Comparison of Metabolomic Signatures Between Low and Heavy Parasite Burden of Haemonchus contortus in Meat Goats Fed with Cynodon dactylon (Bermudagrass) and Crotalaria juncea L. (Sunn Hemp)

作者：Mariline Hilaire, Brandon R. Gines, Willard E. Collier, Honghe Wang, Santosh Chaudhary, Vivian Kanyi, Hany Abdo, Hossam Ismael, Erick Cathsley St. Preux, Melissa Boersma, Byeng R. Min · 发表于：Metabolites · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.3390/metabo15110741 · 研究领域：Helminth infection and control、Parasites and Host Interactions、Paleopathology and ancient diseases

Background/Objectives: Animal health remains a critical issue that directly impacts economic sustainability through animal welfare and production. In small ruminants, the gastrointestinal parasite Haemonchus contortus can lead to anemia and possibly mortality, since parasite burden can be considerable and is challenging to control. Small ruminant health can be affected by poor diet and environmental conditions that lead to changes in the metabolic balance. The link between animal health and metabolic profiles has been investigated in the past. These studies have shed important light on physiological changes by identifying dietary and disease biomarkers. This study aimed to correlate the metabolite signature of feces from goats, having two levels of Haemonchus contortus infection, grazing on two different forages (Bermudagrass and Sunn Hemp). Methods: Fecal samples were taken from goats grazing either Sunn Hemp or Bermudagrass pastures, with naturally variable Haemonchus contortus loads. Samples were evaluated using 1H-NMR and LC/MS methods to describe and compare metabolic patterns under varied forage conditions between low and high Fecal Egg Count (FEC). Results: Our findings indicated no significant difference using univariate analyses but identified 10 discriminatory features using multivariate analyses for Bermudagrass and Sunn Hemp using 1H-NMR. With LC-MS, we found 14 significantly different features (p < 0.05, FC > 2), 115 discriminatory features for Bermudagrass...