Feeding Responses of Goats to Leaf Alcohol and Leaf Aldehyde with Characteristic Leafy Flavor

Abstract

BIOSIS 99-638646. Volatile compounds were collected from the ether extracts of orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L. cv. Akimidori), perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L. cv. Friend), tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb. cv. Lubrette) and meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis L. cv. Tomosakae) by the cold-trap: They were then analyzed by GC and GC-MS. Appreciable amounts of cis-3-hexenol (leaf alcohol) and trans-2-hexenal (leaf aldehyde), which are known to be an odor characteristic of leaf and distributed in a wide range of plants, were detected in all the examined grasses. The two characteristic leafy flavors were tested in three concentrations (50 mug, 5 mg and 100 mg 600 g of hay) for their ability to regulate feeding in goats as additives to hay, cis-3- Hexenol significantly inhibited hay feeding in goats at 100 mg and 5 mg per 600 g of hay and tended to inhibit at 50 mug. However, trans-2-hexenal had no significant effect on feeding in any of the concentrations tested. These results suggested that cis-3-hexenol of the characteristic leafy flavor, which was present in the herbaceous grasses had an inhibitory activity on feeding in goats. ER -