The use of plant wax alkanes as marker substances in studies of the nutrition of herbivores: a review

1991 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 913 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Dove ◽  
RW Mayes
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Chemical Constituents ◽  
Individual Plant ◽  
Botanical Composition ◽  
Plant Parts ◽  
Herbage Intake ◽  
Marker Substances ◽  
Pulse Dose ◽  
Sampling Procedures ◽  
Plant Wax

This review discusses the potential use of plant wax components, especially n-alkanes, as markers for estimating herbage intake, estimating the botanical composition of consumed herbage and studying digesta kinetics. Previous approaches to making these measurements are discussed briefly. Attention is drawn to the fact that current methods for estimating intake do not adequately allow for differences between individual animals. It is also suggested that the markers currently used to estimate botanical composition or study digesta kinetics are inadequate. The nature of the chemical constituents of plant waxes is briefly discussed and the concept of using alkanes to estimate intake is introduced. Particular emphasis is given to the fact that although the recovery of alkanes in faeces is not complete, intake can still be estimated using a pair of alkanes (one natural, one dosed) provided these have similar faecal recoveries. The accuracy of estimation of intake is discussed in terms of: obtaining a representative sample of herbage; alkane dosing and faecal sampling procedures; validity of the assumption of similar recoveries for the natural and dosed alkanes; sample preparation and analysis. Published comparisons of estimated and actual intakes are presented, with the conclusion that satisfactory results are obtained if intake is estimated using natural C33 alkane and dosed C32 alkane. The use of the different patterns of alkanes in herbage species, as a means of estimating botanical composition, is then discussed. Results are presented showing this can be done successfully with herbage mixtures or oesophageal extrusa. Procedures are then described for making the corrections for incomplete faecal alkane recovery, necessary to estimate the botanical composition of the herbage consumed by the free-grazing animal. This allows the quantification of the intake of individual plant species by individual animals, and it is suggested that this can be achieved without the need for oesophageally-fistulated (OF) animals. Differences in alkane levels between plant parts within a species are then discussed. It is suggested that these can lead to error in the estimation of intake, if OF animals should consume plant parts different from those consumed by the test animals. However, it is also suggested that differences in alkane levels between plant parts can be used to quantify the intake of these parts, in a manner analogous to the estimation of the intake of individual plant species. The usefulness of alkanes in studies of digesta kinetics is then discussed, principally in relation to the natural alkanes, which remain intimately associated with plant particles in the gut. It is suggested that natural alkanes could prove excellent markers for studies of particle breakdown and digesta flow. The preparation of natural 14C-labelled alkane, for use as a pulse dose in mean retention time studies, is also discussed.

The use of sheep fitted with oesophageal fistulas to measure diet quality

1964 ◽  
Vol 4 (12) ◽  
pp. 71 ◽  
Author(s):  
GW Arnold ◽  
WR McManus ◽  
IG Bush ◽  
J Ball
Keyword(s):  
Daily Intake ◽  
Sampling Period ◽  
Complete Recovery ◽  
Mean Value ◽  
Soluble Carbohydrates ◽  
Soluble Carbohydrate ◽  
Botanical Composition ◽  
Herbage Intake ◽  
Sources Of Variation ◽  
Sampling Procedures

Ewes and wethers with oesophageal fistulas were compared with normal sheep in several experiments over three years. The grazing behaviour, herbage intake, liveweight changes, and ability to bear and rear lambs were altered little by fistulation, provided fistulas were less than 5 cm in length and closure of the fistulas was good. This was so even at a relatively high stocking rate of G ewes to the acre. These findings infer that studies with fistulated sheep provide information validly applicable to normal sheep. Fistulas that allowed good closure control (<5 cm in length) did not always allow complete recovery of ingested material. However, with incomplete recovery representative diet samples were obtained. Sampling procedures for obtaining adequately representative diet samples for individual sheep, and for obtaining estimates of diet composition for flocks of sheep on different pastures were established. The routine that must be followed to avoid obtaining untrue diet samples is to sample sheep when they are accustomed to a pasture, without prior fasting, and at the time(s) of the day when sheep are normally grazing. An hour's sampling period will collect about l/l0th of the total daily intake and longer periods may cause rumen dysfunction. Pooling data from once-a-day samples for two successive days for an individual sheep seemed to give accurate values for the whole diet over those two days for sheep set stocked on pasture. Variation between-sheep, between-days, and within-days in the nitrogen and soluble carbohydrate content and botanical composition of extrusa samples was studied. The contribution of these sources of variation to total variation differed for different diet constituents. For nitrogen, between-sheep variation was greater than between-day variation but for soluble carbohydrates the position was reversed. Within-day variation was much the same as between-day variation in a constituent. The standard deviations of nitrogen and soluble carbohydrate contents and botanical composition were large and a true mean value for any of these parameters for a flock of sheep, could only be obtained by pooling data for several sheep on several successive days.

Plant Preservation and the Content of Paleobotanical Samples: A Case Study

1981 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 723-742 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Hally
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Individual Plant ◽  
Plant Parts ◽  
Plant Utilization ◽  
Functional Nature ◽  
Plant Processing ◽  
Early Historic

Paleobotanical samples recovered from the floors of three domestic structures at an early historic (A.D. 1550-1700) site in northwestern Georgia are here compared. Several factors-excavation procedures, duration of structure occupancy, functional nature of structures, nature and timing of structure abandonment-which probably contributed to inter-sample variability are discussed. Consideration of the frequency of individual plant species in the samples and of the ethnohistorical evidence for aboriginal plant processing leads to the conclusion that most variability can be attributed to whether or not structures burned and when during the year burning occurred. The analysis demonstrates that the manner in which plant parts become carbonized has a major impact on the accuracy with which paleobotanical remains reflect actual plant utilization.

Application of n-alkanes as diet composition markers in grazing/browsing goats and sheep: effect of using different faecal recovery corrections and plant species grouping approaches

2007 ◽  
Vol 58 (11) ◽  
pp. 1013 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Oliván ◽  
L. M. M. Ferreira ◽  
U. García ◽  
R. Celaya ◽  
K. Osoro
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Diet Composition ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Calluna Vulgaris ◽  
Individual Plant ◽  
Botanical Composition ◽  
Agrostis Capillaris ◽  
Dietary Components ◽  
Equal Weighting ◽  
Species Grouping

The present study aimed to test the effect of applying different sets of n-alkane faecal recoveries and different plant species grouping approaches on the estimates of the diet selected by goats and sheep when grazing/browsing complex vegetation communities composed of mosaics of heather-gorse vegetation interspersed with patches of perennial ryegrass. The use of different sets of n-alkane faecal recoveries significantly affected the estimated proportions of most vegetation components in both animal species. The diet estimates were also significantly affected by the calculation approach: A1 (using all individual plant species); A2 (grouping plant species with similar n-alkane profile, with equal weighting within the group); and A3 (grouping plant species with similar n-alkane profile, with different weighting according to the botanical composition of the plot). There was a significant interaction between calculation approach (A) and faecal recovery sets (FR) on the resulting estimates of the Ericaceae species in the diet of goats and of all diet components in sheep. When using A1 approach, the estimated proportion of Agrostis capillaris in the diets was high and seemed to be overestimated, compared with its low availability (1.1% of total cover) in the field. However, the application of calculation approaches A2 and A3 gave lower dietary proportions of component D2 (Agrostis capillaris and Ulex gallii) and higher proportions of components D1 (Lolium perenne and Pseudarrhenatherum longifolium), D3 (Erica umbellata, Erica cinerea, Erica australis, Calluna vulgaris) and Erica arborea. These results indicate that the application of the n-alkane technique for estimation of the diet composition in field with complex vegetation conditions is sensitive to the use of faecal recovery corrections and to the grouping of possible dietary components.

The potential of urinary metabolites of plant compounds as indicators of botanical composition of the diet of goats

2001 ◽  
Vol 2001 ◽  
pp. 146-146
Author(s):  
B. L. Keir ◽  
R. W. Mayes ◽  
E. R. Ørskov
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Diet Composition ◽  
Urinary Metabolites ◽  
Individual Plant ◽  
Botanical Composition ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Plant Compounds ◽  
Heterogeneous Vegetation

Knowledge of the nutrition of free-ranging herbivores and the impact on their environment is often limited by lack of information concerning the botanical composition of their diets. For herbivores grazing heterogeneous vegetation environments, current methods for estimating the botanical composition of their diets are limited in their scope and accuracy. The purpose of this study was to establish whether urinary metabolites, occurring as a result of ingestion of different individual plant species, have the potential to be used as markers to estimate diet composition.

Spray-topping annual grass pasture with glyphosate to delay loss of feeding value during summer. II . Herbage intake, digestibility, and diet selection in penned sheep

1999 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 465 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. Leury ◽  
C. Siever-Kelly ◽  
R. J. Simpson ◽  
K. L. Gatford ◽  
H. Dove
Keyword(s):  
Volatile Fatty Acids ◽  
Nutritive Value ◽  
Soluble Carbohydrates ◽  
Soluble Carbohydrate ◽  
Individual Plant ◽  
Plasma Urea ◽  
Preference Testing ◽  
Plant Parts ◽  
Seed Head ◽  
Herbage Intake

The treatment of annual ryegrass–silver grass pasture with the herbicide glyphosate at seed head emergence delayed the loss of soluble carbohydrates and improved herbage digestibility. The present study investigated whether this improvement in nutritive value had any influence on the diet preference, intake, and performance of housed sheep. Since the effects of glyphosate on digestibility were most marked in stem tissue, preference was examined not only in relation to sprayed v. unsprayed herbage, but also in terms of preference for individual plant parts. In the preference testing, sheep showed a marked preference for sprayed rather than unsprayed herbage. They also consumed more of it, such that their digestible dry matter intake from sprayed herbage was nearly twice that from unsprayed herbage. When sheep were offered different plant fractions from the control herbage, they selected against stem material and preferred leaf or seed head. By contrast, when offered fractions from the sprayed material, they preferred stem to leaf, but showed no strong preference for stem over seed head. Preference was related more to the soluble carbohydrate content of a plant part than its digestibility, and only when soluble carbohydrate contents were similar was there preference for the more digestible material. The consumption of sprayed herbage, compared with control herbage, led to higher concentrations of rumen volatile fatty acids in the period 4 h after feeding. Moreover, the feeding of these herbages over a 6-week period resulted in significant reductions in pre-feeding plasma urea and β-hydroxybutyrate concentrations. When control herbage was fed with supplements of fructose, urea, or fructose+urea, in an attempt to mimic the possible differences in nutritive value between control and sprayed herbage, the responses in rumen and blood metabolites were less marked than when sprayed herbage was fed. As a consequence of the higher nutritive value of the sprayed herbage and the higher intakes by the animals fed this material, sheep fed sprayed herbage were able to maintain weight over the feeding period, whereas those offered the control herbage lost weight at 130–150 g/day

scholarly journals Measurement of dietary nutrient intake in free-ranging mammalian herbivores

2000 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. Mayes ◽  
Hugh Dove
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Diet Composition ◽  
Nutrient Content ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Isotope Discrimination ◽  
Mammalian Herbivores ◽  
Plant Parts ◽  
Dietary Nutrient ◽  
Plant Wax

AbstractThe nutrient intakes of mammalian herbivores depend on the amount and the nutrient content of the plant species and plant parts which they eat. We review the merits of oesophageal-fistulated (OF) animals, microhistological procedures, stable C-isotope discrimination and plant cuticular-wax markers as methods for estimating diet composition and intake in both ruminant and non-ruminant herbivores. We also briefly discuss methods based on grazing behaviour measurements or on H2O or Na turnover, and methods for estimating supplement or soil intake. Estimates of intake in ruminants are often based on separate measurements of faecal output and herbage digestibility. We review this approach and emphasize that, under some circumstances, the applicability ofin vitrodigestibility estimates based on OF extrusa is questionable. We discuss how plant-wax marker patterns can be used to check whether OF and test animals are consuming similar diets, but also emphasize that a major advantage of the use of plant-wax markers is that this approach may obviate altogether the need for OF animals. Estimates of total herbage intake can be partitioned into the intakes coming from different plant species and/or parts, provided diet composition can be measured. Diet composition estimates based on C-isotope discrimination have the major disadvantage that they cannot be taken to species level. By contrast, microhistological methods can identify many plant species in extrusa, digesta or faeces, but often a large proportion of plant fragments remains unidentifiable. Plant-wax hydrocarbons show great promise as markers for estimating diet composition and intake. However, we suggest that to be applicable in complex plant communities there is a need with this method either to recruit a wider range of wax markers (e.g. alcohols, sterols, fatty acids) or to use it in combination with other methods. We suggest that, in turn, this generates an urgent need for research on statistical aspects of the combined use of markers or methods, in relation to the error structures of the data or methods being combined and the standard errors of the resultant estimates of diet composition and intake. We conclude by discussing the extension of intake and/or diet composition measurements to the measurement of nutrient transactions within the gut, particularly in relation to the supply of absorbable nutrients.

Pharmacological Uses of the Plants Belonging to the Genus Commiphora

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Subbiah Latha ◽  
Palanisamy Selvamani ◽  
Thangavelu Prabha
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Dna Cleavage ◽  
Structural Information ◽  
Chemical Constituents ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Pharmacological Properties ◽  
Chemical Structures ◽  
Indigenous Uses ◽  
Available Information

: Natural products have a unique place in the healthcare industry. The genus Commiphora emerged as a potential medicinal with huge benefits as evidenced through its use in various traditional and modern systems of medicine. Therefore, we aimed to prepare a concise review on the pharmacological activities and the indigenous uses of various plant species belonging to the genus Commiphora along with the structural information of various active botanical ingredients present in these plants based on the published literatures and scientific reports. To collect the various published literatures on Commiphora in various journals; to study and classify the available information on the pharmacological uses and chemical constituents; and to present the gathered information as a precise review to serve as a potential reference for future research. Pharmacological and phytochemical data on Commiphora plant species were collected from various journals, books, reference materials, websites including scientific databases, etc for compilation. This review article describes the various pharmacological properties of plants of Commiphora species viz., Anti-arthritic and anti-inflammatory, Anti-atherogenic, Antibacterial, Anti-coagulant, Anti-dicrocoeliasis, Anti-epileptic, Anti-fascioliasis, Anti-fungal, Anti-heterophyidiasis, Anti-hyper cholesterolemic, Anti-hyperlipidemic, Anti-hypothyroidism, Anti-obesity, Anti-osteoarthritic, Anti-osteoclastogenesis, Anti-oxidant, Anti-parasitic, Anti-pyretic, Anti-schistosomiasis, Anti-septic, Anti-thrombotic, Anti-ulcer, Cardioprotective, COX enzyme inhibitory, Cytotoxic /Anti-carcinogenic/Anti-cancer, DNA cleavage, Hypotensive, Inhibits lipid peroxidation, Inhibits NO and NO synthase production, Insecticidal, Local anesthetic, Molluscicidal, Smooth muscle relaxant, Tick repellent activities along with toxicity studies. Furthermore, the review also included various secondary metabolites isolated from various species of Commiphora genus along with their chemical structures serve as a ready resource for researchers. We conclude that the plant species belonging to the genus Commiphora possesses abundant pharmacological properties with a huge treasure of diverse secondary metabolites within themselves. This review indicates the necessity of further in-depth research, pre-clinical and clinical studies with Commiphora genus which may help to detect the unidentified potential of the Commiphora plant species.

Medicinal plants and sustainable livelihood in Pauri district of Garhwal Himalaya, Uttarakhand, India.

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (06) ◽  
pp. 4589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vardan Singh Rawat
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Management ◽  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Skin Diseases ◽  
Sustainable Livelihoods ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Sustainable Livelihood ◽  
Plant Parts ◽  
Total Plant

The present study was conducted in the Thalisain block of Pauri Garhwal to document the medicinal plants used by the local communities. 53 plant species distributed in 38 families were documented. Of the total plant species 49% were herbs, 26% trees, 23% shrubs and 2% climbers. 16 different plant parts were used by local communities for different ailments. Medicinal plants were widely used by major sections of the community against common colds, cough, skin diseases, snake bite, fever, joint pains, bronchitis etc. Women and local healers called vaids have a vital role in environmental management due to traditional knowledge and use of plants as medicine with undocumented knowledge. It has been observed as one of the best option of sustainable livelihoods for the residents of the area.

scholarly journals Ethnomedical uses, chemical constituents, and evidence-based pharmacological properties of Chenopodium ambrosioides L.: extensive overview

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Félicien Mushagalusa Kasali ◽  
Jonans Tusiimire ◽  
Justin Ntokamunda Kadima ◽  
Amon Ganafa Agaba
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Chemical Constituents ◽  
Main Body ◽  
Pharmacological Properties ◽  
Chenopodium Ambrosioides ◽  
Traditional Medicines ◽  
Plant Parts ◽  
Chemical Studies ◽  
Ethnomedicinal Uses ◽  
Significant Health

Abstract Background The Chenopodium genus is a plant family widely spread worldwide that includes various plant species reputed to possess several medicinal virtues in folk medicines. Chenopodium ambrosioides L. is among the most used plants in traditional medicines worldwide. This review aimed to highlight ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemical status, and pharmacological properties of C. ambrosioides L. Main body of the abstract The analysis of relevant data highlights various ethnomedicinal uses against human and veterinary diseases in forty countries. Most indications consisted of gastrointestinal tract dysfunctioning troubles and worms parasitemia. Around 330 chemical compounds have been identified in different plant parts, especially in its essential oil fractions (59.84%). However, only a few compounds—mainly monoterpenes and glycosides—have been isolated and characterized. Experimental pharmacological studies validated a large scale of significant health benefits. It appeared that many monoterpenes are antioxidant, insecticidal, trypanocidal, analgesic, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritic, acaricidal, amoebicidal, anthelmintic, anticancer, antibacterial, antidiabetic, antidiarrheal, antifertility, antifungal, anti-leishmanial, antimalarial, antipyretic, antisickling, antischistosomal, antiulcer, anxiolytic, immunomodulatory, molluscicidal, and vasorelaxant agents. Short conclusion Thus, the Chenopodium ambrosioides species necessitates further chemical studies to isolate and characterize new bioactive secondary metabolites and pharmacological investigations to precise the mechanisms of action before clinical trials.

scholarly journals Geographic source estimation using airborne plant environmental DNA in dust

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chelsea Lennartz ◽  
Joel Kurucar ◽  
Stephen Coppola ◽  
Janice Crager ◽  
Johanna Bobrow ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Fungal Spores ◽  
Geographic Origin ◽  
Microscopic Analysis ◽  
Environmental Dna ◽  
Dust Sample ◽  
Accurate Estimate ◽  
Plant Parts ◽  
Settled Dust ◽  
Great Utility

AbstractInformation obtained from the analysis of dust, particularly biological particles such as pollen, plant parts, and fungal spores, has great utility in forensic geolocation. As an alternative to manual microscopic analysis of dust components, we developed a pipeline that utilizes the airborne plant environmental DNA (eDNA) in settled dust to estimate geographic origin. Metabarcoding of settled airborne eDNA was used to identify plant species whose geographic distributions were then derived from occurrence records in the USGS Biodiversity in Service of Our Nation (BISON) database. The distributions for all plant species identified in a sample were used to generate a probabilistic estimate of the sample source. With settled dust collected at four U.S. sites over a 15-month period, we demonstrated positive regional geolocation (within 600 km2 of the collection point) with 47.6% (20 of 42) of the samples analyzed. Attribution accuracy and resolution was dependent on the number of plant species identified in a dust sample, which was greatly affected by the season of collection. In dust samples that yielded a minimum of 20 identified plant species, positive regional attribution was achieved with 66.7% (16 of 24 samples). For broader demonstration, citizen-collected dust samples collected from 31 diverse U.S. sites were analyzed, and trace plant eDNA provided relevant regional attribution information on provenance in 32.2% of samples. This showed that analysis of airborne plant eDNA in settled dust can provide an accurate estimate regional provenance within the U.S., and relevant forensic information, for a substantial fraction of samples analyzed.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document