Protease Supplementation in the Diet of Light Laying Hens

This work was developed to evaluate the impact of the addition of proteases on the performance characteristics, egg quality, relative weight of digestive organs, and intestinal morphometry of laying hens. 390 Hy Line W36® hens were allocated into five treatments and six replicates with 13 animals. The treatments were: 1) Control (standard formulation), 2) Negative control A - NCA (nutritional reduction according to protease A matrix), 3) Negative control B - NCB (nutritional reduction according to protease B matrix), 4) NCA+protease A (0.250 g/kg of feed) and 5) NCB+protease B (0.125 g/kg of feed). Hens fed the NCA, NCB, and NCA+protease A diets showed reductions in feed intake and egg mass. The addition of protease B provided better results for egg production in both percentage and per dozen as compared to the group fed with the NCA+protease A diets. The hens subjected to diets NCA and NCB showed eggs with a reduced eggshell and thickness percentage. However, supplementation with proteases A and B improved these parameters to values similar to the controls. There was no significant effect of the treatments on the relative weight of the liver, proventricle, gizzard, pancreas, and small intestine. However, the addition of protease A resulted in a decreased value for the relative weight of the large intestine. The jejunum and ileum crypt depths were, respectively, smaller in hens fed the control diet in relation to the NCB diet and the NCA and NCB diets. As it can be concluded, Protease B supplementation provided the best performance results.(AU)

Maternal nutritional restriction during gestation impacts differently on offspring muscular and elastic arteries and is associated with increased carotid resistance and ventricular afterload in maturity.

BACKGROUND: Intrauterine undernutrition could impact offspring left ventricle (LV) afterload and arterial function. The changes observed in adulthood could differ depending on the arterial type, pathway and properties studied. Aim: To analyze whether undernutrition during early and mid-gestation is associated with changes in cardiovascular properties in adulthood. METHODS: Pregnant ewes were assigned to one of the two treatment groups: (1) standard nutritional offer (high pasture-allowance, HPA; n = 16) or (2) nutritional restriction (50-75% of control intake) from before conception until day 122 of gestation (≈85% term) (low pasture allowance, LPA; n = 17). When offspring reached adult life, cardiovascular parameters were assessed in conscious animals (applanation tonometry, vascular echography). MEASUREMENTS: Peripheral and aortic pressure, carotid and femoral arteries diameters, intima-media thickness and stiffness, blood flow, local and regional resistances and LV afterload were measured. Blood samples were collected. Parameters were compared before and after adjustment for nutritional characteristics at birth and at the time of the cardiovascular evaluation. RESULTS: Doppler-derived cerebral vascular resistances, mean pressure/flow ratio (carotid resistance) and afterload indexes were higher in descendants from LPA than in descendants from HPA ewes (p < 0.05). Descendants from LPA had lower femoral diameters (p < 0.05). Cardiovascular changes associated with nutritional restriction during pregnancy did not depend on the offsprings' nutritional conditions at birth and/or in adult life. CONCLUSION: Pregnant ewes that experienced undernutrition gave birth to female offspring that exhibited increased carotid pathway resistances (cerebral microcirculatory resistances) and LV afterload when they reached the age of 2.5 years. There were differences in the impact of nutritional deficiency on elastic and muscular arteries.

Intakes of energy, macronutrients and micronutrients of a population in severe food insecurity risk in Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: To analyse usual intakes of energy, macronutrients and micronutrients, and their percentage of inadequacy, in a Brazilian population at severe food insecurity (SFI) risk, determined from a predictive model using two national databases. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. Our study used a statistical model to predict SFI using the 2009 National Sample Household Survey, where the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale measured SFI. SETTING: Brazil. PARTICIPANTS: The model was applied in a probabilistic sample of 34 003 Brazilians aged 10 years or older that participated in a national dietary survey during 2008-2009. The application of the model generated the probability of each individual being in SFI. The probability of SFI was grouped into quartiles (first quartile with the lowest SFI risk, fourth quartile with highest probability of SFI risk). RESULTS: The intakes of macro- and micronutrients were associated with SFI. The amount of energy and nutrients in the diet tended to be lower among individuals in the fourth quartile, with highest probability of SFI. The average intake of all studied minerals (Ca, Fe, Na, Mg) was less in individuals in the fourth quartile. Only Na presented a higher percentage of inadequacy in the first quartile, the one with a lower chance of SFI. CONCLUSIONS: The food intake of the Brazilian population at higher SFI risk is characterized by energy reduction, reduced consumption of macronutrients and high prevalence of inadequate micronutrient intakes, as well as a lower mean intakes, when compared with the first quartile with the lowest SFI risk.

Phytase and protease supplementation for laying hens in peak egg production / Suplementação de fitase e protease para galinhas em pico de produção

The effects of enzyme combinations in diets for commercial laying hens need further clarification. The goal of this study was to determine if the type of protease used in diets supplemented with phytase affects performance, nutrient intake, egg quality or intestinal mucosa morphometry of laying hens during peak egg production. Seven hundred and eighty hens (25-week-old Hy-Line W36 hens) were assigned to a completely randomized design composed of five treatments/diets with 12 replicates of 13 birds each. The five treatments were: 1) positive control: diet formulated according to the Hy-Line nutritional recommendations, without proteases , 2) negative control A: positive control diet reduced in energy, protein and amino acids according to protease A matrix, without protease supplementation, 3) negative control B: positive control diet reduced in energy, protein and amino acids according to protease B matrix, without protease supplementation, 4) negative control A plus protease A, 5) negative control B plus protease B. There was no effect of the treatments (P > 0.05) on egg production, egg mass or feed conversion; however, the nutritional restriction imposed by the negative controls reduced egg weight (negative control A, P=0.02), albumen height (P < 0.01) and the Haugh unit (P < 0.01). Protease supplementation reduced the calculated intake of protein and amino acids compared to the positive control; nevertheless, protease A was able to maintain egg weight, albumen height and the Haugh unit at the same levels as that obtained with the positive control hens. The intestinal mucosa responded to treatment only at the jejunum (P < 0.01), but the negative controls did not modify villus height or crypt depth compared to the positive control. However, crypt depth of protease B hens was higher than that of the positive control hens.[...](AU)

Os efeitos da utilização em conjunto de enzimas exógenas para aves de postura precisam ser mais explorados na literatura. No intuito de determinar se o tipo de protease, em dietas suplementadas com fitase, interfere no desempenho, qualidade do ovo, ingestão de nutrientes e morfometria da mucosa intestinal de galinhas em pico de postura, 780 galinhas Hy-Line W36 de 25 semanas foram distribuídas em um delineamento inteiramente casualizado composto por cinco tratamentos/dietas com 12 repetições de 13 aves cada. Os cinco tratamentos foram: 1) controle positivo: dieta formulada de acordo com as recomendações nutricionais da Hy-Line, sem proteases, 2) controle negativo A: dieta controle positivo reduzida em energia, proteína e aminoácidos conforme a matriz nutricional da protease A, sem proteases, 3) controle negativo B: dieta controle positivo reduzida em energia, proteína e aminoácidos conforme a matriz nutricional da protease B, sem proteases, 4) controle negativo A com inclusão da protease A, 5) controle negativo B com inclusão da protease B. Não houve efeito dos tratamentos (P > 0,05) sobre produção de ovos, massa de ovos e conversão alimentar; porém, a restrição nutricional imposta pelos controles negativos diminuiu o peso do ovo (controle negativo A, P = 0,02), a altura do albúmen (P < 0,01) e a unidade Haugh (P < 0,01). Embora a inclusão das proteases em seus respectivos controles negativos não tenha garantido o mesmo consumo de proteína e aminoácidos observado no grupo controle positivo, a adição da protease A reverteu os efeitos adversos da restrição nutricional sobre o peso do ovo, a altura do albúmen e a unidade Haugh. O efeito dos tratamentos sobre a morfometria da mucosa intestinal foi detectado somente no jejuno (P < 0,01), porém, o consumo dos controles negativos não alterou a altura de vilosidades e a profundidade de criptas em relação ao controle positivo.[...](AU)

Phytase and protease supplementation for laying hens in peak egg production / Suplementação de fitase e protease para galinhas em pico de produção

The effects of enzyme combinations in diets for commercial laying hens need further clarification. The goal of this study was to determine if the type of protease used in diets supplemented with phytase affects performance, nutrient intake, egg quality or intestinal mucosa morphometry of laying hens during peak egg production. Seven hundred and eighty hens (25-week-old Hy-Line W36 hens) were assigned to a completely randomized design composed of five treatments/diets with 12 replicates of 13 birds each. The five treatments were: 1) positive control: diet formulated according to the Hy-Line nutritional recommendations, without proteases , 2) negative control A: positive control diet reduced in energy, protein and amino acids according to protease A matrix, without protease supplementation, 3) negative control B: positive control diet reduced in energy, protein and amino acids according to protease B matrix, without protease supplementation, 4) negative control A plus protease A, 5) negative control B plus protease B. There was no effect of the treatments (P > 0.05) on egg production, egg mass or feed conversion; however, the nutritional restriction imposed by the negative controls reduced egg weight (negative control A, P=0.02), albumen height (P < 0.01) and the Haugh unit (P < 0.01). Protease supplementation reduced the calculated intake of protein and amino acids compared to the positive control; nevertheless, protease A was able to maintain egg weight, albumen height and the Haugh unit at the same levels as that obtained with the positive control hens. The intestinal mucosa responded to treatment only at the jejunum (P < 0.01), but the negative controls did not modify villus height or crypt depth compared to the positive control. However, crypt depth of protease B hens was higher than that of the positive control hens.[...]

Os efeitos da utilização em conjunto de enzimas exógenas para aves de postura precisam ser mais explorados na literatura. No intuito de determinar se o tipo de protease, em dietas suplementadas com fitase, interfere no desempenho, qualidade do ovo, ingestão de nutrientes e morfometria da mucosa intestinal de galinhas em pico de postura, 780 galinhas Hy-Line W36 de 25 semanas foram distribuídas em um delineamento inteiramente casualizado composto por cinco tratamentos/dietas com 12 repetições de 13 aves cada. Os cinco tratamentos foram: 1) controle positivo: dieta formulada de acordo com as recomendações nutricionais da Hy-Line, sem proteases, 2) controle negativo A: dieta controle positivo reduzida em energia, proteína e aminoácidos conforme a matriz nutricional da protease A, sem proteases, 3) controle negativo B: dieta controle positivo reduzida em energia, proteína e aminoácidos conforme a matriz nutricional da protease B, sem proteases, 4) controle negativo A com inclusão da protease A, 5) controle negativo B com inclusão da protease B. Não houve efeito dos tratamentos (P > 0,05) sobre produção de ovos, massa de ovos e conversão alimentar; porém, a restrição nutricional imposta pelos controles negativos diminuiu o peso do ovo (controle negativo A, P = 0,02), a altura do albúmen (P < 0,01) e a unidade Haugh (P < 0,01). Embora a inclusão das proteases em seus respectivos controles negativos não tenha garantido o mesmo consumo de proteína e aminoácidos observado no grupo controle positivo, a adição da protease A reverteu os efeitos adversos da restrição nutricional sobre o peso do ovo, a altura do albúmen e a unidade Haugh. O efeito dos tratamentos sobre a morfometria da mucosa intestinal foi detectado somente no jejuno (P < 0,01), porém, o consumo dos controles negativos não alterou a altura de vilosidades e a profundidade de criptas em relação ao controle positivo.[...]