Editing Onobrychis viciifolia (section)

== Beneficial aspects in animal production ==

An animal diet containing common sainfoin is able to reduce nematode (e.g. ''[[Haemonchus contortus]]'') parasitism in ruminant’s guts. Due to the high levels of condensed tannins, the fecundity of nematodes and the number of their eggs in the ruminant’s digestive system are reduced.<ref name="Heckendorn" /><ref name="Manolaraki" /><ref name="Valderrabano" /><ref name="Hoste">Hoste H., L. Gaillard and Y. Le Frileux, 2005. Consequences of the regular distribution of sainfoin hay on gastrointestinal parasitism with nematodes and milk production in dairy goats. Small Ruminant Research 59: 265–271</ref><ref name="Morrill">Morrill W. L., R. L. Ditterline and S. D. Cash, 1998. Insect pests and associated root pathogens of sainfoin in western USA. Field Crops Research 59: 129-134</ref><ref name="Paolini b">Paolini V., P. Dorchies and H. Hoste, 2003. Effects of sainfoin hay on gastrointestinal infection with nematodes in goats. http://orgprints.org/6995/01/vetrec.pdf, last visited: 24.7.2012</ref><ref name="Paolini c">Paolini V., F. Prevot, P. Dorchies and H. Hoste, 2005. Lack of effects of quebracho and sainfoin hay on incoming third-stage larvae of Haemonchus contortus in goats. The Veterinary Journal 170: 260–263</ref><ref name="Scharenberg">Scharenberg, A., F. Heckendorn, Y. Arrigo, H. Hertzberg, A. Gutzwiller, H. D. Hess, M. Kreuzer and F. Dohme, 2008. Contortus and fed tanniferous sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) nitrogen and mineral balance of lambs artificially infected with Haemonchus. Journal of Animal Sciences, 86: 1879–1890</ref> Especially in goat and sheep production systems feeding of ''O. viciifolia'' is a promising alternative or complement to synthetic drugs.<ref name="Carbonero" />
Besides these anthelmintic properties diets containing common sainfoin can lead to increasing daily weight gains of small ruminants. Also milk quantity and quality of these animals are not negatively affected by ''O. viciifolia'' intake. Furthermore, various studies showed that the voluntary intake of sainfoin was comparable or even higher than the intake of alfalfa or clover species.<ref name="Heckendorn" /><ref name="Manolaraki" /><ref name="Paolini a" /><ref name="Valderrabano" /><ref name="Hoste" />