Activated charcoal and experience affect intake of juniper by goats

Abstract

Goats consume juniper, but toxic terpenoids within the plant limit intake. Our objective was to determine if dosing goats with the adsorptive compound activated charcoal would increase juniper consumption. Twenty Boer-cross goats were placed in individual pens; at 0800 hours, 10 were dosed with 1 g kg(-1) body weight (BW) of activated charcoal in an aqueous solution, and 10 were not dosed. Dosing occurred daily for 10 days. Goats were offered redberry juniper (Juniperus pinchotii Sudw.) in Trial 1, ashe juniper (Juniperus ashei Buch.) in Trial 2, and a choice between redberry and ashe juniper in Trial 3. For each trial, juniper was offered to all goats for 2 hours after dosing with activated charcoal. In Trial 1, goats dosed with activated charcoal consumed more (P < 0.05) redberry juniper during the first 5 days of exposure. In Trial 2, activated charcoal did not affect ashe juniper intake. In Trial 3, dosing with activated charcoal did not affect juniper intake. All goats preferred ashe to redberry juniper. Juniper intake increased across days of exposure for Trials 1 and 2, apparently because goats adapted to the terpenoids in juniper through repeated exposure. It appears that activated charcoal will only increase redberry juniper intake during initial exposures.