Dietary l-threonine supplementation attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory responses and intestinal barrier damage of broiler chickens at an early age.

This study was conducted to investigate the protective effects of l-threonine (l-Thr) supplementation on growth performance, inflammatory responses and intestinal barrier function of young broilers challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). A total of 144 1-d-old male chicks were allocated to one of three treatments: non-challenged broilers fed a basal diet (control group), LPS-challenged broilers fed a basal diet without l-Thr supplementation and LPS-challenged broilers fed a basal diet supplemented with 3·0 g/kg l-Thr. LPS challenge was performed intraperitoneally at 17, 19 and 21 d of age, whereas the control group received physiological saline injection. Compared with the control group, LPS challenge impaired growth performance of broilers, and l-Thr administration reversed LPS-induced increase in feed/gain ratio. LPS challenge elevated blood cell counts related to inflammation, and pro-inflammatory cytokine concentrations in serum (IL-1ß and TNF-α), spleen (IL-1ß and TNF-α) and intestinal mucosa (jejunal interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and ileal IL-1ß). The concentrations of intestinal cytokines in LPS-challenged broilers were reduced by l-Thr supplementation. LPS administration increased circulating d-lactic acid concentration, whereas it reduced villus height, the ratio between villus height and crypt depth and goblet density in both jejunum and ileum. LPS-induced decreases in jejunal villus height, intestinal villus height:crypt depth ratio and ileal goblet cell density were reversed with l-Thr supplementation. Similarly, LPS-induced alterations in the intestinal mRNA abundances of genes related to intestinal inflammation and barrier function (jejunal toll-like receptor 4, IFN- γ and claudin-3, and ileal IL-1 ß and zonula occludens-1) were normalised with l-Thr administration. It can be concluded that l-Thr supplementation could attenuate LPS-induced inflammatory responses and intestinal barrier damage of young broilers.

Serum metabolomics study of nutrient metabolic variations in chronic heat-stressed broilers.

To investigate the effects of heat stress on broiler metabolism, we assigned 144 broilers to normal control (NC), heat stress (HS) or pair-fed (PF) groups and then monitored the effects using growth performance, carcass characteristics, biochemical assays and GC-MS-based metabolomics. The up-regulation of cloacal temperature confirmed that our experiment was successful in inducing chronic heat stress. The average daily gain and average daily feed intake of the HS group were significantly lower than those of the NC group, by 28·76 and 18·42 %, respectively (P1 and P<0·05). The greater feed:gain ratio of the HS group was significantly positively correlated with the leg, abdominal fat, subcutaneous fat and intramuscular fat proportions and levels of some free amino acids (proline, l-cysteine, methionine and threonine) but was negatively correlated with breast proportion and levels of some NEFA (stearic acid, arachidonic acid, palmitic acid and oleic acid). These findings indicated that the heat-stressed broilers were in negative energy balance and unable to effectively mobilise fat, thereby resulting in protein decomposition, which subsequently affected growth performance and carcass characteristics.

Available energy content, nutrients digestibility of chili meal and effects on performance of growing pigs.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the digestible energy (DE), metabolizable energy (ME) content, apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of nutrients in chili meal (CM), and to determine the effects of CM on the performance of growing pigs. In Exp. 1, 12 barrows (Duroc x Landrace x Yorkshire) with an initial body weight (BW) of 50.9 ± 1.8 kg were allocated to one of two treatments, corn-soybean meal basal diet or diet containing 194.2 g/kg CM, which replaced corn and soybean meal in the basal diet. Pigs were placed in metabolism crates for a 7-d adaptation period followed by a 5-d total collection of feces and urine to detect DE, ME and ATTD of nutrients in CM. Exp. 2 was conducted for 4 wk. to evaluate the effect of CM on performance of growing pigs. 150 growing pigs (58.4 ± 1.2 kg BW) were allocated to 1 of 5 treatments. Treatment 1 was a corn-soybean meal basal diet met the DE requirement for growing pigs recommended by NRC (2012). Treatment 2 or 3 were diets containing 50 g/kg or 100 g/kg CM respectively. TREATMENT: 4 or 5 were based on treatment 2 or 3, while soybean oil (SBO) was added to improve the DE content to that in treatment 1. In Exp. 1, the DE and ME content of CM were 9.08 and 8.48 MJ/kg. The ATTD of dry matter (DM), gross energy (GE), organic matter (OM) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) were 0.60, 0.54, 0.66 and 0.38, respectively. In Exp. 2, addition of CM linearly decreased (P < 0.05) average daily gain (ADG) and the ATTD of DM, GE and OM while ATTD of crude protein (CP) had a quadratic (P < 0.05) change. When SBO was supplemented in diets containing CM, greater values (P < 0.05) of ATTD of most nutrients were observed. With the dietary inclusion of CM, the albumin/globulin ratio in serum had a quadratic change (P < 0.05), and the level of low-density cholesterol linearly (P < 0.05) increased. In treatments with 50 g/kg CM, a significant reduction (P < 0.05) of total antioxidant capacity was found in diet formulated with SBO. In treatments with 100 g/kg CM, the level of total cholesterol was lower (P < 0.05) in the diet with SBO. In conclusion, CM had moderate energy density and nutrients digestibility in pig diets. 50 g/kg CM with SBO in diets could be fed to growing pigs with no significant negative effects.

Selenium-enriched Saccharomyces cerevisiae improves growth, antioxidant status and selenoprotein gene expression in Arbor Acres broilers.

One hundred and fifty 7-day-old Arbor Acres broilers were randomly assigned into five groups: group 1 served as a control that was fed a basal diet without selenium (Se) supplementation; groups 2, 3 and 4 were fed the basal diet supplemented with 0.15, 0.5 and 1.5 mg Se as Se-enriched Saccharomyces cerevisiae (SSC) per kg of diet; and group 5 was fed the basal diet supplemented with 0.15 mg per kg of Se as sodium selenite (SS). Growth performance, glutathione peroxidase (GPX ) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities, total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), and malondialdehyde (MDA) content in plasma and liver, and cellular glutathione peroxidase (GPX -1) and phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (GPX -4) mRNA levels in liver were determined. Compared with group 1, groups 2-4 exhibited higher body weights (p < 0.05), lower feed/gain ratios, and higher GPX activities in plasma (p < 0.05) and GPX and SOD activities and GPX -1 and GPX -4 mRNA levels in liver (p < 0.05). Compared with group 5, group 2 exhibited higher GPX activity in plasma on day 21 (p < 0.05). Compared with group 2 and 5, group 3 exhibited lower MDA content in plasma on day 7 (p < 0.05), higher GPX activity in plasma, SOD activity and GPX -1 mRNA levels in liver on day 14 and 21 (p < 0.05), and higher GPX -4 mRNA levels on day 14 (p < 0.05). Compared with group 4, group 3 exhibited lower MDA contents in plasma on day 14 (p < 0.05) and in liver on day 21 (p < 0.05), higher T-AOC in plasma and higher GPX -1 mRNA levels on day 14 and 21 (p < 0.05), and higher SOD activity in plasma and higher SOD and GPX activities in liver on day 21 (p < 0.05). Thus, SSC improves growth and antioxidant status of broilers; the short-term bioavailability of SS was faster than that of SSC, but the long-term bioavailability of SSC was greater than SS.

Effects of Bacillus subtilis ANSB060 on growth performance, meat quality and aflatoxin residues in broilers fed moldy peanut meal naturally contaminated with aflatoxins.

This study was conducted to investigate the toxic effects of aflatoxins and the efficacy of Bacillus subtilis ANSB060 for the amelioration of aflatoxicosis in broiler chickens. Six replicates of ten broilers each were assigned to one of seven dietary treatments, which were labeled C0 (basal diet); M0 (basal diet containing moldy peanut meal); C500 and C1000 (C0+500 or 1000 g/t aflatoxin biodegradation preparations, composed mainly of ANSB060); and M500, M1000 and M2000 (M0+500, 1000 or 2000 g/t aflatoxin biodegradation preparations). The concentrations of aflatoxin B1, B2, G1 and G2 in the moldy diets (M0, M500, M100 and M2000) fluctuated around 70.7±1.3, 11.0±1.5, 6.5±0.8 and 2.0±0.3 µg/kg, respectively. The results showed that the M0 diet caused a significant decrease in average daily weight gain and increased feed requirements, with a gain ratio increasing from d 8 to 42, deterioration in meat quality and aflatoxin residues in broilers' livers as compared with the C0 diet. The addition of ANSB060 to the aflatoxin-contaminated diets offset these negative effects, leading to the conclusion that ANSB060 has a protective effect on growth performance and meat quality while reducing the amount of aflatoxin residues in the livers of broilers fed naturally moldy peanut meal.

Suplementação de acidificantes em rações de leitõesdesmamados: desempenho e digestibilidade / Supplementation of acidifiers in diets of weaned pigs: performance and digestibility

Em dois ensaios experimentais avaliou-se efeito dietético da suplementação de acidificantes sobre o desempenho (ensaio1) e coeficientes de digestibilidade aparente de nutrientes (ensaio 2) em suínos. No ensaio 1, com duração de 42 dias,120 leitões desmamados aos 21 dias foram distribuídos em oit8 blocos experimentais com três leitões por baia, foramaplicados cinco tratamentos, sendo um controle e4quatro com a inclusão de acidificantes. No ensaio 2,0dez leitões compeso médio inicial de 16,4 kg foram distribuídos em dois blocos experimentais, cada um com cinco repetições, sob doistratamentos (ração sem acidificante ou com 1,0% de ácido fumárico). No estudo de desempenho, a adição de ácidofumárico nas rações determinou aumentos no consumo de ração nos períodos de 0 aos 15 dias, 0 aos 32 dias e ganhode peso de 0 aos 42 dias, quando comparado ao tratamento controle. No ensaio 2, a adição de 1,0% de ácido fumáricona ração não alterou os coeficientes de digestibilidade aparente da matéria seca e demais componentes químicos dasdietas. A ausência de diferenças nos coeficientes de digestibilidade aparente dos nutrientes dietéticos com a inclusão doacidificante provavelment, deveu-se ao curto período de avaliação. A inclusão de ácido fumárico nas rações de leitõesdesmamados favoreceu o desempenho dos leitões.

In two experimental assays it was evaluated the diet acidifier supplementation effect on performance (assay 1) and onnutrient apparent digestibility coefficients (assay 2). During 42 days in assay 1, 120 piglets weaned at 21-days years oldwere allotted in8eight experimental block design with3three pigs per experimental unit. The treatments were a controland4four acidified diets. In assay 2,0ten piglets with an average weight of 16,4 kg were allotted in two experimentalblock design receiving two treatments under five replications (control diet without acidifier or supplied with 1,0%fumaric acid). On performance study the fumaric acid inclusion in the diet permitted a feed intake increase from 0 to15 days, and weight gain from 0 to 32 days and from 0 to 42 days. In assay 2, the diet 1,0% of fumaric acid inclusion didnot modified the apparent digestibility coefficients of dry matter and moreover diet chemical compounds. The similarapparent digestibility coefficient of dietetic nutrients with the acidifier inclusio, probabl, occurred due to the shortperiod of evaluation. The fumaric acid inclusion in weaned piglet diets improved performance of piglets.

Efficacy test of sustained-release somatotropin by implantation in steer, cow and barrow / 대한수의학회지

Sixteen steers were used to investigate the efficacy of the sustained-release implant of bovine somatotropin (bST) in improving growth and feed:gain ratio during 12 weeks. Administration of the 400 mg bST implant resulted in a 16.1% increase in growth rate, and this increase was significant (p .05) feed intake and feed:gain ratio. Thirty-four cows were used to investigate the efficacy of the sustained-release implant of bST in milk production during 4 weeks. Administration of the 200 mg bST implant resulted in an 8.7% increase in milk production, and this increase was significant (p .05) growth rate and feed intake.