Description of RUMEN-UP

A collection of 500 plants and their extracts will be made from industrial and academic sources in Europe. These will include mainly foliage and fruits from species not used previously in animal feeding. Their main agronomic features and published toxicological properties will be collated. The samples will then be tested at four EU centres for their general effects on rumen fermentation and digestion processes, covering diets typical of different parts of Europe. Specific effects on methane formation, protein metabolism, lactic acid production and bloat formation will be determined in vitro in the different centres. A small number of specimens which affect one of the target activities without damaging the overall fermentation will then be selected, based on their potential for rural and/or commercial exploitation. They will be investigated in greater detail for their chemical composition, antimicrobial effects, dose dependence and applicability as a commercial feed additive or in sustainable agronomic systems. Palatability and toxicity of the most promising materials will be determined. The outcome of the project will be the identification of natural products, potentially novel crops, which affect the the main processes and microbes in the rumen which cause stress nutritional stress in ruminants and cause pollution.