Attempts to deactivate tannins in fodder shrubs with physical and chemical treatments

Chopping, water sprinkling, storage under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, urea, wood ash, activated charcoal and polyethylene glycol 4000 (PEG) treatments were evaluated for their efficiency in deactivating tannins in shrub foliage. In a first trial, fresh leaves of Acacia cyanophylla Lindl. (acacia) were stored after chopping or without chopping and spraying or without spraying with water under aerobic or anaerobic conditions. The plant material was stored for 1, 7 and 14 days and analysed thereafter for extractable total phenols (TP), extractable total tannins (TT) and extractable condensed tannins (CT) contents. Chopping and water spraying substantially decreased the levels of TP, TT and CT of acacia. The rate of tannin deactivation increased in acacia stored under anaerobic conditions. Acacia stored for 7 days exhibited lower TP, TT and CT contents than that stored for only 1 day. Compared to the 7-day storage period, there was a further non-significant decrease in the level of these phenolic compounds when the storage duration was extended to 14 days. The highest level of rumen degradation of crude protein (CP) in sheep rumen was obtained with chopped, water sprinkled acacia leaves stored under anaerobic conditions. The second trial investigated the effect of increasing levels of urea (0, 20, 40, 60 and 80 g/kg) and treatment duration (7, 14, 21 and 28 days) on CP, TP, TT and CT in acacia leaves. The 20 g/kg urea level was sufficient to totally deactivate tannins in acacia even with the shortest storage period, i.e. 7 days. However, urea treatment increased ash-free neutral detergent fibre content and did not improve in sacco acacia degradation. In the third trial air-dried 1 mm ground samples of acacia and kermes oak (Quercus coccifera L.) leaves were added to water (control), acacia wood ash, activated charcoal or PEG solutions (100 g/kg) at 1:10 (w/v) and shaken for 20 min. All these four treatments decreased TP, TT and CT contents and could be classified on the basis of their deactivation rate as wood ash = PEG > activated charcoal = water. In conclusion, the physical techniques tested in this study were found to be efficient in decreasing phenolic compounds in acacia leaves. The ideal treatment would be to spray water on the chopped leaves, which thereafter should be stored in sealed bags for at least 7 days. Although urea treatment deactivated these secondary compounds totally, it did not improve the nutritive value of acacia. Wood ash treatment seems to be a promising technique to deactivate tannins in shrub foliage and further studies on this inexpensive and locally available product should be encouraged.