Forage legumes (both herbaceous and shrub) have a great potential of improving animal productivity in sub-Saharan Africa by providing high levels of N usually lacking in most ruminant diets in the region. However, most of these legumes also contain high levels of secondary plant metabolites (tannins, alkaloids etc) that play key defensive roles in these plants. My project is geared towards better understanding of these role(s) in as much as they affect nutrient utilization and excretion by ruminants and decomposition of the resultant manure nutrients in soils. We are particularly interested in understanding the possible interactive consequences resulting from multiple presence of such compounds in feeds on the said parameters.