Antihyperlipidemic and antioxidant effects of extracts from Pleurotus citrinopileatus

Pleurotus citrinopileatus is a popular edible mushroom which is physiologically active in both humans and animals. In the study we investigate the effects of this mushroom on hyperlipidemic hamster rats. Four dietary forms of the mushroom were created as follows. The powdered dry fruiting body, hot-water extract, and two kinds of elutes were obtained, from ethyl acetate extract and methanol extract, respectively, in different mixed proportion solvents over silica gel column chromatography (referred to as EAE and MOE, respectively). They were tested at different dosages as a supplement to a high-fat diet in hyperlipidemic rats. Serum triglycerides and total cholesterol levels were significantly lower in groups supplemented with the highest dosages of EAE and MOE (0.5 g/kg, body weight daily) as compared with the control groups that received no mushroom additive. High-density lipoprotein levels in these same two experimental groups were also significantly higher than those in the negative control group. The tested rats that were fed with EAE had the highest serum glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activity, and those with the MOE and EAE had the highest DPPH free radical scavenging activities and ferric-reducing abilities, tested in vitro. The major constituents of MOE and EAE were identified as ergosterol and nicotinic acid, respectively. P. citrinopileatus extracts may have a significant antihyperlipidemia effect. Furthermore, antioxidant activities and antihyperlipidemic effects of MOE and EAE seemed to display similar tendencies.     

Organic dairy farming in Norway under the 100% organically produced feed requirement

The derogation to use a percentage of cheaper non-organic feeds in organic livestock diets for herbivores expired from January 2008. (In Norway, a maximum of 15% conventional feedstuffs per year was allowed until 24 August 2005, 5% in the interim.) This study aimed to assess changes in resource use and financial impacts for organic dairy herds of the 100% organic feeding rule (compared with 85% organic feeds) using a two-stage stochastic programming modelling framework. In this study, the objective function was to maximise expected net income. Two organic dairy farms in the lowlands of southern Norway, both having a milk quota of 100,000 l but with varying farmland availability (37 ha vs. 20 ha), were examined. Furthermore, situations with and without possibilities to buy organic silage were studied. Milk production per cow was highest on the farm with the most strict land constraint. For farmers that fully utilise the non-organic feed allowance, the more expensive organic feeds determine the marginal feed cost. Hence, a removal of the non-organic feed allowance will not influence optimal farm practice (provided that marginal milk production is still profitable). A switch from conventional to organic concentrates as the only adjustment was found on the 37 ha farm and also on the 20 ha farm if there was no possibility to buy some organic silage. On the 20 ha farm with possibilities to buy organic silage, it turned out to be unprofitable to keep all the cows. Fewer cows resulted in several other changes in the model solution such as a lower milk yield per cow, less milk produced in total and more work off-farm. The financial gain from carrying out the optimal management changes was, however, very small. In all cases studied, the introduction of 100% organic feeds resulted in an economic loss of NOK 19,200–23,600 (or 7–12% of the expected net income with 85% organic feeds). The economic losses were due to the price premium of organic concentrates.     

Phylogenetic analysis of benign Theileria species based on major piroplasm surface protein (MPSP) genes from ticks of grazing cattle in Korea

Complete major piroplasm surface protein (MPSP) gene sequences of benign Theileria parasites were isolated from ticks of grazing cattle in Korea. A total of 556 tick samples were collected in five provinces: Chungbuk, Jeonbuk, Jeonnam, Gyeongbuk, and Jeju during 2010-2011. Fifteen samples from Chungbuk and Jeonnam were positive for the Theileria MPSP gene by PCR amplification using a specific primer set. A phylogenetic tree was constructed with the amplified gene sequences and 26 additional sequences published in GenBank. The benign Theileria parasites were classified into eight types, those isolated from Korean cattle ticks belonged to Types 1 (Ikeda), 2 (Chitose), 4, and 8. Types 2 and 4 were the most common types, with the rate of 40%, followed by Types 1 and 8 (with the rate of 13% and 7%, respectively). Nucleotide sequence identities of 23 theilerial MPSP sequences (15 MPSP gene sequences amplified and 8 sequences published) ranged from 67.3 to 99.8%. Multiple alignments of the deduced amino acid sequences also showed that each type was characterized by specific amino acids: 7 for Type 1, 9 for Type 2, 4 for Type 4, and 3 for Type 8.     

Effects of supplemental copper and chromium on the serum and egg traits of laying hens

1. This study investigated the effects of supplemental copper and chromium on the serum and egg traits of laying hens using 144 forty-five-week-old White Leghorn layers. The hens were randomly assigned into 9 groups to conduct this 3 copper (0, 125 and 250 mg/kg as copper sulphate) x 3 chromium (0, 800 and 1600 microg/kg as chromium picolinate) factorial trial. 2. Egg yolk cholesterol was significantly reduced by supplementary copper (Cu) and chromium (Cr) and there was an interaction between Cu and Cr supplementation. Egg production, egg weight, eggshell strength and eggshell thickness were not influenced by Cu or Cr supplementation. 3. Serum cholesterol concentration was decreased by Cu supplementation and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) was reduced markedly by both Cu and Cr. On the other hand, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) was significantly increased by Cu and Cr. Interaction occurred between Cu and Cr in the VLDL and HDL parameters. Supplmentary Cu also reduced VLDL-cholesterol (VLDL-C) and enhanced HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C), while supplemental Cr had a contrary effect on these two parameters. 4. If minimum egg cholesterol content is the criterion, this study suggests that 125 mg/kg of Cu together with 800 to 1600 microg/kg of Cr provide adequate supplementary concentrations for laying hens.     

Production of stilbenoids from the callus of Arachis hypogaea: a novel source of the anticancer compound piceatannol

A new source to produce a significant quantity of a naturally occurring polyphenol, piceatannol, was investigated in this study. Both resveratrol and piceatannol are recognized as important ingredients in functional foods due to their beneficial health effects. However, unlike resveratrol, the piceatannol concentration in plants is very low. Thus, calluses of peanuts, an easily obtainable source, were chosen as the material to induce piceatannol production under controlled conditions. To induce resveratrol and piceatannol, calluses were exposed to the ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. Significant quantities of resveratrol and piceatannol were produced by calluses upon UV irradiation in both static and suspension culture conditions. The amounts of piceatannol and resveratrol produced in 1 g of calluses ranged from 2.17 to 5.31 microg and from 0.25 to 11.97 microg, respectively, in static culture. In suspension culture, the amounts of induced piceatannol and resveratrol were somewhat lower. The quantities of induced piceatannol and resveratrol reached a maximum at 18 h after UV irradiation treatment in static culture. In contrast, the levels of resveratrol and piceatannol remained almost constant throughout the experiments in suspension culture. The piceatannol produced by calluses in all studies was much higher than the values reported in the literature, whereas the resveratrol produced was comparable to reported values.     

Biochemical markers of cardiac injury in normal, surviving septic, or nonsurviving septic neonatal foals

The cardiac biomarkers cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and I (cTnI) and the cardiac isoenzyme of creatine kinase (CKMB) are used extensively in human medicine to diagnose and provide valuable prognostic information in patients with ischemic, traumatic, and septic myocardial injury. We designed a study to establish normal values for these markers in healthy, neonatal foals and to compare them with values obtained from septic neonates in a referral hospital population. The 25th, 50th, 75th, and 95th percentiles for cTnI and CKMB in the healthy-foal population were 0.08, 0.14, 0.25, 0.49 ng/mL and 1.4, 2.3, 4.0, 7.4 ng/mL, respectively. The values obtained for cTnT were frequently (43/52 foals; 83%) below the lower limit of detection of the assay (0.009 ng/mL), but the median and range were 0.009 and 0.009-0.041 ng/mL, respectively. In the septic foal population, the 25th, 50th, 75th, and 95th percentile values for cTnI and CKMB were 0.05, 0.12, 0.22, and 1.10 ng/mL and 2.0, 4.4, 7.8, and 24 ng/mL, respectively. The values obtained for cTnT were less frequently below the lower limit of detection (23/38 foals; 60%) compared with the healthy foal population, and the median and range were 0.009 and 0.009-0.20 ng/mL, respectively. Significantly higher values were observed for cTnT and CKMB in septic foals compared with the healthy neonatal foal population, but there were no differences among septic foals in survivors compared with nonsurvivors. These findings suggest that myocardial injury occurs during septicemia in neonatal foals but that the injury is not associated with survival among septic foals.     

Effects of short‐term thyroxine administration during the laying period on egg production and moulting by Turkeys

1. Effects of thyroxine (T₄) administration on egg production, moulting and photorefractoriness in laying turkeys were determined. Thyroxine dosages of 0.075 to 2 mg/bird/d were injected IM for periods of either 2 or 3 weeks following 10 weeks of photostimulation. Control groups were administered saline vehicle.

2. Plasma T₄ concentrations were increased in a dose dependent manner by T₄ administration, while triiodothyronine (T₃) was decreased.

3. Egg production and percentage of hens in production were transiently decreased in a dose dependent manner by T₄ administration, but returned to levels similar to controls within 4 weeks of T₄ treatment termination. Moulting was stimulated in a dose‐dependent manner by T₄ administration, but was similar to controls after T₄ treatment termination. Only dosages of 2 mg/bird/d resulted in cessation of egg production and complete moulting.

4. Results indicate that although short term elevation of plasma T₄ causes cessation of egg production and moulting these effects are transient and not indicative of photorefractoriness.     

Salmonellae and Campylobacters in Household and Stray Dogs in Northern Taiwan

Rectal swabs were collected from 437 household and 491 stray dogs in northern Taiwan from May 2003 to June 2005 to investigate the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibilities of salmonellae and campylobacters. The results revealed that 2.1% of household dogs and 6.3% of stray dogs were positive for salmonellae, with Salmonella Duesseldorf being the most dominant serotype in both. Additionally, 2.7% of the household dogs and 23.8% of the stray dogs were positive for campylobacters. Campylobacter jejuni was the most prevalent species (86.8%), followed by C. upsaliensis (9.3%) and C. coli (3.9%). Both salmonella and campylobacter isolation rates from the stray dogs were significantly higher than those from the household dogs (p < 0.01). The susceptibility of 33 C. jejuni isolates to eight antimicrobials was studied by the E-test. A high rate of resistance was observed to azithromycin (93.9%), clindamycin (87.9%), erythromycin (81.8%), tetracycline (78.8%), chloramphenicol (69.7%), nalidixic acid (51.5%), gentamicin (33.3%), and ciprofloxacin (18.2%). The susceptibility of 40 Salmonella isolates to 15 antimicrobials was also studied by the disc-diffusion method. All the Salmonella isolates were susceptible to ciprofloxacin and ceftriaxone. Resistance was observed most frequently to tetracycline (77.5%), chloramphenicol (52.5%), and ampicillin (50%).