Prevalence of DHP Toxicity and Detection of \u3cem\u3eS. jonesii\u3c/em\u3e in Ruminants Consuming \u3cem\u3eLeucaena leucocephala\u3c/em\u3e in Eastern Indonesia

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 the assumption that all Indonesian ruminants were protected from leucaena toxicity even on 100% leucaena diets. The objective of this study, conducted during October-November 2011, was to confirm this hypothesis via an extensive survey of the toxicity status of ruminants consuming leucaena in eastern Indonesia