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. 2025 Aug 12;12(8):749.
doi: 10.3390/vetsci12080749.

Effects of Dietary Inclusion of Tannin-Based Supplements on Performance and Health of Yearling Beef Heifers Grazing Toxic, Endophyte-Infected Tall Fescue

Miriam A Snider  1   2 , Cody E Gruber  3   4 , Robin A Cheek  3 , Tom Hess  2 , Elizabeth B Kegley  3 , Jeremy G Powell  3 , G Doug Hufstedler  5 , J Daniel Rivera  1 , M Shane Gadberry  2
Affiliations

Effects of Dietary Inclusion of Tannin-Based Supplements on Performance and Health of Yearling Beef Heifers Grazing Toxic, Endophyte-Infected Tall Fescue

Miriam A Snider et al. Vet Sci. .

Abstract

This study evaluated dietary inclusion of tannin-based feed additives on heifer performance and physiological measures associated with fescue toxicosis and vaccine response. Forty-five yearling beef heifers (292.6 ± 29.0 kg) grazing toxic, endophyte-infected (E+) tall fescue pastures were assigned to 1 of 3 treatment groups: (1) soybean hulls (SH; n = 3 pastures), (2) SH and BX tannin-saponin additive (BX; 10.0 g heifer-1 d-1; n = 3 pastures), and (3) SH and ATX tannin-polyphenol additive (ATX; 5.0 g heifer-1 d-1; n = 3 pastures). Treatments were administered over an 84 d period. Data were analyzed using R and SAS 9.4 with treatment as a fixed effect, block as a random effect, and pasture as the experimental unit. Treatment effects were assessed at the pasture level. Average daily gain (ADG) of heifers receiving ATX (0.53 kg/d) and BX (0.49 kg/d) were increased relative to heifers receiving SH only (0.23 kg/d) between D56 and D84 (p = 0.07). There was no impact of treatment on other performance measures (p > 0.15) or on serum metabolite responses including bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BHV-1) titers (p > 0.15), prolactin (p = 0.97), haptoglobin (p = 0.26), and blood urea nitrogen (BUN; p = 0.38). Preliminary results show the potential for improved weight gain, suggesting further investigation with more experimental units is warranted.

Keywords: animal performance; ergot alkaloids; fescue toxicosis; plant secondary metabolites; serum metabolites; tannins; yearlings.

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Conflict of interest statement

G.D.H is a technical consultant for Silvateam USA, New York, NY, USA. All other authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Daily average temperatures at the Livestock and Forestry Research Station beginning April 5 (D0) and ending June 28 (D84; blue) including historical averages (1942–2023; orange) and historical 95% confidence intervals (CI; 1942–2023, gray). Weigh days (D0, D28, D56, and D84) are designated in red.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Total daily precipitation at the Livestock and Forestry Research Station beginning April 5 (D0) and ending June 28 (D84; blue) including historical daily averages (1942–2023; orange) and historical 95% confidence intervals (CI; 1942–2023, gray). Weigh days (D0, D28, D56, and D84) are designated in red.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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