Dietary Hydroxytyrosol Supplementation on Growth Performance, Gut Morphometry, and Oxidative and Inflammatory Status in LPS-Challenged Broilers.

This study assessed the effects of hydroxytyrosol (HT) on 8- to 20-day-old broilers challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS); 180 Cobb500™ male chicks were randomly assigned to 3 treatment groups, each comprising 10 replicates with 6 birds per replicate. Treatments included a control diet (CON), CON with LPS administration, and CON + LPS supplemented with 10 mg of HT/kg of feed. LPS was administered intraperitoneally on days 14, 16, 18, and 20. Body weight (BW), body weight gain (BWG), and the feed conversion ratio (FCR) were measured. On day 20, ten birds per treatment were slaughtered for analysis. Bursa, spleen, and liver were collected, and their respective relative weight was determined. The jejunum was destined for morphological analyses of villus height (VH), crypt depth (CD), and their ratio (VH:CD), and for mRNA expression of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and interleukins 10 (IL-10), 1 beta (IL-1ß), and 8 (IL-8). HT improved BW, BWG, and FCR, and reduced crypt depth (CD) while increasing the VH:CD ratio in the jejunum. Moreover, HT downregulated mRNA expression of CAT, GPx, IL-10, and IL-1ß. In conclusion, HT enhances broiler growth performance, mitigates jejunal mucosa damage from LPS, and modulates antioxidant and immune responses.

Pilot-scale production of mcl-PHA by Pseudomonas citronellolis using acetic acid as the sole carbon source.

Medium-chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoates (mcl-PHA) are biobased materials with promising properties for environmentally friendly applications. Due to high production costs, which are related to the cost of the carbon sources combined with conversion insufficiencies, currently only small quantities are produced. This results in a lack of reliable data on properties and application potential for the variety of polymers from different types of production strains. This study investigated the potential for the production of mcl-PHA from volatile fatty acids (VFA) at a larger scale, given their potential as low-cost and sustainable raw material within a carboxylate-platform based biorefinery. Pseudomonas citronellolis (DSMZ 50332) was chosen as the production strain, and acetic acid was selected as the main carbon and energy source. Nitrogen was limited to trigger polymer production, and a fed-batch process using a pH-stat feeding regime with concentrated acid was established. We report successful production, extraction, and characterization of mcl PHA, obtaining a total of 1.76 kg from two 500-litre scale fermentations. The produced polymer was identified as a copolymer of 3-hydroxydecanoate (60.7%), 3-hydroxyoctanoate (37.3%), and 3-hydroxyhexanoate (2.0%) with a weight average molecular weight (Mw) of 536 kDa. NMR analysis indicates the presence of unsaturated side chains, which may offer additional possibilities for modification. The results confirm that there is a potential to produce significant amounts of mcl-PHA with interesting rubber-like properties from waste-derived VFA.

Effects of Hydroxytyrosol Supplementation on Performance, Fat and Blood Parameters of Broiler Chickens.

The study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation of hydroxytyrosol (HT) on performance, fat, and blood parameters of broilers. In total, 960 male chicks were distributed into four treatments groups with 12 replicates with 20 birds per pen, with varying HT levels (0, 5, 10, and 50 mg/kg of feed) added to the basal diet from 1 to 42 days old. Feed intake, body weight gain, and feed conversion ratio were evaluated. Enzymes related to liver injury were evaluated in blood. Fatty acid profile and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration were determined in the breast meat. Dietary supplementation of HT did not improve broilers' performance (p > 0.05). Birds fed 50 mg HT/kg had lower AST, ALT, and GGT concentrations (p ≤ 0.05), whereas broilers fed 5, 10, and 50 mg HT/kg, had lower TBIL concentrations (p ≤ 0.05). Breast meat of broilers fed 50 mg HT/kg had lower lipid content, saturated fatty acid, unsaturated fatty acids, MDA concentrations (p ≤ 0.05), and polyunsaturated fatty acids (p < 0.0001). In summary, supplementation of 5, 10, and 50 mg HT/kg does not improve the performance of broilers, but the dose of 50 mg HT/kg helps the liver against inflammation and improves fat parameters.

Novel sodium alkyl-1,3-disulfates, anionic biosurfactants produced from microbial polyesters.

A sodium alkyl disulfate mixture (SADM) synthesised from microbially produced 3-hydroxy fatty acids methyl esters (HFAMEs), showed 13-fold surface tension decrease when compared with the reference surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Polyhydroxyalkanoates, accumulated by bacteria intracellularly when supplied with a mixture of fatty acids derived from hydrolysed rapeseed oil, were isolated, depolymerised and methylated to produce HFAMEs in very high yield (90%). A sequential chemical reduction and sulfation of the HFAMEs produced the sodium alkyl disulfates in high yields (>65%). SADM performs also 1.3-times better than dodecyl (1,3) disulfate, in surface tension tests. SADM shows also the formation of a specific critical micelle concentration (CMC) at a concentration 21-fold lower than SDS. The wettability of the SADM mixture is similar to SDS but the foaming volume of SADM is 1.5-fold higher. The foam is also more stable with its volume decreasing 3 times slower over time compared to SDS at their respective CMC values. Established sulfation technologies in chemical manufacturing could use the 3-hydroxy fatty acids methyl esters moiety (3-HFAME) given its origin from rapeseed oil and the extra OH residue on 3-position in the molecule, which affords the opportunity to produce disulfate surfactants with a proven superior performance to monosulphated surfactants. Thus, not only addressing environmental issues by avoiding threats of deforestation and monocultivation associated with palm oil use but also achieve a higher performance with lower use of surfactants.

Parallel, high-throughput purification of recombinant antibodies for in vivo cell assays.

We describe a method for high-throughput, parallel purification of secreted proteins to analyse large numbers of protein samples in cell-based assays for the discovery of protein therapeutics. The procedure is generic and capable of 96 parallel purifications and compatible, in both yield and purity, with a wide assay range. By optimising expression and purification steps as well as using novel hardware, in particular a chromatography press capable to purify target proteins from viscous media, we exemplify the process for the generation of single-chain Fv antibody fragments (scFv) and the purification of full-length IgG. The described process can operate robustly with a throughput of over 2,000 samples per month.