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Factors Affecting the Estrogenic Content of Alfalfa Silage^{1, 2,}

Departments of Animal and Dairy Husbandry, Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana

ABSTRACT

The occurrence of estrogens in plants has been the subject of a recent review (2). Presumably, factors responsible for differences in the estrogenic content of plants, such as species of plant or stage of maturity (4), would also influence the estrogenicity of silage made from plant material. Additionally, it has been reported that molasses preservation of alfalfa silage increases its estrogenic activity (3). The object of this study was to determine the effect of stage of maturity, type of preservative, and length of fermentation on the estrogenicity of alfalfa silage.

All silages were made by placing 2 lb. of freshly chopped, second-cutting alfalfa in plastic bags (7) and allowing fermentation to progress for varying intervals. In some instances, a fresh alfalfa sample was dehydrated for determination of original estrogenic activity. The silages were made either without preservative or with the addition of 80 lb. of molasses or 8 lb. of sodium bisulfite per ton of plant material.

¹ Journal Paper No. 1148 of the Purdue University Agricultural Experiment Station.

² This project was supported in part by a grant from the Commercial Solvents Corporation, Terre Haute, Indiana.