Evaluation of graded levels of Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086 on apparent nutrient digestibility,stool quality,and intestinal health indicators in healthy adult dogs

Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086 is a commercially available spore-forming non-toxigenic microorganism approved for use in dog foods with high resiliency to stresses associated with commercial manufacturing. The objectives of this research were to examine the effect of B. coagulans on stool quality, nutrient digestibility, and intestinal health markers in healthy adult dogs. Extruded diets containing graded levels of B. coagulans applied either to the base ration before extrusion or to the exterior of the kibble as a topical coating after extrusion were randomly assigned to 10 individually housed adult beagle dogs (7 castrated males and 3 spayed females) of similar age (5.75 ± 0.23 yr) and body weight (12.3 ± 1.5 kg). The study was designed as a 5 × 5 replicated Latin square with 16-d adaptation followed by 5-d total fecal collection for each period. Five dietary treatments were formulated to deliver a dose of 0-, 6-, 7-, 8-, and 9-log₁₀ colony-forming units (CFU) per dog per day for the control (CON), extruded B. coagulans (PEX), and low, moderate, and high B. coagulans coating levels (PCL, PCM, and PCH), respectively. Food-grade TiO₂ was added to all diets at a level of 0.4% to serve as an indigestible dietary marker for digestibility calculations. Data were analyzed using a mixed model through SAS (version 9.4, SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, NC) with treatment as a fixed effect and room (i.e., replicate), period, and dog(room) as random effects. Apparent total tract digestibility of organic matter, crude protein, crude fat, and gross energy calculated by the marker method were numerically greatest for dogs fed the 9-log₁₀ dose treatment with increases (P < 0.05) observed in gross energy and organic matter digestibility compared with the negative control. No significant differences were observed in food intake, stool quality, fecal pH, fecal ammonia, fecal short-chain fatty acids, or branched-chain fatty acids for the extruded B. coagulans treatment (PEX) or the coated B. coagulans treatments (PCL, PCM, and PCH) compared with CON. These results suggest that B. coagulans has a favorable impact on nutrient digestibility and no apparent adverse effects when added to extruded diets at a daily intake level of up to 9-log₁₀ CFU in healthy adult dogs.     

Nutritional significance of amino acids,vitamins and minerals as nutraceuticals in poultry production and health – a comprehensive review

Nutraceuticals have gained immense importance in poultry science recently considering the nutritional and beneficial health effects of their constituents. Besides providing nutritional requirements to birds, nutraceuticals have beneficial pharmacological effects, for example, they help in establishing normal physiological health status, prevent diseases and thereby improve production performance. Nutraceuticals include amino acids, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, etc. which are important for preventing oxidative stress, regulating the immune response and maintaining normal physiological, biochemical and homeostatic mechanisms. Nutraceuticals help in supplying nutrients in balanced amounts for supporting the optimal growth performance in modern poultry flocks, and as a dietary supplement can reduce the use of antibiotics. The application of antibiotic growth enhancers in poultry leads to the propagation of antibiotic-resistant microbes and drug residues; therefore, they have been restricted in many countries. Thus, there is a demand for natural feed additives that lead to the same growth enhancement without affecting the health. Nutraceuticals substances have an essential role in the development of the animals’ normal physiological functions and in protecting them against infectious diseases. In this review, the uses of amino acids, vitamins and minerals as well as their mode of action in growth promotion and elevation of immune system are discussed.     

抗球虫药物残留的免疫检测技术

抗球虫药物在畜禽业应用广泛,可预防治疗球虫病,提高家禽饲料转化率,提升肉品质。但是,随即会出现饲料交叉污染,对非目标动物产生毒性作用,动物性食品中药物残留超标等问题。因此,建立简便、快速、灵敏度高的检测方法检测动物源性食品中的抗球虫药物残留极为重要。基于抗原-抗体特异性结合原理的免疫分析检测技术能够完成快速检测,高通量筛选,具有特异性强、灵敏度高、操作简便、成本低的优点。本文综述了不同基质中抗球虫药物残留的免疫检测技术进展,重点介绍了酶联免疫吸附检测法、免疫层析法、荧光偏振免疫分析检测法、时间分辨荧光免疫分析检测法和生物传感器检测法。并对免疫检测技术在残留检测方面的发展趋势进行了展望,旨在为抗球虫药物的残留监控提供方法学上的参考,为新方法的建立提供思路。     

冠状病毒受体的研究进展

近年来多种感染人或家畜的冠状病毒病轮番出现,给人类社会的经济和公共卫生安全带来很大危害。特别是在2019年底出现并在全球迅速蔓延的SARS-CoV-2,由此引发的新型冠状病毒肺炎(COVID-19)在2019年12月至2020年3月之间在全球范围内造成超过7万人死亡。冠状病毒感染宿主的第一步是识别宿主细胞膜受体分子并与之结合,随后启动入侵使病毒基因组进入宿主细胞内部。因此冠状病毒细胞受体的阐明对于了解病毒的宿主与组织嗜性具有重要意义,同时也有助于了解病毒的致病与传播机制以及新型抗病毒药物研发。本文介绍了近年来主要的冠状病毒受体的最新研究进展,包括血管紧张素2(the angiotensin converting enzyme 2,ACE2)、氨基肽酶N(aminopeptidase N,APN)、二肽酰肽酶4(dipeptyl peptidase 4,DPP4)、唾液酸(sialic acid,SA)和癌胚抗原相关细胞黏附分子1(carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 1,CEACAM1)等。     

Black soldier fly and yellow mealworm live larvae for broiler chickens: Effects on bird performance and health status

The commercial broiler chicken strains are the result of successful selection programmes. Most of the problems related to welfare arise from the high growth rate and body weight. The use of environmental enrichments in intensive farming could have a positive effect on birds by increasing animal welfare. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of Hermetia illucens (HI) and Tenebrio molitor (TM) live larvae in the diets of broiler chickens on growth performance, carcass yield and health status. A total of 180 four-day-old male broiler chickens (Ross 308) were randomly allotted to 18 pens. Each pen was assigned to one of the three dietary treatments (6 replicates/treatment, 10 birds/replicate) as follows: (i) control diet (C): commercial feed (two feeding phases: starter [4–11 days] and grower [12–38 days]), (ii) HI: C + 5% of the expected daily feed intake (DFI) HI live larvae (calculated on dry matter [DM]) and (iii) TM: C + 5% of DFI TM live larvae (DM). At 39 days of age, birds were slaughtered. Growth performance parameters were overall not affected by dietary treatments, except for the grower phase feed conversion ratio (FCR) and the overall FCR being better in the TM broilers than the others (p < 0.01). No differences were observed for slaughtering performance and haematological and serum parameters, except for the spleen relative weight being higher (p < 0.01) in the birds administered with larvae when compared to the C group. Gut morphometric indexes and histopathological alterations were not influenced by insect larvae administration. In conclusion, the administration in limited quantities of HI and TM live larvae as environmental enrichment has no negative effects on broiler chicken growth performance and health status. A behavioural study could confirm that live insect larvae represent a novel natural environmental enrichment in broiler farming.     

Relationship between a plant-based ‘vegan’ pet food and clinical manifestation of multiple nutrient deficiencies in two cats

A topical subject in human nutrition is the steadily growing number of people choosing to limit or completely avoid all animal-derived food products either for moral dilemma, health concerns or both. To meet people's will of applying their dietary choices to their domestic animals, the pet food industry answered by launching on the market some plant-based diets. This leads to concerns about whether these diets are adequately formulated to satisfy the target species nutritional requirements, especially for cats which are still considered strict carnivores. This case report follows a 2-year-old male neutered Main Coon and a 1-year-old female spayed Domestic Shorthair cat, presented to the nutrition service of the University of Toulouse, France. Reason for consultation was lethargy with in anamnesis a recent dietary transition to a plant-based pet food. Dysorexia, lethargy and muscle waste were present at first consultation. Progressive weight loss developed during follow-ups. A macrocytic, non-regenerative anaemia with serum folates below reference were the main clinical features. Analysis of pet food showed multiple nutrients below minimum recommendation at the average daily intake of both cats. Folic acid supplementation improved dysorexia, and subsequent reintroduction of animal-derived ingredients in the diet restored appetite, weight and a normal mentation in both cases.     

中兽医药技术是猪只康养最佳供给体系

在我国养猪业面临产品安全和环境污染两大瓶颈的情势下,如何使所生产的猪肉食用卫生,所排粪污环境安全,纯天然、无污染、广效低毒、绿色环保的中兽医药学为破解这两大瓶颈提供了技术支撑。充分发挥我国传统的中兽医药技术的特色和优势,构建以中兽医药为主体的猪只康养技术供给体系,旨在集生产管理"适其天性"、所喂药料"无污染"、治疗药物"纯天然"、预防措施治"未病"、治疗方法"和谐调节"和四季保健"药饲同源"于一体的技术供给体系,从源头上破解这两大难题,从而实现猪只康养,环境安全,猪肉安康,凸显出中兽医药是猪只康养的最佳供给体系。     

纤维和蛋白质对肠道健康和环境的影响

由于膳食纤维和蛋白质对肠道健康和环境都有潜在的有益或有害影响,因此,膳食纤维和蛋白质在猪肠道中的发酵是一个值得关注的问题。本文综述了近年来有关膳食纤维和蛋白质发酵对猪肠道环境的影响及其对猪粪和猪舍含氮气体和异味排放的影响,同时探讨了蛋白质发酵和相关代谢化合物的生产,与膳食纤维发酵、对肠道健康、细菌蛋白质合成和氮排泄的影响。生产上可以采用不同的营养策略来应对集约化养猪生产对环境的的负面影响,如降低日粮粗蛋白质水平减少氮排泄。总的来说,日粮纤维和蛋白质水平是影响猪肠道发酵、氮排泄和环境影响的一个有效策略。