May
2007date
| NSAC graduate student explores alternatives
to antibiotic use in livestock production Today’s consumer is becoming increasingly more aware of the “from the farm to your plate” process. The emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria and the potential risk of chemical residues in food have caused increased public pressure to reduce the use of feed-added antibiotics and chemical additives in livestock production.  Gillian
Fraser, a native of Antigonish and a former graduate student of
the Nova Scotia Agricultural College (NSAC), says that recent research
has identified the possibility of plant extracts and in particular,
essential oils and their compounds as having antimicrobial properties.
Awarded $30,000 in January 2005 under the Graduate Research Training
Initiative (GRTI), Gillian enrolled full-time in the Plant and Animal
Sciences Department under the supervision of Dr. Chaouki Benchaar,
a Research Scientist with Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)
who was recently stationed at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College.
Gillian’s research specifically focused on exploring the use of essential oils from Cinnamon Leaf to replace ionophore antibiotic use in feeding and nutrition. Such findings could have a positive impact not only on protein and energy utilization by dairy cows, but also on the environment by reducing nitrogen excretion and greenhouse gas emissions. After preliminary testing of a wide variety of essential oil compounds, Cinnamon Leaf Oil exhibited some interesting results and sparked an interest for use in the project. Instead of using live animals, Gillian used two artificial rumen systems to perform her research. “In addition to it being more cost effective than using live animals, it’s a much safer way to screen compounds for their preliminary effects,” says Gillian, “Once you obtain the results, you can decide whether to move to live testing.” Results of the study showed that cinnamon essential oil exhibited antimicrobial activities against ruminal microorganisms. However, at the dose evaluated, the change in rumen fermentation pattern was generally not favorable for dairy cattle. “There is no doubt that essential oils have antimicrobial properties” says Dr. Benchaar. “However, more research is still required to assess in vivo the effects of essential oils on rumen metabolism and animal performance.” Gillian’s experience as a graduate student was definitely unique. Her first seven months as a graduate student were spent conducting research at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Research Centre in Lethbridge, AB. From there she traveled back to the NSAC for coursework and from May until August 2006 she traveled to the AAFC Research Centre in Lennoxville, QC, to finish her thesis writing. Gillian also traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota in July 2006 to present her results at the Joint American Dairy Science Association-American Society of Animal Science (ADSA-ASAS) annual meeting and the results of her study were accepted for publication with the Journal of Dairy Science in the fall of 2006. The close atmosphere at the NSAC made it easy for Gillian to decide where to go for graduate school. “Dr. Benchaar was doing research here with essential oils and was interested in having me as a student”, says Gillian. “Ruminant nutrition in dairy cows was a special interest of mine so I thought I’d take the opportunity”. According to Dr. Benchaar, Gillian was a great example of the linkage that can be created between universities and AAFC. “She got to work at two federal institutions, had contact with first class researchers in the field of ruminant nutrition and microbiology and she learned valuable lab techniques,” states Dr. Benchaar. “Programs like this help to better serve the science and the Canadian agriculture sector. Since September 1st, 2006, Gillian has been employed as Sheep Unit Technician at the Ruminant Animal Center of the NSAC. Gillian manages the NSAC flock of approximately 155 animals and is actively involved in teaching sheep production labs. While working, the GRTI program allowed Gillian to continue her studies as a part-time student and on Dec.5th, 2006 Gillian successfully defended her thesis and officially graduated in May 2007. “I was given the opportunity to meet so many new people and to experience first hand, cutting edge research in a first class research atmosphere,” says Gillian. “It taught me a lot about research and I got the chance to go elsewhere.” She adds, “This opportunity has definitely opened a lot more doors for me and has been a learning experience not only academically, but I have also gained life lessons." The Graduate Research Training Initiative Scholarship Program is an initiative under the federal-provincial-territorial Agricultural Policy Framework (2003-2008), funded by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture. The purpose of this initiative is to provide financial support to graduate students at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College (NSAC) whose research will benefit the Nova Scotia agriculture and agri-food industry. This initiative is intended to encourage qualified students to undertake graduate studies thus building a professional capacity to meet the future needs of Nova Scotia's agri-food industry. |
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