Project manager: Peter Udén
PhD student: Martin Lorenz
The project will last for 4 years and the objectives will be achieved by a multidisciplinary approach, involving 10 countries. The key agronomic, genetic, nutritional and veterinary properties of available sainfoin germplasm (Onobrychis viciifolia) will be studied for their benefits to ruminant production and the environment in the EU. The research and development workpackages address the following specific objectives of HealthyHay:
Provision of plant material, broad agronomic evaluation, detailed agronomic evaluation, establishing the biological and chemical basis, biological and chemical evaluation, nutritional and environmental benefits, assessment of anthelmintic or antiparasitic effects, studying the unique properties of sainfoin, development of screening tools and exploitation and dissemination of results.
Sweden is mainly taking part in two workpackages:
Nutritional analysis
Objectives: A large number of sainfoin varieties will be characterised for the nutritive value by standard feed analysis methods. The nutritional and potential environmental effects of qualitative and quantitative differences in tannins will be assessed using in vitro rumen fermentation systems. The results will be related to the NIR spectra obtained in another workpackage. This will be done in Reading, UK.
Methodology:
Sweden will focus on the distribution of N in amino acids, peptides and buffer soluble and insoluble proteins both in ensiled and unensiled material with and without addition of PEG, which inhibits the binding effects of tannins to proteins. We will also study protein degradation rates by different in vitro methods.
Characterising the protein-binding affinities of sainfoin tannins
Objectives: Different sainfoin tannins will be compared with tannins from well-studied varieties of Lotus corniculatus and L. pedunculatus. Protein-binding strengths and effects on protein degradation rate and extent will be assessed.
Methodology: Isothermal titration calorimetry will be used to determine the binding strenghts in tannin-protein complexes. HPLC-GPC analysis will determine the molecular weight distributions of the tannins; this information is needed in order to calculate the molar enthalpies of the tannin-protein interactions. The above work will be done in Reading, UK. The isolated tannins will be used to examine their specific effects on proteolysis, using an inhibited in vitro system. Here, bacterial protein synthesis is inhibited and protein degradation kinetics is estimated from the bacterial release of amino acids and ammonia.
We will isolate peptides, small enough to not complex with tannins. This may be done by removing protein-tannin complexes by centrifugation from partially digested casein with added tannins or by molecular sieving. Then, this peptide fraction will be used to study its metabolism by mixed rumen bacteria in the presence of tannins.
More information:
Healthy Hay website
The re-invention of Sainfoin (pdf)