), whereas multispecies contained 4.65 mg/g. Nonetheless, multispecies had the highest antioxidant capacity mean values (246.54 µM TroloxE/g and 34.17% DPPH inhibitory activity) among the three systems (p<0.05). Combining different plant species in multispecies pastures can positively impact the environment, in addition to providing a synergistic effect on the medicinal properties of the feeding system.

 

MissingLinkText

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
16. November 2023