Value Addition of Feed and Fodder by Alleviating the Antinutritional Effects of Tannins

Abstract

Tannins are one of the important plant secondary metabolites having wide prevalence in the plant kingdom. They are a prominent constituent of various types of feed, fodder and agro-industrial wastes. The intake of tannins at a low level has recently been found to have some positive effects in ruminants. However, the use of tannin-rich biomass as animal feed, having high content of tannins, is limited by the antinutritional effects of tannins at this level in an animal system. A number of physical, chemical, biological and miscellaneous approaches have been developed for inactivation or removal of tannins for enhancement of the feeding value of tannin-rich biomass. However, none of the individual method is successful in total inactivation or removal of tannins without loss of nutritive value, and this limits the utilization of a vast amount of plant resource. A cohesive and an integrated detanninification strategy is required for alleviating the antinutritional effects of tannins in animals and upgrading the feeding value of tanniniferous biomass. © 2013 NAAS (National Academy of Agricultural Sciences).