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Prevalence Of Dhp Toxicity And Detection Of S. Jonesii In Ruminants Consuming Leucaena Leucocephala In Eastern Indonesia, Michael J. Halliday, Tanda Panjaitan, Jacob Nulik, H. Dahlanuddin, Jagadish Padmanabha, Chris S. Mcsweeney, Sulaiman Depamede, Debora Kana Hau, Kurniawan, Muhammad Fauzan, Sutartha, Baiq Tutik Yuliana, Charles Pakereng, Putri Ara, Dessy Liubana, Resti G. Edison, H. Max Shelton

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Leucaena leucocephala (leucaena) is a productive forage tree legume widely used in eastern Indonesia. While highly nutritious, it possesses the toxin mimosine which adversely affects animal production. In ruminants, mimosine is readily converted to the two isomers of dihydroxypyridine (3,4-DHP and 2,3-DHP) known to cause goitre, suppress appetite, and cause severe mineral deficiencies. These adverse symptoms may be partially responsible for the reluctance of some farmers to feed leucaena.

A bacterium capable of complete degradation of DHP, Synergistes jonesii, originally discovered in Hawaii in goats consuming leucaena (Jones and Megarrity 1986), was later found in Indonesia which led to …