Chokeberry polyphenols reduce prooxidative influence of oxidized fats in rat diets

The aim of the study was to estimate nutritional and physiological consequences of combined supplementation of rat casein diets with a strongly oxidized mixture of fats and extract of polyphenols from chokeberry. The experiment was conducted on 80 young Wistar rats divided into 8 groups. The animals were fed diets supplemented with 8% of fresh or oxidized fats and 0.4, 0.8 and 1.2% of polyphenol extract together. Addition of the oxidized fats caused significant reduction in animal growth without a decrease in nitrogen digestibility. On the other hand, the extract of polyphenols suppressed nitrogen utilization; animal growth was however similar to the control group. Analysis of the variance showed negative influence of the oxidized fats on cholesterol and triacyloglycerol concentration in the blood of the experimental animals. Increased activity of both aminotransferases in the blood of rats fed diets containing the oxidized fats indicated on liver malfunction. There was no effect of the experimental factors on the antioxidant status of the blood, but a dose-dependent reduced content of malonylodialdehyde in the blood of rats fed diets supplemented with the extract of polyphenols suggested that the extract had a preventive effect against prooxidative activity of the oxidized fats.     

Growth performance and blood profile of West African Dwarf (WAD) goats fed varying levels of treated sweet orange peels

Fifteen West African Dwarf grower bucks of about 6–8 months of age and average weights of 8.39 kg were used in a 70-day study to assess the intake and blood profile of West African Dwarf (WAD) goats fed diets containing graded levels of treated sweet orange peel meal (TSOPM), in a completely randomized design. Sweet orange peels were collected from sweet orange retailers within Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria. The peels were packed into synthetic bags, compressed, and allowed to ferment for 12 h before sun-drying. The sun-dried peels were crushed into a meal and used to compound four treatments diets which consisted of 0, 60, and 80% TSOPM, designated diets A, B, and C respectively. Results showed that there were no significant differences (P?>?0.05) among the treatments in all the performance parameters except in the total forage intake values in which treatment A (19.74 kg) was significantly lower (P?<?0.05) than treatment B (21.77 kg) and treatment C (21.96 kg). But between treatment B and treatment C, there was no difference. Effect of treatments was also not apparent on the haematological indices measured, but the serum biochemical parameters showed significant difference (P?<?0.05) among the treatments for total protein values. The total protein value for treatment C (8.02 g/dl) was significantly higher (P?<?0.05) than treatments A (7.10 g/dl) and B (6.62 g/dl). The study showed that treated sweet orange peel meal can be used up to 80% level to replace maize offal in the diets of goats without adverse effects on the performance blood indices.

     

Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia – a comprehensive review

Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP) is a serious disease of goats, occasionally sheep and wild ruminants, caused by Mycoplasma capricolum subspecies capripneumoniae (Mccp). The disease is characterized by severe serofibrinous pleuropneumonia, very high morbidity (～100%), and mortality (80–100%). CCPP affects goats in more than 40 countries of the world thereby posing a serious threat to goat farming around the globe. The characteristic clinical signs of CCPP are severe respiratory distress associated with sero-mucoid nasal discharge, coughing, dyspnea, pyrexia, pleurodynia, and general malaise. In later stages, severe lobar fibrinous pleuropneumonia, profuse fluid accumulation in pleural cavity, severe congestion of lungs and adhesion formation is observed. Mycoplasmal antigen interactions with host immune system and its role in CCPP pathogenesis are not clearly understood. CCPP is not a zoonotic disease. Diagnosis has overcome cumbersome and lengthy conventional tests involving culture, isolation, and identification by advanced serological (LAT, cELISA) or gene-based amplification of DNA (PCR, RFLP, and hybridization) and sequencing. The latex agglutination test (LAT) is rapid, simple, and better test for field and real-time diagnosis applicable to whole blood or serum and is more sensitive than the CFT and easier than the cELISA. Moreover, the studies on antibiotic sensitivity and exploration of novel antibiotics (fluoroquinolones, macrolides) can help in better therapeutic management besides preventing menace of antibiotic resistance. Re-visiting conventional prophylactic measures focussing on developing novel strain-based or recombinant vaccines using specific antigens (capsular or cellular) should be the most important strategy for controlling the disease worldwide.     

Reproductive seasonality in Saanen goats kept under tropical conditions

Tropical Animal Health and Production - This study aimed to verify the reproductive seasonality in Saanen goats from distinct parity orders (nulliparous, primiparous, and pluriparous) throughout an...     

Periodic vicissitudes of different concentrations of a developed prototype killed S. aureus mastitis vaccine on immune modulators,mediators and immunoglobulins in cows

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Mastitis is the inflammation of the mammary gland due to microbial infiltration causing a reduced mammary function. This study aims at developing a vaccine...     

Comparative evaluation of different therapeutic protocols for contagious caprine pleuropneumonia in Himalayan Pashmina goats

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Therapeutic management of contagious caprine pleuroneumonia (CCPP) involves mostly the use of oxytetracycline followed by enrofloxacin and rarely tylosin. In...     

Pharmacokinetics of thymoquinone in layer chickens following oral and intravenous administration

Thymoquinone (TQ) is the major constituent of Nigella sativa and known to possess a variety of pharmacological effects. This study was designed to evaluate the pharmacokinetic profile of TQ following oral (PO) and intravenous (IV) administration in layer chickens. The layer chickens were equally divided into two groups (six chickens in each group, total 12 chickens), and TQ was administered via PO and IV routes. For PO route, the dose was 20 mg/kg b.w. and for IV route, 5 mg/kg b.w. was administered, respectively. A sensitive and accurate High‐Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) technique was validated for the quantification of TQ from plasma. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were 0.02 µg/ml and 0.05 µg/ml, respectively with >80% recovery. Maximum plasma concentration (C_max) following PO and IV administration was 8.805 and 4.497 µg/ml, respectively, while time to reach at maximum concentration (T_max) was 1 and 0.1 hr, respectively. The elimination half‐lives were recorded as 1.02 and 0.978 hr, whereas the mean residence times were 1.79 and 1.036 hr following both PO and IV administration, respectively. The 85% PO bioavailability was indicative that TQ could be used for various therapeutic purposes in layer chickens.     

Oospore Production of Phytophthora infestans in Potato and Tomato Leaves

ABSTRACT Fungal, host, and environmental factors affecting sexual reproduction of Phytophthora infestans in planta were studied. Intact and detached leaves were coinoculated with sporangia of various combinations of A(1) and A(2) mating-type isolates; leaves were incubated under various conditions, and oospore production was estimated microscopically within whole, clarified leaflets. Some A(1) + A(2) isolate combinations were more reproductive than others, whereas some potato genotypes better supported oospore formation than others. Tomato usually supported more oospore formation than potato. To induce oospore formation, A(1) and A(2) sporangia were usually mixed at a 1:1 ratio. Ratios of 1:19 to 19:1, however, also allowed abundant production of oospores. Optimal temperatures for sexual sporulation ranged from 8 to 15 degrees C, but oospores also were produced at 23 degrees C. Oogonia developed 5 to 6 days after sporangial coinoculation, and oospores developed after 8 to 10 days. Light had little effect on oospore formation in both tomato and potato leaves provided that initial lesions were established under photoperiodic conditions. Although A1 and A(2) sporangia usually were mixed before inoculation on leaves to obtain oospores, we found that discrete A(1) and A(2) lesions produced on opposite sides of the midvein of tomato leaves also induced oospore formation in the midvein and adjacent tissues. Oospores also formed when the two halves of the leaves were cut and separated at 3 days after sporangial coinoculation, which corresponded with the appearance of late blight lesions. The continuous supply of moisture to infected leaves was essential to oospore production. No oospores or oogonia formed in severely diseased plants kept at 50 to 80% relative humidity. Such plants did allow some oospore formation when kept continuously wet for 2 weeks in plastic boxes or tents. Detached leaves floated on water supported the highest sexual sporulation. Under optimal conditions of wetness and temperature, as many as 100 oospores per mm(2) of tissue were observed.     

Ultrastructure, Morphology, and Sporogenesis of Pasteuria penetrans

ABSTRACT Pasteuria penetrans is a bacterial parasite of root-knot nematodes that shows great potential as a biocontrol agent. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy were used to study the ultrastructure, morphology, and sporogenesis of four isolates of P. penetrans. The effects of different Meloidogyne spp. and tobacco cultivars on sporangium size and morphology of endospores attached to the cuticle of second-stage juveniles (J2) of root-knot nematodes also were investigated. The P. penetrans isolates and their origins were P-20 from M. arenaria race 1 in Levy County, FL; P-100 from Meloidogyne sp. in Pasco County, FL; B-4 from Pratylenchus scribneri in Seminole County, FL; and P-120 from Meloidogyne spp. in Alachua County, FL. Sporangia of the four isolates were identical morphologically and similar in their dimensions, ranging from 2.39 to 3.42 mum in diameter and from 1.38 to 2.38 mum in height. Different Meloidogyne spp. and tobacco cultivars had no effect on sporangium size. Endospores attached to J2 were visualized in three forms: endospores retaining the sporangium wall, endospores covered with a thin exosporium, and endospores without covering. Sporogenesis of P. penetrans was similar to that of other gram-positive bacteria and generally matched the seven-stage scheme reported for Bacillus thuringiensis.