Assessment of poisonous and anti-nutritional compounds in wild edible forages consumed by ruminant species

The present study was conducted to evaluate the anti-nutritional composition of the wild plantsof Soon Valley, Khushab, Pakistan. Anti-nutritional components posed a high risk to health for theruminants. So it is very important to estimate the range of anti-nutritional compounds present inthe wild plants which are used as forage by the ruminants of this area. Anti-nutritional compounds,such as terpenes, tannins, saponins, phytate, alkaloid, cyanide and oxalate were analyzed. Highestterpene contents (200.33%) were showed by Digitaria sanguinalis, Erigeron divergens showedmaximum alkaloid contents (0.93%) while highest cyanide value was observed in Achnatherumhymenoides (0.57%). Excluding cyanide, all anti-nutritional components showed significantvariation in all plant species. The values of anti-nutrients observed in the present study are belowthan the toxic levels. Bulk consumption of monotypic edible parts of plant during one meal maylead to nutritional and health problems. However, traditional methods help to lower down theanti-nutritionals and their respective risks. Similarly, wild edible plants can also be used toimprove the living security and thus reduce the starvation due to the millennium developmentgoals