Since the 1950s, scientists have known about the medical efficacy of certain plants. Still, they only found their way into modern livestock farming about 10 years ago. Today, they are not only found in the organic sector.

1. Digital Re-print -
July | August 2013
FEED FOCUS: Health benefits of natural feed
ingredients: oregano increases efficiency of cattle
feeds
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3. Health benefits
of natural feed
ingredients:
oregano increases
efficiency of cattle
feeds
Thomas Logemann, Head
of Sales, Dostofarm GmbH,
Germany
S
ince the 1950s, scientists have
known about the medical efficacy of
certain plants. Still, they only found
their way into modern livestock farming
about 10 years ago. Today, they are not
only found in the organic sector.
However, hardly any plant is useful simply
fresh from the field or dried. The plants are
generally elaborately distilled or fermented,
in order to extract the essential oils as a
base for a suitable organic compound. In the
laboratory, the inhibition zone test delivers
proof of efficacy: the larger the clear circle,
the more effective the compound. In objec-
tive comparative tests with several natural
compounds, prepared oregano was proven
to be the most effective biological agent.
The oil extracted from the plant inhib-
ited 19 of 25 investigated bacterial strains,
showed good efficacy against four strains,
and only had to admit defeat in two cases.
Thus, oregano is considered to be a natural
broad-spectrum bacteria killer.
Broad-spectrum bacteria killer
The advantage of oregano compared to
other compounds is the relatively low effec-
tive dose and the neutral flavour in meat,
milk and eggs. The low dose is particularly
remarkable. For example, when used to con-
trol fungi, the dose required to eliminate
99.9 percent of Candida is 111 times lower
than with the standard medication (calcium-
magnesium-caprylate). In other cases, a con-
centration of 0.1 percent or 0.01 percent is
already sufficient to eliminate 90 percent.
The laboratory values can generally be
transferred to practical use in cattle farming,
however, some restrictions may apply. For
example, although oregano is very effective
at inhibiting the spreading of Salmonella,
in the barn, these bacteria are not only
found in the livestock, but also in alternate
hosts, which makes control more difficult.
This did not detract from the triumph of
this natural product: oregano is being used
in commercial livestock farming more than
ever. Incidentally, it is used mainly for pre-
vention until the slaughtering day, since it is
possible without altering the flavour of the
animal product and without record in the
medication log. As a side effect, oregano
stimulates the animal's appetite and prevents
premature spoilage of the feed. Oregano
also leaves no detectable flavour in milk and
milk products.
Several manufacturers share the market.
The German company Dostofarm was one
of the first to work on processing of oregano
for livestock farming. Today, the company
is the only one to offer natural compounds
as a medicine whose efficacy is confirmed
according to the German Medicines Law.
In terms of cost, the conversion to natural
products is economical, as demonstrated
by numerous examples from organic and
conventional livestock farming. The admin-
istration is simple, since the active substance
is only added to the feed or drinking water.
There is no danger of an overdose and there
are no known cases of resistance.
Intestinal stability
Oregano has also proven itself for pre-
ventative use to stabilise the intestines of
barn animals. Compared to conventional
compounds, oregano is even usually more
economical and as a bonus, it does not pose
a health hazard.
A study shows that oregano is very
effective when administered as a feed sup-
plement. Oregano was given to a group
of calves (43 animals) that had diarrhoea.
Already after one single treatment, 58 per-
cent of the animals were free of
symptoms. The rest of the animals were
healed after the second administration.
Although these results were also obtained in
the control group, they were only obtained
with the use of a hard ‘chemical cocktail’
consisting of Baytril, Bacolam and Biosol.
Infections, parasites or bacterial toxins
generally cause diarrhoeal disease. It can
be recognised by frequent bowel move-
ments that tend to be of liquid consistence
and sometimes severe pain in the animals.
Diarrhoea requires immediate treatment,
since fluids and minerals are flushed out
of the body due to the reduced water-
absorbing capacity of the intestinal cells.
Dehydration and loss of electrolytes could
ultimately lead to the death of the animal.
Respiratory disease
Another field of application is respira-
tory disease caused by bacteria or viruses.
However, the animals are only susceptible
when the farmer creates the conditions
that lead to infection. For this reason, the
surrounding conditions should be checked
before using medication.
A crucial point here is insufficient hygiene.
Direct contact between persons and the
animals should be restricted as much as
possible in order to reduce the introduction
of pathogens. Also, reducing person traffic
through all the operating areas can help to
prevent the spread of existing pathogens.
The animals themselves are also carriers. It
is always risky to freshen up the population
with purchased animals. If it cannot be avoid-
ed, animals should only be bought from one
or few (known) suppliers, which restricts the
spectrum of potential pathogens.
Stress factors such as drafts through
doors or windows that do not close prop-
erly or uncoordinated opening of these may
promote the occurrence of disease. For
this reason, ventilation should be optimally
adjusted. This keeps the air temperature
constant, so that the animal's organism
does not need to mobilise its reserves to
compensate for cooling. Cleanliness is always
key. In the barn, this means that: droppings
should not be left to lie longer than neces-
sary. Therefore, the litter has to be changed
as often as required to keep the air free of
ammonia. Pay attention to dust in general,
as it has a highly irritating effect. The primary
Grain&feed millinG technoloGy28 | July - august 2013

4. stress factors also include the mobilisation of
the population. Thus, changes of building and
transportation should be avoided as much as
possible. Separate animals that disturb the
population due to hierarchy conflicts.
Altogether, it is important to protect
the animals' immune system and mucous
membranes. This also prevents secondary
diseases, for example, of the intestinal
tract. The majority of these measures
can be accomplished without additional
costs, simply by reorganising the operating
procedures accordingly. If one wants to
reduce the risks even more, the natural
oregano compounds can be added to
the drinking water or sprinkled around
the barn. Parallel to this, the animals can
also be immunised. Antibiotics should only
be administered if a large portion of the
population is infected.
Meanwhile, organic farmers must con-
tinue to use natural compounds. In many
cases, however, these have proven to be
just as effective. In addition, they can be
used up to the slaughtering day. Those
who implement these preventative meas-
ures could save a lot of money: respiratory
disease not only counts among the most
frequent diseases, but also among those
that cause the most economic losses, since
they inhibit animal growth.
Appetite-stimulating effect
In addition to use for infection preven-
tion, oregano has also proven itself to be
effective against constipation, flatulence and
loss of appetite. The latter is a welcome
side effect of the treatment. It can be
attributed to its aromatic properties, which
intensify the flavour of the feed and thus
increase the feeding instinct. The effect
was observed in all of the examined animal
species. The effort is worthwhile from
an economical point of view, since the
increased yields generally are opposed to
relatively low costs.
In this context, there is also the use of
oregano in total mix rations (TMR). The
homogeneous distribution system consist-
ing of basic and concentrated feeds pro-
vides the animals with the required com-
ponents and simplifies animal maintenance.
Although the mixture produced in the feed
mixer improves the return per unit, it is not
without its problems in the summer. This is
due to fermentation processes in the ration
that reduce the animal's feed intake.
Added oregano acts against this: certain
components of the plant provoke a bio-
chemical reaction that reduces the reheat-
ing of the feed. The aromatic addition also
increases the palatability of the feed and
thus increases the animal's appetite. At
the same time, the stimulation of saliva-
tion improves feed conversion and animal
health: saliva contains sodium bicarbonate,
which has an acid-moderating effect in the
rumen. The required amount of oregano
administered in powder form is low.
Climate protection side effect
Only a few months ago, scientists from
the Pennsylvania State University, USA sur-
prised the world with the discovery that
cattle farmers can make a great contribution
to climate protection with little effort.
In a study carried out
on Holstein cows, it was
shown that already a small
amount of oregano in
the feed can reduce the
exhalation of methane gas
from animal stomachs by
40 percent. Undesirable
side effects were not
observed. On the con-
trary, the cows increased
fat-corrected milk produc-
tion by almost four per-
cent. The quantity of fresh
oregano of 500 grams fed
to each cow on a daily
basis (dosage about 1:40)
can be replaced by processed oregano from
an agricultural specialist shop, so that only a
fraction of the amount is required. The costs
are of only a few cents.
Methane is an odourless gas that is
produced by microbiological degradation
processes in the stomach of almost all mam-
mals. It is especially dangerous to the climate,
since it has about 23 times more greenhouse
potential than
carbon diox-
ide. According
to the cal-
culations by
the United
Nations, the
harmful cli-
mate effects
caused by
methane
from livestock
farming even
exceed those
of the entire
transport sec-
tor.
Conclusion
The exam-
ples show
that cattle
farmers today
have good
alternatives
to the often
problematic
chemical com-
pounds for
the treatment
of disease and
to increase
performance.
It is not really
surprising that,
of all things,
oregano com-
pounds are best suited for the purpose:
the positive effects of this plant have been
known for centuries. Although their use had
decreased in the last decades due to the
industrial production of antibiotics and other
chemical products, their use has fortunately
been increasing again due to the worldwide
trend towards healthy food that is produced
in an animal-friendly way, as well as the
increasing yield pressure.
More InforMatIon:
Website: www.dostofarm.com
PhotocourtesyofDostofarm
Grain&feed millinG technoloGy July - august 2013 | 29
CATTLE
gain rate and meat quality. The proteins
and amino acids of feed ingredients are
used to stimulate the production of lean
body mass. Research shows that greater
energy intakes directly improve pigs’ pro-
tein and lean meat accumulation, the daily
weight gain, feed utilization rate and the
fat content.
However, when the daily weight gain
hits a certain degree, greater energy intake
does not ensure an increase in lean meat.
Greater or fewer trace elements may lead
to metabolic disorders, slow weight gain
speed, more feeds consumption and diseas-
es or death. So the amount and proportion
of amino acids, energy level, protein level
and mineral elements should be considered.
Sow feeding
Figure 1 shows the energy needs distribu-
tion for pregnant sows. From the table we
know most of the feed is used as energy.
During this period, it is important that
the feed ingredients are not mouldy or
degenerative as poor quality feed can cause
miscarriage.
Dried fat and soybean oil should be
added to the feed to improve the birth
weight and survival rate of piglets. Sows at
different pregnancy stages need different
nutrition and feed intakes. Research shows
that in the early pregnancy sows need about
6 g lysine while in the later stages the lysine
intake is 15 g. Figure 2 shows the is the daily
feed intakes of pregnant sows.
From the table we know that the daily
feed intake for pregnant sows should be
reduced to 2.5 kg during the first 30 days so
as to maintain the energy levels and reduce
feed waste. Then feed intake is adopted
according to the body conditions. In the
later gestation stage, feed intake is increased
to expand stomach capacity and meet piglet
nutrition needs. In the last stages of preg-
nancy, feed intake reduced to 1.5 kg so as
to prevent constipation before parturition.
During the lactation period, sows may eat
less which causes weight loss and influences
lactation. So lysine should be added to the
feed pellets so as to reduce weight loss of
lactating sows, improve piglet weight gain
rate, provide sufficient milk for piglets and
Figure 1: Energy needs distribution for pregnant sows Figure 2: Daily feed intake for pregnant sows
Grain&feed millinG technoloGy July - august 2013 | 17
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February 4-7, 2014
GFMT has been engaged by the Cereals-Mixed Feed-Veterinary
Exposition 2014, which will be held in the All-Rusia Exhibition Centre
(VVC) in Moscow from February 4-7, 2014, to deliver a one-and-a-
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So as to compliment the exposition rather than compete with it,
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