RESUMO
Essential oil of Nepeta racemosa Lam. was extracted and characterized to determine its antimicrobial activity and potential use in applications. The essential oil was loaded on polyvinyl alcohol-pullulan films and gels and characterized by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and UV-Vis spectroscopy before having its antimicrobial capacities assessed. The essential oil extracted from Nepeta racemosa Lam. was characterized using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectroscopy, which indicated that the most abundant component was nepetalic acid (55.5%), followed by eucalyptol (10.7%) and other compounds with concentrations of about 5% or less. The essential oil, as well as the loaded films and gels, exhibited good antibacterial activity on both gram-positive and gram-negative strains, with growth inhibition zones larger in some cases than for gentamicin, indicating excellent premises for using these essential-oil-loaded materials for applications in the food industry or biomedicine.
RESUMO
To maximize milk production, efficiency, and profits, modern dairy cows are genetically selected and bred to produce more and more milk and are fed copious quantities of high-energy feed to support ever-increasing milk volumes. As demands for increased milk yield and milking efficiency continue to rise to provide for the growing world population, more significant stress is placed on the dairy cow's productive capacity. In this climate, which is becoming increasingly hotter, millions of people depend on the capacity of cattle to respond to new environments and to cope with temperature shocks as well as additional stress factors such as solar radiation, animal crowding, insect pests, and poor ventilation, which are often associated with an increased risk of mastitis, resulting in lower milk quality and reduced production. This article reviews the impact of heat stress on milk production and quality and emphasizes the importance of udder health monitoring, with a focus on the use of emergent methods for monitoring udder health, such as infrared thermography, biosensors, and lab-on-chip devices, which may promote animal health and welfare, as well as the quality and safety of dairy products, without hindering the technological flow, while providing significant benefits to farmers, manufacturers, and consumers.
RESUMO
Nanomaterials have been used for diagnosis and therapy in the human medical field, while their application in veterinary medicine and animal production is still relatively new. Nanotechnology, however, is a rapidly growing field, offering the possibility of manufacturing new materials at the nanoscale level, with the formidable potential to revolutionize the agri-food sector by offering novel treatment options for prevalent and expensive illnesses such as bovine mastitis. Since current treatments are becoming progressively more ineffective in resistant bacteria, the development of innovative products based on both nanotechnology and phytotherapy may directly address a major global problem, antimicrobial resistance, while providing a sustainable animal health solution that supports the production of safe and high-quality food products. This review summarizes the challenges encountered presently in the treatment of bovine mastitis, emphasizing the possibility of using new-generation nanomaterials (e.g., biological synthesized nanoparticles and graphene) and essential oils, as candidates for developing novel treatment options for bovine mastitis.
RESUMO
The utilization of sex-sorted sperm for artificial insemination and in-vitro fertilization is considered a valuable tool for improving production efficiency and optimizing reproductive management in farm animals, subsequently ensuring sufficient food resource for the growing human population. Despite the fact that sperm sex-sorting is one of the most intense studied technologies and notable progress have been made in the past three decades to optimize it, the conception rates when using sex-sorted semen are still under expectations. Assisted reproduction programs may benefit from the use of emergent nano and microfluidic-based technologies. This article addresses the currently used methods for sperm sex-sorting, as well as the emerging ones, based on nanotechnology and microfluidics emphasizing on their practical and economic applicability.
