2022-08-12    Views: 0

The convergence performance of tannic acid enables it to effectively control animal diarrhea. In addition, tannic acid hydrolyzes in the body to produce glucose and gallic acid, which has the effect of reducing oxidative stress in the body. Tannic acid also has bactericidal, anti-inflammatory, antiviral and other effects, which are most important for the production of farmed animals.

Feed Tannins

Tannins are a common anti nutritional factor in various plants. Excessive tannin content in feed can have a significant impact on animals, while moderate amounts of tannins can promote animal health and production.
      Tannins are secondary metabolites of some plants, which can reduce their susceptibility to pests and pathogens, but also lower animal feed intake. Tannins are mainly found in leguminous grasses, rapeseed seeds, sorghum seeds, Liu’anzi powder, oak leaves, oak leaves, and fava beans and their processing by-products. For a long time, people have believed that tannins in feed have toxic effects on animals, but with further research, it has been found that tannins also have nutritional effects on animal growth and production. A comprehensive understanding of plant tannins is helpful for the correct application of tannin containing feed in production.
Physical and chemical properties

Tannic acid, also known as tannic acid, is a water-soluble phenolic compound with a relative molecular weight of 500 to 3000 daltons. It can be decomposed by weak acids under low heat conditions and inorganic acids under high temperature conditions. According to their chemical structure, tannins can be divided into two types: hydrolyzed tannins and condensed tannins. Hydrolyzed tannins are formed by esterification of polyphenolic compounds such as gallic acid, diacids, and hexahydroxyphenolic acid with carbohydrates as the center; Condensed tannins are condensation products based on flavan-3-ol and flavan-3,4-diol as basic units. Hydrolyzed tannins are broken down by acid, alkali, or hydrolytic enzymes (tannases) to produce sugars and some known phenolic carboxylic acids (such as gallic acid). Condensed tannins can be hydrolyzed into anthocyanins such as anthocyanins, delphinidin, and anthocyanins when heated in acidic alcohol solutions. Both types of tannins can form multiple hydrogen bonds with substrates through their own phenolic groups.

Nutritional Function – Rumen Protein Protector

The synthesis of rumen bacterial protein in ruminants is relatively stable and can usually meet the protein nutritional needs of medium and low yield ruminants. However, for high-yield ruminants, relying solely on the amino acids provided by rumen bacterial protein cannot meet their production needs. It is necessary to increase the amount of rumen protein to ensure normal production. Tannin is a natural rumen protein protector, with a pH value of 5-7 in the rumen. Tannins can form complexes with proteins to protect them from microbial enzyme degradation. When this tannin protein complex enters the abomasum (pH 2.5) and small intestine (pH 8-9), it is broken down by gastric protease and trypsin, forming small molecules that are easily absorbed, thus playing a protective role against rumen proteins. Research has found that when ruminant animals are fed with silage of Centella asiatica, red clover, and red clover, the degradation rate of protein in the rumen is significantly lower than that when fed with alfalfa silage, and the soluble non protein nitrogen content is negatively correlated with the tannin content in legume roughage.

Preventing Ruminant Gastric Swelling Disease

Due to the high solubility of soluble proteins in forage, rumen bloating may occur when animals consume leguminous forage, especially in spring when it is more frequent. However, when animals consume leguminous forage containing tannins, there is less occurrence of rumen bloating. This is because tannins can bind to multiple sites of proteins, causing changes in the spatial conformation of proteins and preventing their degradation in the digestive tract, thereby preventing rumen bloating. A research report shows that 5 grams of tannins per kilogram of dry matter in feed can effectively prevent the occurrence of bloating disease. Research has found that adding 0.17% condensed tannins to dairy cow diets can prevent the occurrence of bloating disease when alfalfa grass is the main source of roughage.

Resist parasitic infections in young livestock

Parasites in the rumen and small intestine can cause significant protein loss in young ruminant animals, and the damage suffered by the body must be repaired through protein synthesis, which will lead to a decrease in nitrogen deposition in their bodies. Experiments have found that compared to consuming grass without tannins, lambs consuming grass containing tannic acid can increase their tolerance to parasitic infections, increase their body weight, and reduce the number of parasites in their bodies.