Redberry Juniper Research Articles

Comprehensive Analysis of the Herbal Mixture Made of Juniperus oxycedrus L. Berries, Inner Bark of Betula pendula Roth., and Grains of Avena sativa L.

This is the first report of the high-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry profile of a herbal mixture (HM) made of Juniperus oxycedrus L. (redberry juniper) berries, inner bark of Betula pendula Roth. (silver birch), and grains of Avena sativa L. (oat), and its effect on the No. of micronuclei (MN) in human lymphocytes and toxicity toward Artemia salina. Constituents represented by over 1000 µg per g of methanol dry extract were gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, and amentoflavone. The methanol extract of the HM at a concentration of 2.0 μg/mL decreased MN frequency by 38.3%, which was more than 3 times greater than that of the radioprotectant amifostine. The essential oil isolated from the HM was composed mainly of β-myrcene (32%) and showed weaker toxicity toward Artemia salina than the positive control after both incubation periods (24 h and 48 h). These findings suggest that the examined HM, beside its ethnopharmacological relevance on the elimination of renal calculi, also significantly reduces the No. of MN in human lymphocytes.

Woody plant encroachment enhances soil infiltrability of a semiarid karst savanna

Semiarid karst landscapes are often the source areas for regionally important groundwater supplies. Like savannas across the globe, these landscapes are experiencing an increase in woody plant cover—often referred to as woody plant encroachment. Although this phenomenon is commonly viewed as leading to increased transpiration and reduced groundwater recharge, this may not be true of all ecosystems. For example, in the Edwards Plateau region of central Texas—where the underlying geology is karst—dramatic increases in baseflows have occurred concurrently with the expansion of woody plants. It has been suggested that in this context woody plants, especially juniper (Juniperus spp.), are partially responsible for boosting recharge by improving soil infiltrability, but this hypothesis has not been systematically evaluated. Our study examined the effects of an important encroaching shrub (Redberry juniper) on soil infiltrability in the Edwards Plateau. We carried out a large number of infiltration tests to determine soil infiltrability and used a dye tracer followed by soil profile excavation to estimate the potential for deep percolation. Tests were performed at increasing distances under juniper shrubs of five size classes, ranging from young seedlings to mature shrubs. We found that in soils underlying shrubs, infiltrability was quintupled and percolation depth almost tripled compared with soils in intercanopy zones. Surprisingly, shrub size was not a significant factor. Even the soils beneath the smallest shrubs had much higher infiltrability than intercanopy soils, showing that these woody plants modify soil properties at very early stages. We also found that both infiltrability and percolation depth gradually increased with proximity to the trunk and showed a strong correlation with litter thickness. Our results provide support for the hypothesis that in semiarid karst landscapes, woody plant encroachment—especially the invasion of juniper—can play an important role in enhancing groundwater recharge by improving the soil infiltrability.

Sire Influence on Redberry Juniper Consumption by Kid Goats

Both preconditioning and genetic selection can improve intake of redberry juniper (Juniperus pinchotii Sudw.). Preconditioning an acceptance of juniper has relied on feeding juniper to sheep or goats for 14 d at weaning. Successful genetic selection for juniper consumption by goats has relied on selection of both sires and dams for juniper intake. This study compared redberry juniper intake by kid goats from sires selectively bred for juniper consumption and sires chosen for production characteristics. We used five billies chosen for high juniper consumption and five billies chosen for other production characteristics and bred each to seven doe (n = 70). Doe had not been selected for juniper consumption. Kids were weaned at 90 d of age and placed in individual pens for testing. All kids were fed redberry juniper for 30 min each morning for 14 d. After any juniper refusals were collected, alfalfa pellets (2.5% body weight) were fed for the remainder of the day to meet maintenance requirements. Consumption of juniper was measured and compared between treatments and among sire groups. Once the 14-d juniper feeding trial was completed, all goats were placed on the same ad libitum ration for 30 d with body condition scores and weights taken and compared among treatments and sire groups after 30 d of feeding the complete ration. There were no differences in juniper consumption, body condition scores, and weights among treatments. Goats increased juniper consumption daily in individual pens. Sires’ willingness to consume juniper did not appear to impact intake of the plant by their offspring in this study.

Using different preconditioning procedures and protein supplementation to increase redberry juniper intake by goats

Both exposure at weaning and supplementation can increase intake of redberry juniper (Juniperus pinchotii Sudw.). When recently weaned sheep or goats are individually penned and fed redberry juniper for 14 d, intake of the plant increases. Unfortunately, this approach is labor intensive and impractical for most livestock producers. The objectives of this study were to determine if goats would accept juniper when conditioned in groups and if supplementation would further increase intake. Recently weaned Boer-Spanish cross goats (n = 40) were placed into two treatments of 20 animals each and fed juniper for 14 d. All goats were unfamiliar with juniper before initiation of the study. Twenty goats in one treatment were placed in individual pens, while the other 20 were separated into four groups (n = 5). In addition, 10 individuals from each treatment were fed additional protein (37% crude protein). Juniper was fed for 30 min daily for 14 d, along with alfalfa pellets (2.5% of body weight) to meet maintenance requirements. After feeding juniper for 14 d in individual pens or groups of five, all goats were placed in individual pens for 7 d to measure intake on an individual animal basis following preconditioning procedures. All goats increased intake (P < 0.05) daily. Goats fed juniper in groups increased intake at a faster rate until d 11. Thereafter, intake declined apparently because of overingestion and aversive postingestive feedback. In addition, supplementation did not affect juniper intake in this study. For conditioning an acceptance of redberry juniper as a dietary item, feeding goats in groups appears as effective as feeding in individual pens.

Ground Juniperus pinchotii and urea in supplements fed to Rambouillet ewe lambs Part 2: Ewe lamb rumen microbial communities.

This study evaluated effects of ground redberry juniper () and urea in dried distillers grains with solubles-based supplements fed to Rambouillet ewe lambs ( = 48) on rumen physiological parameters and bacterial diversity. In a randomized study (40 d), individually-penned lambs were fed ground sorghum-sudangrass hay and of 1 of 8 supplements (6 lambs/treatment; 533 g/d; as-fed basis) in a 4 × 2 factorial design with 4 concentrations of ground juniper (15%, 30%, 45%, or 60% of DM) and 2 levels of urea (1% or 3% of DM). Increasing juniper resulted in minor changes in microbial β-diversity (PERMANOVA, pseudo F = 1.33, = 0.04); however, concentrations of urea did not show detectable broad-scale differences at phylum, family, or genus levels according to ANOSIM ( > 0.05), AMOVA ( > 0.10), and PERMANOVA ( > 0.05). Linear discriminant analysis indicated some genera were specific to certain dietary treatments ( < 0.05), though none of these genera were present in high abundance; high concentrations of juniper were associated with and , low concentrations of urea were associated with , and high concentrations of urea were associated with and . were decreased by juniper and urea. , , and increased with juniper and were positively correlated (Spearman's, < 0.05) with each other but not to rumen factors, suggesting a symbiotic interaction. Overall, there was not a juniper × urea interaction for total VFA, VFA by concentration or percent total, pH, or ammonia ( 0.29). When considering only percent inclusion of juniper, ruminal pH and proportion of acetic acid linearly increased ( < 0.001) and percentage of butyric acid linearly decreased ( = 0.009). Lamb ADG and G:F were positively correlated with (Spearman's, < 0.05) and negatively correlated with Synergistaceae, the BS5 group, and Lentisphaerae. Firmicutes were negatively correlated with serum urea nitrogen, ammonia, total VFA, total acetate, and total propionate. Overall, modest differences in bacterial diversity among treatments occurred in the abundance or evenness of several OTUs, but there was not a significant difference in OTU richness. As diversity was largely unchanged, the reduction in ADG and lower-end BW was likely due t* reduced DMI rather than a reduction in microbial fermentative ability.

Substituting ground woody plants for cottonseed hulls in lamb feedlot diets: Growth performance, blood serum chemistry, and rumen fluid parameters1

Effects of using ground woody plants in Rambouillet wether lamb feedlot diets on growth performance, blood serum, and rumen parameters were evaluated. A randomized design study was used with 2 feeding periods (70% concentrate diet from d 0 to 27 [Period 1] and 86% concentrate diet from d 28 to 57 [Period 2]); the concentrate portion of the diets mainly consisted of dried distiller's grains with solubles and sorghum grain. Lambs were individually fed 6 diets that differed only by roughage source ( = 8 animals/treatment; 32.9 ± 3.2 kg initial BW): either cottonseed hulls (CSH; control) or ground wood consisting of redberry juniper (RED), blueberry juniper (BLUE), one-seeded juniper (ONE), or eastern red cedar (ERC) spp. or honey mesquite (MESQ; ). Using ground wood vs. CSH as the roughage source did not affect ( > 0.12) BW. There tended to be a treatment × day interaction ( = 0.07) for lamb DMI, attributed to Period 1 when DMI was greater ( 0.10) among all lambs. Dietary treatments did not affect ( > 0.15) ruminal pH, but treatment × day interactions ( 0.10) were observed within day. Treatment × day interactions ( < 0.05) were observed for blood serum glucose, γ-glutamyl transferase, the albumin:globulin ratio, total bilirubin, β-hydroxybutyrate, P, Cl, and Mg, with most results being less for lambs fed the wood-based diets than for lambs fed the CSH diets. Results suggested that even though lamb DMI was reduced during the growing period when diets contained 30% ground woody products (RED, ONE, ERC, and MESQ), animal health and rumen fluid parameters were not negatively affected by ground woody plants.

Effects of feeding ground redberry juniper (Juniperus pinchotii) to gestating ewes on pre- and postpartum performance, serum metabolites and hormones, milk fatty acid composition, and progeny preweaning performance

Effects of feeding ground redberry juniper (Juniperus pinchotii) to gestating ewes on pre- and postpartum performance, serum metabolites and hormones, milk fatty acid composition, and progeny preweaning performance

Northern Bobwhite Densities in Burned and Unburned Redberry Juniper Rangelands

We estimated northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) densities in 4- and 8-year-old burned and unburned redberry juniper (Juniperus pinchottii) dominated pastures. The 4-year-old burned (800 ha), 8-year-old burned (1,200 ha), and unburned (1,200 ha) treatment sites had 8.6, 14.4, and 22.3% woody canopy coverage, respectively. Fall bobwhite densities were estimated from 122 flushes of quail coveys on 592.8 km of transects. Data histograms indicated that bobwhite were harder to detect in the unburned area than in the 8-year-old burn or the 4-year-old burn. Probability detection functions were smaller in the old burn than the new burn (P = 0.05) or unburned area (P = 0.02). Bobwhite densities of 43.3, 55.1, and 60.5 birds/100 ha in the 4-year-old burn, 8-year-old burn, and unburned sites, respectively, were similar (P > 0.10). Prescribed burning to control redberry juniper and manage bobwhite should be designed to maintain intermittent shrub coverage.

Influence of Habitat Type and Prescribed Burning on Feral Swine Depredation of Artificial Quail Nests

Feral swine (Sus scrofa) have increased both spatially and numerically in the Rolling Plains of northwest Texas. Resource managers have little information on the interrelationships between feral swine and native species such as the northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus). Nest predation by feral swine could adversely affect bobwhite reproduction. Honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) and redberry juniper (Juniperus pinchotii) are the dominant woody plants in northwestern Texas and prescribed burning is used to manage both species. Two experiments were conducted to determine the extent of feral swine depredation on artificial quail nests. In 1992-93, we monitored nest loss in mesquite and juniper habitats for six weeks. Total depredation reached 85 and 98% after three and six weeks respectively, during 1992, compared to 60 and 92% in 1993. Feral swine depredation of artificial bobwhite nests was 33% across years and was evenly distributed between vegetation types. During three-week periods in June and July 1994, depredation was greater (P<0.001) in an unburned (90%) pasture than in unburned areas within a burned (32%) pasture. Decreased predator activity in the burned pasture was probably due to temporary prey displacement and less forage. Feral swine depredation of artificial bobwhite nests was 14% in 1994. Feral swine could potentially have negative impacts for northern bobwhites in mesquite and juniper habitats of northwest Texas.

Substituting ground woody plants for cottonseed hulls in lamb feedlot diets: Growth performance, blood serum chemistry, and rumen fluid parameters.

Effects of using ground woody plants in Rambouillet wether lamb feedlot diets on growth performance, blood serum, and rumen parameters were evaluated. A randomized design study was used with 2 feeding periods (70% concentrate diet from d 0 to 27 [Period 1] and 86% concentrate diet from d 28 to 57 [Period 2]); the concentrate portion of the diets mainly consisted of dried distiller's grains with solubles and sorghum grain. Lambs were individually fed 6 diets that differed only by roughage source ( = 8 animals/treatment; 32.9 ± 3.2 kg initial BW): either cottonseed hulls (CSH; control) or ground wood consisting of redberry juniper (RED), blueberry juniper (BLUE), one-seeded juniper (ONE), or eastern red cedar (ERC) spp. or honey mesquite (MESQ; ). Using ground wood vs. CSH as the roughage source did not affect ( > 0.12) BW. There tended to be a treatment × day interaction ( = 0.07) for lamb DMI, attributed to Period 1 when DMI was greater ( < 0.05) for lambs fed CSH vs. RED, ONE, ERC, or MESQ during the first 14 d and greater ( < 0.05) during d 14 to 28 vs. lambs fed ERC. Overall, ADG was less for lambs fed ERC ( < 0.10) or MESQ ( < 0.05) vs. lambs fed CSH, but G:F was similar ( > 0.10) among all lambs. Dietary treatments did not affect ( > 0.15) ruminal pH, but treatment × day interactions ( < 0.05) were observed for rumen fluid ammonia N or molar proportions of propionate and butyrate; few differences were observed within day. However, overall, lambs fed RED or MESQ had greater ( < 0.05) total rumen VFA than lambs fed CSH. A treatment × day interaction ( = 0.04) was observed for the acetate:propionate ratio, but no differences ( > 0.10) were observed within day. Treatment × day interactions ( < 0.05) were observed for blood serum glucose, γ-glutamyl transferase, the albumin:globulin ratio, total bilirubin, β-hydroxybutyrate, P, Cl, and Mg, with most results being less for lambs fed the wood-based diets than for lambs fed the CSH diets. Results suggested that even though lamb DMI was reduced during the growing period when diets contained 30% ground woody products (RED, ONE, ERC, and MESQ), animal health and rumen fluid parameters were not negatively affected by ground woody plants.

Effects of feeding ground redberry juniper (Juniperus pinchotii) to gestating ewes on pre- and postpartum performance, serum metabolites and hormones, milk fatty acid composition, and progeny preweaning performance.

The objective of this research was to evaluate effects of replacing sorghum × Sudangrass hay with ground juniper in gestating ewe supplements on pre- and postpartum growth performance, serum metabolites and hormonal concentrations, milk fatty acid composition, and progeny preweaning performance. In a completely randomized design, commercial Rambouillet ewes (age = 3 to 5 yr; initial BW = 65.2 ± 1.6 kg) on a base diet of long-stem sorghum × Sudangrass hay were assigned to 1 of 4 dietary supplements in which ground juniper replaced 0% (CNTL), 33% (18JUN), 66% (36JUN), or 100% (54JUN) of the ground sorghum × Sudangrass hay in a pelleted supplement with ground juniper from d 38 ± 4 of gestation to 2 d postpartum. Treatment DM diet intake overall (g/kg BW) in ewes receiving no juniper was similar ( ≥ 0.38) to that of those receiving increasing concentrations of juniper. Changes in ewe BW and BCS were similar ( ≥ 0.24) in ewes throughout gestation. All serum metabolites and hormones were within normal clinical ranges; however, serum IGF-1 decreased linearly ( = 0.003), alanine increased (linear; = 0.003), and serum Na decreased (linear; = 0.049) as the percentage of juniper increased in the diet. Ewe milk fatty acid composition was similar ( > 0.05) for the majority of fatty acids across treatment groups, with the exception of arachidonic acid (C20:4n6) being greater ( < 0.02) in 54JUN vs. CNTL ewe milk. Lamb birth weights were similar ( = 0.13), whereas lamb ADG tended to differ (quadratic; = 0.06) from d 0 to 14, with 18JUN being the least. At weaning, BW tended ( = 0.09) to linearly decrease in lambs born to ewes consuming greater concentrations of juniper but were not different ( = 0.26) between CNTL and 18JUN, 36JUN, and 54JUN. Results indicated that feeding increasing levels of ground juniper in supplements did not negatively alter ewe performance or serum metabolites and hormones measured pre- and postpartum. Lamb birth weight and preweaning performance appeared unaffected by maternal consumption of ground juniper containing supplements. Results also provide novel information regarding the effects of plant secondary compound consumption throughout pregnancy on ewe and progeny performance and health.

1678 Ground redberry juniper and urea in DDGS-based supplements do not adversely affect ewe lamb rumen microbial communities

1678 Ground redberry juniper and urea in DDGS-based supplements do not adversely affect ewe lamb rumen microbial communities

1675 Ground redberry juniper and urea in supplements fed to Rambouillet ewe lambs on growth, blood serum, and fecal N

1675 Ground redberry juniper and urea in supplements fed to Rambouillet ewe lambs on growth, blood serum, and fecal N

Updraft gasification of juniper wood biomass using CO2–O2 and Air (N2–O2)

ABSTRACTBiomass gasification is being considered as one of the most promising technologies for converting low-quality solid biomass fuel into gaseous fuel. Redberry juniper (Juniperus pinchotii), one of the woody species that dominate uncultivated lands in the southern great plains, USA, may have a great potential for bioenergy utilization. In this study, the results of gasification of juniper are presented. Juniper wood chips were gasified in an adiabatic fixed bed updraft gasifier using air and the mixture gas of carbon dioxide and oxygen (CO2:O2) as gasification medium. The effect of gasification parameters such as moisture contents, gasification mediums, and gasification temperature on produced gas properties and the tar yield were investigated. It was observed that oxy fuel gasification (the reaction of woody fuels with carbon dioxide) of juniper resulted in the increase of production of carbon monoxide, especially at higher peak gasification temperatures. As a result, the CO2 gasification resulted in producing higher heating value gas (6264 kJ/nm3 with dilution of CO2 and 19,750 kJ/nm3 inert free) compared to air gasification. For air gasification, it was observed that the updraft gasification produced large amount of the tar in the product gas (more than 100 g/nm3) for the fuels with moisture content between 6% and 11%. Generally, the tar yield increased with the increase of equivalence ratio (er) and moisture content. However, when the fuel moisture content reached 23.5%, the tar yield reduced significantly due low gasification temperature which reduced the less tar cracking.

Low temperature ignition of biomass

Biomass is an especially reactive fuel. There have been large increases in the transportation and utilization of biomass fuels over the past 10years and this has raised concerns over its safe handling and utilization. Fires, and sometimes explosions, are a risk during all stages of fuel production as well as during the handling and utilization of the product. This paper presents a method for assessing ignition risk and provides a ranking of relative risk of ignition of biomass fuels. Tests involved single particle measurements, thermal analysis, dust layer and basket ignition tests. In all cases, smouldering combustion was observed, whereby the fuels pyrolyse to produce a black char, which then subsequently ignites. Low temperature pyrolysis kinetics have been utilised to predict ignition delay times at low temperatures. A method for evaluating risk was explored based on the activation energy for pyrolysis and a characteristic temperature from TGA analysis. Here, olive cake, sunflower husk and Miscanthus fall into the high risk category, while the woods, plane, pine, mesquite and red berry juniper, fall into the medium risk category. This method is able to capture the impact of low activation energy for pyrolysis on the increased risk of ignition.

Substituting redberry juniper for oat hay in lamb feedlot diets: Carcass characteristics, adipose tissue fatty acid composition, and sensory panel traits

We hypothesized that ground juniper and dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) fed to lambs would have no negative effects on end products. Lambs were individually fed diets containing mainly sorghum grain and oat hay (control) or DDGS-based diets consisting mainly of DDGS, sorghum grain, and oat hay (0JUN), or 33% (33JUN), 66% (66JUN), or 100% (100JUN) of the hay replaced by juniper. Lambs fed control had greater (P<0.03) shrunk BW and HCW vs. lambs fed 0JUN, but other carcass characteristics and sensory panel traits were similar (P>0.23). As juniper increased in the DDGS-based diets, HCW increased quadratically (P=0.01) and LM fatty acid composition was altered. Feeding juniper did not negatively affect (P>0.57) off-flavor in chops, but enhanced (linear, P<0.05) juiciness, tenderness, and flavor intensity. Lambs fed diets with a combination of oat hay and ground juniper appeared to produce the most acceptable carcasses and lamb chops.

Liquid yield from juniper and mesquite bio-fuel gasification

Mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) and redberry juniper (Juniperus pinchotii) are two woody species which dominate uncultivated lands in the south central Great Plains, USA (Texas, Oklahoma) and may have potential for bioenergy utilization. In this study, these two biomasses were gasified in an adiabatic, updraft fixed-bed gasifier using air as medium. The products include low heating value gas and liquid tar yield. The effects of fuel moisture content and the equivalence ratio (ER) on liquid yields including heavy tar and light tar and higher heating value (HHV) of the producer gas were investigated. It was found that updraft gasifiers produce a large amount of tar, in a range of 100 g/Nm3 of gas produced. As the equivalence ratio (ER) increased (i.e. more rich char conditions), peak temperature (Tpeak) within the bed decreased due to the lesser partial oxidization. The liquid yield showed peak value with change in moisture content between 6 and 24%. Heavy tar is a very high quality fuel with a higher heating value of over 29 MJ/kg on a dry, ash-free (DAF) basis which is a slightly higher than that of ethanol. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Effects of using ground redberry juniper and dried distillers grains with solubles in lamb feedlot diets: Growth, blood serum, fecal, and wool characteristics1

Effects of using ground redberry juniper and dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) in Rambouillet lamb (n = 45) feedlot diets on growth, blood serum, fecal, and wool characteristics were evaluated. In a randomized design study with 2 feeding periods (Period 1 = 64% concentrate diet, 35 d; Period 2 = 85% concentrate diet, 56 d), lambs were individually fed 5 isonitrogenous diets: a control diet (CNTL) that contained oat hay but not DDGS or juniper or DDGS-based diets in which 0 (0JUN), 33 (33JUN), 66 (66JUN), or 100% (100JUN) of the oat hay was replaced by juniper. During Period 1, lambs fed CNTL had greater (P < 0.05) DMI and ADG and tended to have greater (P < 0.10) G:F than lambs fed 0JUN or lambs fed DDGS-based diets. Lamb DMI, ADG, and G:F quadratically increased (P < 0.008) as juniper increased in the DDGS-based diets. During Period 2, lambs fed CNTL had greater (P < 0.05) DMI than lambs fed 0JUN or lambs fed DDGS-based diets, but ADG was similar (P > 0.41). Compared to 0JUN, lambs fed CNTL had similar (P = 0.12) G:F and tended to have less G:F (P = 0.07) than lambs fed DDGS-based diets. Among lambs fed DDGS-based diets, DMI was similar (P > 0.19), ADG increased linearly (P = 0.03), and G:F tended to decrease quadratically (P = 0.06) as juniper increased in the diet. Serum IGF-1, serum urea N (SUN), and fecal N were greater (P < 0.05) and serum Ca and P and fecal P were similar (P > 0.13) for lambs fed CNTL vs. lambs fed DDGS-based diets (CNTL). Within lambs fed DDGS-based diets, SUN increased quadratically (P = 0.01) and fecal N increased linearly (P = 0.004), which can partially be attributed to increased dietary urea and condensed tannin intake. Most wool characteristics were not affected, but wool growth per kilogram of BW decreased quadratically (P = 0.04) as percentage of juniper increased in the DDGS-based diets. When evaluating the entire 91-d feeding trial, results indicated that replacing all of the ground oat hay with ground juniper leaves and stems in lamb growing and finishing diets is not detrimental to animal performance and that DDGS-based diets can reduce total feedlot costs, as compared to sorghum grain and cottonseed meal-based diets. However, compared to using juniper or oat hay as the sole roughage source, using both during the growing period (Period 1) enhanced growth performance and further reduced total feedlot costs.

The use of redberry juniper (Juniperus pinchotii) to reduce Haemonchus contortus fecal egg counts and increase ivermectin efficacy

Objectives of this study were to determine if a redberry juniper-based diet can reduce fecal egg counts (FEC) and increase ivermectin (IVM) efficacy in IVM-resistant Haemonchus contortus. Predominant genera present were Haemonchus (range 45–100%) and Trichostrongylus (range 0–47%). The FEC reduction for IVM in the ewe flock was 25% (95% confidence intervals 79% to −162%) and confirmed IVM resistance. After natural infection was established, Barbados Blackbelly and St. Croix lambs (n=64, 6 months old) were randomly assigned to pens and fed a pelleted treatment diet (4 pens/treatment and 8 lambs/pen) consisting of traditional feed ingredients mixed with either 30% hay (CNTL) or 30% ground juniper leaves and stems (JUN). Lambs were fed during two periods: Period 1 (days 0–28) and Period 2 (days 28–42). On day 28, half of the lambs from each treatment and pen were treated with IVM orally (0.2mg/kg), creating four treatment groups: lambs fed CNTL or JUN and either not treated (CNTLn, JUNn) or treated (CNTLi, JUNi) with IVM. During Period 1, lambs fed CNTL had greater (P<0.001) average daily gain than lambs fed JUN, which was probably caused by the CNTL diet having greater protein and less acid detergent fiber, lignin, and condensed tannins than the JUN diet. Lambs had similar (P>0.46) FEC on days 0 and 28, but lambs fed JUN had 69.1% lower (P<0.001) FEC on day 15 as compared to lambs fed CNTL. During Period 2, CNTLi lambs had greater (P<0.05) average daily gain than JUNn and JUNi lambs. Lambs fed JUN and treated with IVM (JUNi) had 66%, 65%, and 61% lower (P<0.05) FEC as compared to CNTLn, CNTLi, and JUNn lambs, respectively. Results suggest that feeding lambs a diet containing 30% redberry juniper reduced FEC and increased IVM efficacy by 65% (JUNi vs. CNTLi). Specific mechanisms involved in increasing IVM efficacy by feeding diets containing bioactive compounds warrants further investigation.

Effect of using redberry juniper (Juniperus pinchotii) to reduce Haemonchus contortus in vitro motility and increase ivermectin efficacy

A modified larval migration inhibition assay was used to determine if redberry juniper (Juniperus pinchotii Sudw.) can reduce Haemonchus contortus in vitro motility and increase ivermectin (IVM) efficacy. Ruminal fluid was mixed with buffer solution and either no material (CNTL) or Tifton 85 Bermudagrass hay (T85), dried juniper (DRY), fresh juniper (FRE), or distilled juniper terpenoid oil (OIL) to make treatment solutions and anaerobically incubated for 16h. For Trial 1, larvae were incubated in CNTL, T85, DRY, or IVM. During Trial 2, larvae were incubated in CNTL, DRY, FRE, or OIL for 4h. Trials 3 (CNTL or OIL) and 4 (CNTL, DRY or FRE) evaluated larvae after incubation in treatment solution for 2h, then incubated an additional 2h in various IVM doses (0, 0.1, 1, 3, and 6μg/mL IVM) and placed onto a screen. Larvae that passed through the 20-μm screen within a 96-well plate were considered motile. Larvae incubated in CNTL or T85 had similar (P=0.12) motility, but larvae incubated in DRY were less (P<0.02) motile than larvae incubated in CNTL or T85 (Trial 1). During Trial 2, adding DRY, FRE, or OIL reduced (P<0.001) larval motility as compared to CNTL. A treatment×IVM dose interaction (P=0.02) was observed during Trial 3, due to OIL unexpectedly decreasing IMV efficacy at IVM concentrations of 1 (P=0.07), 3, and 6 (P<0.002)μg/mL. No treatment×IVM dose interaction (P=0.57) was observed during Trial 4, but larvae incubated in DRY had less (P<0.004) total motility than larvae incubated in CNTL or FRE. Juniper forage material reduced in vitro H. contortus larval motility, but IVM efficacy was increased only by initially incubating larvae in DRY.