Pharmacokinetics of tapentadol in laying hens and its residues in eggs after multiple oral dose administration.

1. The aim of the study was to evaluate the pharmacokinetics (PKs) of tapentadol (TAP), a novel opioid analgesic, in laying hens after intravenous (IV) and oral (PO) administration and to quantify the concentrations of TAP residues in eggs. 2. Twenty healthy laying hens were divided into three groups: A (n = 6), B (n = 6) and C (n = 8). The study was conducted in two phases. Groups A and B received TAP by IV and PO routes at the dose of 1 and 5 mg/kg, respectively. 3. No visible adverse effects were observed after administration of the drug. TAP plasma concentrations were detectable up to 4 h following administration. Following IV administration, TAP plasma concentrations were only higher than the minimal effective concentration (148 ng/ml) reported for humans for 1 h. After single PO administration, plasma concentrations of TAP would not conform to software algorithms and the PK parameters were not calculated. TAP concentration following multiple PO doses at 5 mg/kg for 5 d was found to be higher and more persistent (12 h vs. 7 h) in yolk compared with albumen. 4. This is the first PK study on the novel atypical opioid TAP in laying hens. Further studies are required to investigate the analgesic efficacy and actual effective plasma concentration of TAP in this species.

Genomic and genetic variability of six chicken populations using single nucleotide polymorphism and copy number variants as markers.

Genomic and genetic variation among six Italian chicken native breeds (Livornese, Mericanel della Brianza, Milanino, Bionda Piemontese, Bianca di Saluzzo and Siciliana) were studied using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and copy number variants (CNV) as markers. A total of 94 DNA samples genotyped with Axiom® Genome-Wide Chicken Genotyping Array (Affymetrix) were used in the analyses. The results showed the genetic and genomic variability occurring among the six Italian chicken breeds. The genetic relationship among animals was established with a principal component analysis. The genetic diversity within breeds was calculated using heterozygosity values (expected and observed) and with Wright's F-statistics. The individual-based CNV calling, based on log R ratio and B-allele frequency values, was done by the Hidden-Markov Model (HMM) of PennCNV software on autosomes. A hierarchical agglomerative clustering was applied in each population according to the absence or presence of definite CNV regions (CNV were grouped by overlapping of at least 1 bp). The CNV map was built on a total of 1003 CNV found in individual samples, after grouping by overlaps, resulting in 564 unique CNV regions (344 gains, 213 losses and 7 complex), for a total of 9.43 Mb of sequence and 1.03% of the chicken assembly autosome. All the approaches using SNP data showed that the Siciliana breed clearly differentiate from other populations, the Livornese breed separates into two distinct groups according to the feather colour (i.e. white and black) and the Bionda Piemontese and Bianca di Saluzzo breeds are closely related. The genetic variability found using SNP is comparable with that found by other authors in the same breeds using microsatellite markers. The CNV markers analysis clearly confirmed the SNP results.

The post-thaw irradiation of avian spermatozoa with He-Ne laser differently affects chicken, pheasant and turkey sperm quality.

The effects of post-thaw Helium-Neon (He-Ne) laser irradiation on mobility and functional integrity of frozen/thawed chicken, pheasant and turkey spermatozoa were investigated. Cytochrome C oxidase (COX) activity was also determined as a measure of the effect of irradiation on mitochondrial bioenergetics. Semen samples from each species were collected, processed and frozen according to the pellet procedure. After thawing, each semen sample was divided into two subsamples: the first one was the control; the second one was irradiated with a single mode continuous He-Ne laser wave (wavelength 632.8 nm; 6 mW; 3.96 J/cm(2)). Then the samples were assessed for sperm mobility (Accudenz(®) swim-down test), viability (SYBR-14/PI staining), osmotic-resistance (HOS test) and COX activity. The irradiation was effective P<0.05 increasing sperm motility in the turkey semen (0.228 ± 0.01 compared with 0.294 ± 0.02). The irradiation also caused an increase (P<0.05) of the COX activity in pheasant (+135 ± 4%) and turkey (+116 ± 4%) sperm, without affecting viability and osmotic-resistance. The COX was positively correlated (P<0.05) with the viability of chicken sperm, however no significant interactions were found between mobility and COX activity in the three avian species. Due to the difference in energetic metabolism among avian species used in this study, the He-Ne laser irradiation has a differential action on bio-stimulation of turkey, chicken and pheasant spermatozoa. The present results are the first to elucidate the possibility for restoration of motility of cryopreserved avian spermatozoa by bio-stimulation provided via He-Ne laser irradiation.

Breast meat traits of Muscovy ducks fed on a microalga (Crypthecodinium cohnii) meal supplemented diet.

1. A trial was conducted in order to increase the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) content in the meat of Muscovy ducks (Cairina moschata domestica L.) fed on a diet supplemented with the microalga Crypthecodinium cohnii. 2. Two diets were provided to 48 male and 48 female ducks, belonging to an Italian rural strain during the last 3 weeks of life: a maize-soybean based diet as the control diet and the same diet supplemented with 5 g/kg microalga meal. 3. Dietary treatment did not induce differences in growth performances and slaughter traits. Similarly, chemical composition, colour, pH, oxidative stability and sensory characteristics of breast muscle were not influenced by the diet. 4. A significant increase of DHA content in breast meat of ducks fed on the Crypthecodinium cohnii enriched diet was observed.

Influence of dietary lipid source and strain on fatty acid composition of Muscovy duck meat.

A trial was conducted to study the effect of dietary 2% soya bean oil and dietary 2% fish oil (FO) on fatty acid composition of breast meat of two different Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata domestica L.) strains. The two strains were a broiler strain selected for meat production and an unselected rural strain. Fatty acid composition of breast muscle was deeply influenced by lipid source. Dietary FO improved the long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) of omega 3 series content, while the content of LC-PUFAs of omega 6 series was reduced. Differences in susceptibility in lipid manipulation were found between the two groups of animals suggesting the highest capability of animals belonging to the rural strain in stocking arachidonic acid in breast muscle. As the fatty acid profile of Muscovy duck meat can be considerably modified by changing the fatty acid composition of the diet, and dietary FO represents an easy way to reach this goal, human intake of healthy n-3 LC-PUFAs could be enhanced using this enriched poultry meat, even if the influence of FO on organoleptic characteristics (i.e. off-flavours) must be evaluated.