Green Benedict T, Gardner Dale R, Stonecipher Clinton A, Welch Kevin D, Lee Stephen T, Sullivan Tina, Westmoreland F Mitchell, Cook Daniel
United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Poisonous Plant Research Laboratory, 1150 East 1400 North, Logan, UT 84341, USA.
Northeast Research and Extension Center, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA.
Transl Anim Sci. 2025 Jul 22;9:txaf093. doi: 10.1093/tas/txaf093. eCollection 2025.
(varieties for industrial use or animal feed are termed hemp), and its extracted byproducts are being considered for animal feed due to their high protein content. However, if hemp disrupts fertility and reproduction in livestock, it should not be used as a feed source. We hypothesized that the phytocannabinoids in hemp would disrupt fertility and reproduction, cause craniofacial defects (cyclops, cleft palate, misshapen head), and low birth weight in lambs. To test this hypothesis, 22 timed pregnant ewes were dosed with hemp in the form of dried ground hemp plant material at 150 mg/kg body weight per day total cannabinoids, and from gestational days 10 to 20 and a separate 22 timed pregnant ewes were dosed similarly with dried ground grass hay as a control. The most prevalent cannabinoids in the plant material were cannabidiolic acid (CBDA) at a concentration of 23.2 mg/g, and cannabidiol (CBD) at a concentration of 5.8 mg/g. Delta 9-tetrahydrocannabidiol was present in the plant material at a concentration of 0.3 mg/g. The hemp used in this study had crude protein concentrations of 15.6%, neutral detergent fiber concentrations of 42.2%, and in vitro true digestibility concentrations of 83.6%. After 10 d of dosing with hemp, a serum sample was obtained from each of the ewes, CBDA was measured at a concentration of 652 ± 38 ng/mL and CBD was measured at 16 ± 0.9 ng/mL. THC was not detected in the serum. The average gestation length for lambs from the hemp treated ewes was 148 ± 0.38 d, and the average gestation length for lambs from the grass hay treated ewes was 149 ± 0.38 d (P = 0.23). The numbers of male and female lambs did not significantly vary from expected (50:50) (P = 0.32). There were no significant fetal deformities (P > 0.05) or weight differences between the treatment groups (P > 0.05), and as expected, the lamb weights significantly increased over time (P < 0.05). These results suggest that may have the potential with further research to be a suitable protein source for gestating sheep.
（用于工业用途或动物饲料的品种被称为大麻），并且由于其高蛋白含量，其提取的副产品正被考虑用作动物饲料。然而，如果大麻会扰乱家畜的生育能力和繁殖能力，就不应将其用作饲料来源。我们假设大麻中的植物大麻素会扰乱生育能力和繁殖能力，导致羊羔出现颅面缺陷（独眼、腭裂、头部畸形）以及低出生体重。为了验证这一假设，22只定时怀孕的母羊每天按每千克体重150毫克总大麻素的剂量投喂干燥的磨碎大麻植物材料，从妊娠第10天到第20天，另外22只定时怀孕的母羊则同样投喂干燥的禾本科干草作为对照。植物材料中最主要的大麻素是大麻二酚酸（CBDA），浓度为每克23.2毫克，以及大麻二酚（CBD），浓度为每克5.8毫克。δ9 - 四氢大麻二酚在植物材料中的浓度为每克0.3毫克。本研究中使用的大麻粗蛋白浓度为15.6%，中性洗涤纤维浓度为42.2%，体外真消化率浓度为83.6%。在投喂大麻10天后，从每只母羊采集一份血清样本，测得CBDA浓度为652±38纳克/毫升，CBD浓度为16±0.9纳克/毫升。血清中未检测到四氢大麻酚（THC）。投喂大麻的母羊所产羊羔的平均妊娠期为148±0.38天，投喂禾本科干草的母羊所产羊羔的平均妊娠期为149±0.38天（P = 0.23）。雄性和雌性羊羔的数量与预期（50:50）没有显著差异（P = 0.32）。各处理组之间没有显著的胎儿畸形（P>0.05）或体重差异（P>0.05），并且正如预期的那样，羊羔体重随时间显著增加（P<0.05）。这些结果表明，经过进一步研究，大麻可能有潜力成为妊娠母羊合适的蛋白质来源。
