Pomegranate Peel Extract as a Feed Supplement in Cattle

With today’s public concern over the endless antibiotics being put into our animals, there has been a greater amount of research dedicated to finding more natural replacement additives. Pomegranate Peel Extract which is a plant secondary metabolite is just one of the many natural supplements that researchers are interested in. Plant secondary metabolites are found to have a positive effect on ruminal fermentation and an increase in amino acid flow into the duodenum. Pomegranate Peel Extract is just as it sounds, extract made from the peel of the pomegranates. The peel of the pomegranate is packed with a higher level of antioxidants than the juice itself, which can be a great nutritional supplement for livestock.  Pomegranate Peel Extract contains compound that possess anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and immune modulatory properties. 

In the article “Nutrient digestion, ruminal fermentation and performance of dairy cows fed pomegranate peel extract” Abarghuei uses a Latin square design and 4 dairy cows over 4, 28-day periods. Animals randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatments PPE0 (control, no PPE added), PPE400 (400 mL PPE/cow/day) , PPE800 (800 mLPPE/cow/day), PPE1200 (1200 mL PPE/cow/day). The goal for this study when adding Pomegranate Peel Extract into the diet would be to increase ruminal protein synthesis and milk production. The use of Pomegranate Peel Extract and other plant secondary metabolite has been shown to increase muscle deposition and milk production (Vasta et al.,2008).  In this experiment, they tested Nutrient Digestibility, Ruminal Fermentation, Enumeration of Rumen Protozoa and Milk Production and composition. The results concluded that there was no change in Nutrient digestibility or ruminal fermentation, but the total number of protozoa was lower in cows offered a Pomegranate Peel Extract diet than the control and that the milk fats and protein yields were increased by the Pomegranate Peel Extract supplements.

In a similar article, they carried out an experiment to determine the effect of Pomegranate Peel Extract on nitrogen balance, blood parameters and the milk fatty acid profile of dairy cows. This was a similar experiment to the one above, this experiment had the same Latin square layout, same 4 diets and same time periods. This experiment specifically tested nitrogen balance, blood sampling; on glucose, protein, triglycerides, cholesterol and urea nitrogen levels in the blood stream, as well as the milk fatty acid composition. The results of this experiment concluded that there was no significant change in nitrogen balance or in glucose and triglyceride levels, but the cholesterol and urea nitrogen levels were decreased when Pomegranate Peel Extract was added to the diet vs the control. It also concluded that milk fed to the PPE fed cows possessed a higher content of EPA and DHA than those that received no PPE, this suggests that this could be healthier on a human consumption standpoint and it can increase the supply in lactating cows.

While these articles explain that Pomegranate Peel Extract does not affect much of the factors they observed, they both indicated the increase in milk production and milk fatty acids and protein. Pomegranate Peel Extract can be used for more than just milk production. In this article, Nutritive and antioxidative potential of fresh and stored pomegranate industrial byproduct as a novel beef cattle feed explains the high levels of antioxidants that pomegranates contain may boost antioxidant levels in beef cattle. This nutritional supplement might do more than just improve the health of beef cattle. After eight weeks of supplemented Pomegranate Peel Extract the cattle had higher levels of Vitamin E that helped extend the shelf life of the processed meat, preventing spoilage. The results of this experiment show that the cattle fed a Pomegranate Peel Extract supplemented diet had a higher average rate of daily gain than those not fed a Pomegranate Peel Extract supplemented diet.

In a study on the nutritional value of fresh and detanninated Pomegranate Peel Extract powder in cattle diets. This study focuses more on the difference between fresh and detanninated Pomegranate Peel Extract powder. Tannin or tannic acid is a polyphenol compound that tends to have a bitter, unpalatable taste. Although bitter and unpalatable to most, tannin packed full of antioxidants and pomegranates are full of tannin, (hence why pomegranates are full of antioxidants). The conclusion of this article shows that although fresh Pomegranate Peel Extract exhibited a higher amount of nutritional value, it also puts off a smell and a taste that deter cattle from consuming as much as they would originally consume without the fresh Pomegranate Peel Extract powder. The detanninated Pomegranate Peel Extract powder does not have smell or taste that the fresh powder does but still shows a sufficient level of tannin. Both fresh and detanninated Pomegranate Peel Extract powder are great options for a cattle feed supplement. Overall, it comes down to preference.

Each of these articles make great points as to why Pomegranate Peel Extract should be used in our livestock diets. Pomegranate Peel Extract is packed full of antioxidants and has shown to improve milk production and increase milk fats and proteins. Evidence has also shown that including a Pomegranate Peel Extract supplement to our cattle diets can decrease cholesterol and urea nitrogen levels in their blood. Because of the increasing benefits of the high levels of antioxidants in Pomegranate Peel Extract, there has been evidence that incorporating Pomegranate Peel Extract into our cattle’s diets increases their average daily rate of gain due to an increase in feed consumption, and higher levels of vitamin E which help to extend the shelf life of our meat products. 

The previous research that has completed on the effects of Pomegranate Peel Extract in cattle diets has been beneficial yet scares and I feel like, incomplete. I think that these researchers and the experiments they have done are an undeniable resource into further research on how a Pomegranate Peel Extract nutritional supplement can be a positive aspect in our cattle’s diets. With little negative research on using a Pomegranate Peel Extract supplement, there is room for much more research involving Pomegranate Peel Extract, extending the research on how Pomegranate Peel Extract extends the shelf life of meat products, especially beef products.

References

1. Abarghuei, M., Y. Rouzbehan, A. Salem, and M. Zamiri. 2013. Nutrient digestion, ruminal fermentation and performance of dairy cows fed pomegranate peel extract. Livestock Science 157:452–461.
2. Abarghuei, M., Y. Rouzbehan, A. Salem, and M. Zamiri. 2014. Nitrogen balance, blood metabolites and milk fatty acid composition of dairy cows fed pomegranate-peel extract. Livestock Science 164:72–80.
3. Adams, L.S., Seeram, N.P., Aggarwal, B.B., Takada, Y., Sand, D., Heber, D., 2006. Pomegranate juice, total pomegranate ellagitannins, and punicalagin suppress inflammatory cell signaling in colon cancer cells. J. Agric.FoodChem.54,980–985.
4. Kushwaha, S. C. 2013. Nutritional Composition of Detanninated and Fresh Pomegranate Peel Powder. IOSR Journal Of Environmental Science, Toxicology And Food Technology 7:38–42.
5. Mueller-Harvey, I. 2006. Unravelling the conundrum of tannins in animal nutrition and health. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 86:2010–2037.
6. Ruggeri, C. 2019. 5 Benefits of Tannins in Wine & Other Food Sources - Health: Food is Medicine. Health | Food is Medicine. Available from: https://curiositiesandnews.org/5-benefits-of-tannins-in-wine-other-food-sources/
7. Shabtay, A., H. Eitam, Y. Tadmor, A. Orlov, A. Meir, P. Weinberg, Z. G. Weinberg, Y. Chen, A. Brosh, I. Izhaki, and Z. Kerem. 2008. Nutritive and Antioxidative Potential of Fresh and Stored Pomegranate Industrial Byproduct as a Novel Beef Cattle Feed. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 56:10063–10070.4
8. Vasta, V.,Nuddab,A.,Cannas,A.,Lanza,M.,Priolo,A.,2008.Alternative feed resources and their effects on the quality of meat and milk from small ruminants. Anim. FeedSci. Technol. 147,223–246.