ABSTRACT
Metabolic acidosis can result when herbivores consume browse diets high in plant secondary compounds. One mechanism for buffering excess acid is the mobilization of calcium and other alkaline salts from the skeletal system. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and other cervids consuming browse during antler formation may use minerals essential for antler development as buffers, resulting in altered antler characteristics. Our research objectives were to examine the effects of metabolic acidosis on mineral metabolism, acid-base homeostasis, and antler development in white-tailed deer. Fifteen male white-tailed deer were assigned to one of three diets: 2% NH(4)Cl, 3% commercial tannic acid, or a basal ration without additive. Two feeding trials were completed on each deer to determine nutrient use. Urine pH and the percentage of urinary nitrogen excreted as NH+4 varied by diet. No significant diet or trial effects occurred for nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, or sodium use. Urinary calcium excretion varied between diets. No dietary differences were observed for antler characteristics. The NH(4)Cl diet induced metabolic acidosis but did not alter antler development in white-tailed deer. Skeletal mineral reserves and mineral intake appeared sufficient to buffer excess acids and support antler development.
Subject(s)
Acidosis/veterinary , Antlers/growth & development , Deer/growth & development , Diet , Acidosis/physiopathology , Animals , Body Weight , Calcium, Dietary/metabolism , Energy Intake , Glucuronic Acid/urine , Male , Phosphorus, Dietary/metabolism , Random AllocationABSTRACT
Captive white-winged doves (Zenaida asiatica) were exposed to various levels of methyl parathion (MP) in drinking water to determine effects on brain and blood cholinesterase (ChE) activity. We conducted two experiments to test the influence of MP dose (the amount of MP actually ingested), MP concentration (the amount of MP per unit water), and exposure duration (number of days exposed to a constant MP concentration) on ChE activity. Plasma ChE activity was not useful in predicting brain ChE activity. Methyl parathion concentration had a greater influence on plasma and brain ChE activity levels than dose or time of exposure. These results contribute to the evaluation of irrigation water as a route of exposure of wildlife to pesticides.
Subject(s)
Brain/enzymology , Cholinesterase Inhibitors/toxicity , Cholinesterases/metabolism , Columbidae/metabolism , Insecticides/toxicity , Methyl Parathion/toxicity , Administration, Oral , Animals , Brain/drug effects , Cholinesterase Inhibitors/administration & dosage , Cholinesterases/blood , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Drinking , Insecticides/administration & dosage , Methyl Parathion/administration & dosageABSTRACT
Winter diets of ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) and other galliformes are high in tannins. We fed quebracho, a condensed tannin, to ruffed grouse and found no effect on dry matter intake or body mass at levels up to 6% of the diet. However, a high-fiber diet with 8% quebracho resulted in reduced dry matter intake and body mass loss. Grouse could not tolerate a diet with 8% tannic acid, a hydrolyzable tannin, which caused a large reduction in dry matter intake and body mass. Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) and ruffed grouse responded to dietary quebracho tannin by increasing the proportion of digesta that was excreted from the ceca. In the northern bobwhite, 59%-76% of the tannin recovered from the feces was in cecal feces. There was no difference in average passage rates of liquid and fiber digesta, although variation was high in tannin-fed birds. The role of the ceca in handling tannin requires further investigation.
Subject(s)
Birds/physiology , Cecum/physiology , Tannins/metabolism , Animals , Body Weight/drug effects , Chromium/analysis , Chromium/pharmacokinetics , Cobalt/analysis , Cobalt/pharmacokinetics , Diet , Feces/chemistry , Gastrointestinal Transit , Male , Tannins/administration & dosage , Tannins/pharmacologyABSTRACT
Sugars or carbohydrates are identified as the source of free radicals in coffees, ersatz coffees, a number of other food flavouring and colouring agents formed by processes involving heating, and in beers and stouts. The radicals are not derived from phenolic constituents, in contrast to those in wine, and are unlikely to be due solely to the occurrence of Maillard reactions.
Subject(s)
Beverages , Coffee/chemistry , Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy , Free Radicals/chemistryABSTRACT
By using Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) spectroscopy, we have detected free radicals in red wine, whether fermented on oak or not, and in white wine only when it has been fermented on oak. These radicals would appear to be associated with the phenolics, because the ESR signal from the residue of red wine treated with polyvinyl polypyrrolidone is reduced by approximately 80%. Any inhibition of lipid oxidation by red wine phenolics in vitro will take place in the presence of these radicals, which have a linewidth of 2.0 +/- 0.1 gauss and a g-value of 2.0038 +/- 0.0001.
