Person: Ferré Pérez, Ignacio
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First Name
Ignacio
Last Name
Ferré Pérez
Affiliation
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Faculty / Institute
Veterinaria
Department
Sanidad Animal
Area
Sanidad Animal
Identifiers
6 results
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Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
Item Effects of heather and oat supplementation on gastrointestinal nematode infections and performance of grazing Cashmere goats(Small Ruminant Research, 2010) Celaya, R.; Ferreira, L.M.M.; Moreno Gonzalo, Javier; Frutos, P.; Hervás, G.; Ferré Pérez, Ignacio; García, U.; Ortega Mora, Luis Miguel; Osoro, K.This work aimed to evaluate the effects of tannin-containing heather (Calluna vulgaris, Erica spp.) and energy (oats, Avena sativa) supplementation, combined or not, on feed intake, gastrointestinal nematode infections and performance of goats grazing mountain grasslands. Two successive experiments were established across one grazing season on four paddocks. The first (late April to early August, Period 1) involved two treatments, i.e., supplementation with heather (+H) vs. non-supplementation (−H), each randomly allocated to two paddocks. The second (mid-August to mid-November, Period 2) consisted on four treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial design, i.e., supplementation with heather and oats (+H+O), only heather (+H−O), only oats (−H+O), and no supplementation (−H−O). Results from Period 1 indicated that faecal nematode egg counts (FEC) were lower in +H goats (50% less in August), achieving more favourable live weight (LW) and body condition changes than −H goats. Total dry matter intake (DMI) in June was similar between treatments, with heather accounting for 0.21 of +H goat diets. Kids FEC and LW gains were not affected by heather supplementation. In Period 2, both heather and oat supplementation reduced FEC (45 and 61%, respectively) and improved goat performance, without an interaction between both factors. Total DMI in October was higher in +H+O compared to other treatments (48 vs. 30 g DM kg LW−0.75 d−1; P < 0.01). Rumen ammonia concentration was lower (P < 0.001) in +H than in −H goats, and in +O than in −O goats, whereas that of volatile fatty acids (VFA) was not affected by treatments, though the molar proportions of some VFA were modified. It is concluded that the combination of both supplements (tannins and energy) contributes to reduce gastrointestinal nematode parasitism and increases goat performance, allowing a lower dependence on conventional chemotherapy.Item Potential use of heather to control gastrointestinal nematodes in goats(Small Ruminant Research, 2012) Moreno Gonzalo, Javier; Ferré Pérez, Ignacio; Celaya, R.; Frutos, P.; Ferreira, L.M.M.; Hervás, G.; García, U.; L.M. Ortega-Mora; Ortega Mora, Luis Miguel; Osoro, K.In the last decade, numerous studies have been carried out to evaluate the potential anthelmintic benefit of the consumption of bioactive plants in small ruminants, in order to reduce the dependence on conventional chemotherapy and supporting a sustainable control of gastrointestinal (GI) parasitism. This review summarizes the anthelmintic and nutritional effects of heather (shrub species belonging to the Ericaceae family, such as Erica spp. or Calluna vulgaris) supplementation in grazing goats naturally infected by GI nematodes. The experiments were carried out in a mountain area in north-western Spain where shrubby heather-gorse vegetation is dominant. Some plots were established, in which the vegetation had been improved by soil ploughed and dressing and sowing perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and white clover (Trifolium repens), and removing any heather that was present. Cashmere goats reared outdoors under pasture conditions were used in the experiments. The trials compared the response to GI nematode infections, animal performance and nutrition in goats supplemented or not with heather. Interactions between heather availability and other alternative methods to control GI nematode infections based on grazing management (stocking rate) or nutrition (energy supply) as well as the potential adaptation of the rumen microbiota to the consumption of tannins, were also studied. The results suggest that (i) heather supplementation in grazing goats significantly reduces the level of GI nematode egg excretion, (ii) the faecal nematode egg count reduction could be associated with a decrease in worm fertility and/or reduction in the establishment of incoming third-stage larvae, (iii) consumption of heather is associated with an apparent greater resilience of goats to GI nematode infections, and (iv) the amount of tannins consumed by the goats supplemented with heather does not seem to be associated to anti-nutritional effects which eventually resulted in a better animal performance in the animals incorporating these shrubs in their diet. Practical application of this knowledge in temperate areas would support the management of plots integrating improved pastures with high nutritive value (ryegrass-white clover) with natural vegetation communities.Item Anthelmintic effect of heather in goats experimentally infected with Trichostrongylus colubriformis(Parasitology Research, 2013) Moreno Gonzalo, Javier; Osoro, K.; García, U.; Frutos ,P.; Celaya, R.; Ferreira, L. M. M.; Ortega Mora, Luis Miguel; Ferré Pérez, IgnacioThe effects of heather (composed primarily of Calluna vulgaris with a smaller content of Erica umbellata and Erica cinerea) consumption on the establishment of incoming infective larvae (experiment 1, preventive treatment) and an adult worm population (experiment 2, curative treatment) were investigated in Cashmere goats experimentally infected with Trichostrongylus colubriformis. In experiment 1, 12 castrated male goats were divided into two groups: heather-supplemented vs. non-supplemented animals. After 2 weeks of adaptation to the diet, all goats were experimentally infected per os with 6,000 T. colubriformis third-stage larvae. Three weeks post-infection, the goats were slaughtered, and worm counts as well as female worm fecundity and development were determined. Heather consumption was associated with a close to significant (P = 0.092) reduction (mean 14 %) in larvae establishment. No effect on fecundity was observed, but the length of female worms in supplemented goats was greater (P < 0.001). In experiment 2, 15 non-lactating does were experimentally infected with 6,000 T. colubriformis third-stage larvae. At 6 weeks post-infection, three groups were established: control, heather-supplemented and heather-supplemented with polyethylene glycol. Individual faecal nematode egg output was measured twice weekly to assess gastrointestinal nematode egg excretion. The goats were slaughtered 5 weeks after heather administration (11 weeks post-infection), and worm counts as well as female worm fecundity and development were subsequently determined. Heather administration was associated with a significant (P < 0.001) decrease (between 47 and 66 % compared with control group) in egg excretion from 45 to 76 days post-infection. Although worm counts and female fecundity were lower in supplemented goats, no significant differences were observed. Overall, the results showed a reduction in T. colubriformis larvae establishment and a decrease in nematode egg excretion when heather was administered in experimentally infected goats. The heather plus polyethylene glycol treatment reduced nematode egg excretion levels at the same proportion as heather, thereby suggesting that the threshold of tannins required for an anthelmintic effect is most likely quite low.Item Placental thrombosis in acute phase abortions during experimental Toxoplasma gondii infection in sheep(Veterinary Research, 2014) Castaño, Pablo; Fuertes ,Miguel; Ferré Pérez, Ignacio; Fernández, Miguel; Ferreras, Maria del Carmen; Moreno Gonzalo, Javier; González-Lanza, Camino; Katzer, Frank; Regidor-Cerrillo, Javier; Ortega Mora, Luis Miguel; Pérez, Valentín; Benavides ,JulioAfter oral administration of ewes during mid gestation with 2000 freshly prepared sporulated oocysts of T. gondii isolate M4, abortions occurred between days 7 and 11 in 91.6% of pregnant and infected ewes. Afterwards, a further infection was carried out at late gestation in another group of sheep with 500 sporulated oocysts. Abortions happened again between days 9 and 11 post infection (pi) in 58.3% of the infected ewes. Classically, abortions in natural and experimental ovine toxoplasmosis usually occur one month after infection. Few experimental studies have reported the so-called acute phase abortions as early as 7 to 14 days after oral inoculation of oocysts, and pyrexia was proposed to be responsible for abortion, although the underline mechanism was not elucidated. In the present study, all placentas analysed from ewes suffering acute phase abortions showed infarcts and thrombosis in the caruncullar villi of the placentomes and ischemic lesions (periventricular leukomalacia) in the brain of some foetuses. The parasite was identified by PCR in samples from some placentomes of only one sheep, and no antigen was detected by immunohistochemical labelling. These findings suggest that the vascular lesions found in the placenta, and the consequent hypoxic damage to the foetus, could be associated to the occurrence of acute phase abortions. Although the pathogenesis of these lesions remains to be determined, the infectious dose or virulence of the isolate may play a role in their development.Item Is the anthelmintic effect of heather supplementation to grazing goats always accompanied by anti-nutritional effects?(Animal, 2008) Frutos, Pilar; Moreno Gonzalo, Javier; Hervás, Gonzalo; García, Urcesino; Ferreira, Luis Mendes; Celaya, Rafael; Toral, Pablo; Ortega Mora, Luis Miguel; Ferré Pérez, Ignacio; Osoro, KoldoTo test the hypothesis that the beneficial anthelmintic effect of consuming moderate amounts of tannins may not always be accompanied by anti-nutritional effects in goats, two experiments were conducted. In the first, 48 Cashmere goats were randomly assigned to two treatments: supplementation with tannin-containing heather (6.4% total tannins) and non-supplementation. All goats grazed continuously from May to September under farm conditions in a mountainous area of northern Spain. The mean percentage of heather incorporated into the diet of the supplemented animals was 29.1%. Supplementation reduced the mean number of nematode eggs in faeces (P < 0.001) and the goat mortality rate (P < 0.05). The rumen ammonia concentration was markedly reduced in the goats receiving the heather supplement (160 v. 209 mg/l; P < 0.01), while volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentrations were significantly greater (63.0 v. 53.6 mmol total VFA/l; P < 0.05). The heather-supplemented goats also showed a lower loss of live weight (P < 0.01) and body condition score (P < 0.001). In the second experiment, batch cultures of rumen microorganisms with rumen fluid from nine goats whose diet included 29% heather – or not, were used to incubate three substrates (pasture, pasture + heather and pasture + heather + polyethylene glycol) to investigate in vitro ruminal fermentation. Differences (P < 0.01) among substrates were observed in terms of dry matter disappearance (DMD), in vitro true substrate digestibility (ivTSD), gas production and ammonia concentration, the greatest values always associated with the pasture substrate. Cultures involving rumen inoculum derived from goats receiving the heather-containing diet showed slightly lower DMD (46.9 v. 48.5 g/100 g; P < 0.05), ivTSD (64.6 v. 65.9 g/100 g; P < 0.10) and gas production (105 v. 118 ml/g; P < 0.001) values, but much greater total VFA concentrations (48.5 v. 39.3 mmol/l; P < 0.05), and suggest that the efficiency of ruminal fermentation in these animals was probably improved. Together, the results support the absence of a clear nutritional cost counteracting the beneficial anthelmintic effect of supplementing the diet of grazing goats with tannin-containing heather.Item Effects of Stocking Rate and Heather Supplementation on Gastrointestinal Nematode Infections and Host Performance in Naturally-Infected Cashmere Goats(Rangeland Ecology & Management, 2009) Osoro, Koldo; Celaya, Rafael; Moreno Gonzalo, Javier; Ferreira, Luis M.M.; García, Urcesino; Frutos, Pilar; Ortega Mora, Luis Miguel; Ferré Pérez, IgnacioThe aim of this study, performed on 62 adult dry cashmere goats grazing upland perennial ryegrass–white clover pastures and naturally infected with gastrointestinal nematodes, was to investigate the effects of stocking rate (SR: 24 vs. 38 goats · ha-1) and tannin-containing heather supplementation (H: Calluna vulgaris [L.] Hull, Erica spp.) vs. nonsupplementation on parasite burden, fecal egg counts (FEC), and live weight (LW) changes. Goats were randomly assigned to four treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement and grazed continuously from May to October. Six goats per treatment were slaughtered at the end of the grazing period, and adult worms in the abomasum and small and large intestines of each animal were recovered, counted, and identified. FEC was affected by SR (P < 0.01) but not by H. However, the SR × H interaction was significant (P < 0.05). FEC increased (P < 0.001) along the grazing season in all treatments, and the SR × time interaction was significant (P < 0.001). In general, mean total worm counts in abomasum and small intestine tended to be higher under high SR, although the differences were only significant (P < 0.01) in Trichostrongylus spp. counts. In goats managed under the high SR, the mean of total Teladorsagia circumcincta counts was lower (P < 0.01) in supplemented animals, but no differences were recorded for Trichostrongylus spp., Chabertia ovina, Oesophagostomum columbianum, and Trichuris ovis. The goats gained more LW (P < 0.001) under low SR and when they were heather-supplemented. No significant SR × H interaction was found for LW change. In conclusion, high stocking rate increases the infectivity risk of pasture and the supplementation of grazing goats with heather contributing to improve animals' performance. Notwithstanding, the effect of heather availability on nematode FEC reduction could be highly dependent on the climatic conditions.