effect of dietary bovine colostrum supplementation on serum malondialdehyde levels and antioxidant activity in alloxan-induced diabetic rats

Due to the range of its constituents, colostrum has been considered as a supplement for various diverse purposes. This study was conducted to examine the effect of supplementary bovine colostrum on serum malondialdehyde [MDA], antioxidant activity [AOA] and glucose in a diabetic rodent model. Sixty male Wistar rats were divided into 10 groups of six rats each for 40 days as follows: non-diabetic; diabetic; diabetic with 10%, 20% or 30% colostrum intake; non-diabetic with 10%, 20% or 30% colostrum intake; diabetic treated with insulin; and diabetic treated with glibenclamide. Although serum MDA levels showed a significant decrease in response to insulin [2.56 +/- 0.31 umol/L] and 10%, 20% or 30% colostrum intake [0.46 +/- 0.04, 0.29 +/- 0.06, 0.37 +/- 0.09 jumol/L, respectively], the decrease was greater in the diabetic rats [3.92 +/- 0.29 umol/L] [p < 0.01]. Significant changes were seen in the AOA of both insulin [0.78 +/- 0.11 mmol/L] and glibenclamide [0.7 +/- 0.08 mmol/L] treated rats compared to the diabetic rats [0.69 +/- 0.1 mmol/L]; however, AOA showed a significant increase in response to 10% [1.78 +/- 0.11 mmol/L], 20% [1.57 +/- 0.02 mmol/L] and 30% [1.75 +/- 0.02 mmol/L] colostrum [p < 0.001]. All treated groups showed a significant decrease in serum glucose levels compared to the diabetic group [391 +/- 39.79 mg/dL] [p < 0.01]. It seems that colostrum might be a beneficial dietary supplement for reducing serum MDA and glucose levels while increasing serum AOA in type 1 diabetes mellitus

comparison of milk protein status of healthy and mastitic cows under denaturing conditions

Mastitis is one of the most important diseases of dairy cattle in the world. The identification and characterization of the constituent proteins in milk can be useful for studying the biochemistry and pathogenesis of mastitis. In this study, the electrophoretic patterns of milk from 10 healthy and 30 mastitic cows were studied. All of the latter milk samples were California Mastitis Test [CMT] positive, and these were cultured to isolate the infective agents. The electrophoretic patterns of these samples and those of healthy cows [negative CMT and cultures] were studied with the SDS-PAGE technique. The approximate molecular weight of protein bands were categorized by their different flow rates [Rf], and these ranged between 18.5 - 220 KDa in mastitis samples of milk. The electrophoretogram showed that higher molecular weight bands appeared in the milk of mastitic cows60-220KDa and many were in the range of 176-208 kDa.The major band for the healthy samples was 220 KDa. In this respect, the mastitis samples had a minimum of two bands and a maximum of five bands, while milks from healthy cows did not show any bands in this range. On the basis of the different result between the electrophoretic patterns of milk from healthy and mastitic cows, it can be concluded that SDS-PAGE is a suitable method for the diagnosis of cows withsub sub clincal mastitis

Alterations of triglyceride and cholesterol in response to Aloe vera gel extract in HepG2 cells and hyperlipidemic guinea pigs

Aloe vera is well-known for its pharmacological and nutritional properties. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of A. vera gel extracts on the secretion and cell content of triglyceride [TG] and cholesterol [TC] in HepG2 cells and their short-term effects on the dietary hyperlipidemic guinea pig model. The effects of increasing concentrations of A. vera crude gel and its alcoholic and hydro-extract were compared to HepG2 cells in both basal and TG induced conditions with 20 mM glucose for 24 h. In addition, 24 male guinea pigs were randomly separated into six experimental groups as follows: control, hyperlipidemic control, levostatin control and A. vera receiving groups [fed with lipid-rich diet supplemented with A. vera crude gel, alcoholic or hydro-extracts of A. vera gel]. Treatments were carried out for 10 d TG and TC levels were measured in both collected fluid [sera and media] and extracted tissue [HepG2 and liver]. Although basal and stimulated conditions of crude gel and its hydro-extract decreased the secretion and cell content of TG, compared to the control [p<0.05]. This pattern was not seen with the alcoholic extract. Furthermore, A. vera did not have any effect on the serum or liver contents of TG or TC. Our results suggest that A. vera could be a beneficial supplement to modulate the levels of TG and TC. However, it does not appear to be a short-term lipid modulator for hyperlipidemia

Serum biochemical parameters of Asian tortoise [Agrionemys horsfieldi]

At present, a great deal of attention is being focused on the tortoise as a domestic pet. Knowledge of the blood biochemical parameters in captivity of this animal would be helpful for evaluations of their health. In this regard, the serum biochemical values were measured in 12 Asian tortoises [6 males and 6 females] before hibernation. Serum values of total protein [TOP] 63.19 +/- 7.57 g/L, Albumin [Alb] 47.24 +/- 10.66 g/L, creatinine [Crea] 57.4 +/- 4.68 micrommol/L, glucose [Glc] 81.46 +/- 21.88 mmol/L, urea 7.52 +/- 2.74 mmol/L, uric acid [UA] 0.11 +/- 0.028 mmol/L, aspartate transaminase [AST] 0.46 +/- 0.017 microkal/L, alanine transaminase [ALT] 0.44 +/- 0.053 microkal/L, amylase 1,157 +/- 33.96 microkal/L, calcium [Ca] 2.74 +/- 0.65 mmol/L, magnesium [Mg] 1.98 +/- 0.24 mmol/L, and inorganic phosphorus [P] 1.26 +/- 0.101 mmol/L were determined respectively. There were no significant differences in TOP, Alb, Glc, Crea, urea, UA, AST, ALT, amylase, Ca and P, and also Mg levels between males and females