A review of okara (soybean curd residue) utilization as animal feed: Nutritive value and animal performance aspects

Year by year, huge quantities of by-products are generated during the manufacturing process of soybean-based products. Okara is one of the by-products, and it is an insoluble portion of the soybean. It consists of high moisture (8.4–22.9%); on dry matter basis, it contains high metabolizable energy (9.0–14.2 MJ/kg) and other components that include crude protein (20.9–39.1%), crude fiber (12.2–61.3%), crude fat (4.9–21.5%), and ash (3.4–5.3%). Fermentation of okara improves its nutritional quality and reduces its anti-nutrient contents. Due to animals' palatability, okara can be used to replace the soybean meal/concentrate feed partially or completely in ruminant's diet and partially in nonruminant's diet. Okara feeding does not depress the intake, digestibility, growth, milk production, blood metabolic profiles, and meat quality of animals. However, this by-product decays quickly due to its high moisture content, and its heavy weight and sticky nature make it difficult to process and expensive to dry using conventional methods. This paper thoroughly summarizes the utilization of okara as animal feed in the cause of developing a general guideline with favorable levels of inclusion in the diets of animals for its exploitation and valorization. This review will encourage further research to develop eco-friendly and value added feed for animals.     

REVIEW: Properties of Cereal Brans: A Review

Cereal brans are functional ingredients with high nutritive value and enormous health properties. Cereal brans have not been fully utilized in food systems despite their health benefits. This review presents an overview on the physical, chemical, microbiological, functional, and sensory properties of cereal brans for possible comparisons and selection to enhance the utilization of this underutilized milling fraction.     

Epidemiologic investigation of an outbreak of goose parvovirus infection in Sweden

An outbreak of goose parvovirus (GPV) infection on a Swedish goose farm in the spring of 2004 increased the mortality rates from 2% in the early unaffected hatches to 90% and 99% respectively in the two hatches following virus introduction and 40% in goslings hatched later in the same breeding season. In this paper we describe the clinical observations, diagnostic procedures, and epidemiologic investigation carried out to elucidate the source of the infection. The diagnosis was confirmed by serology, virus isolation, and sequence analysis of a 493-bp-long fragment of the VP1 gene. Phylogenetically the causative virus was closely related to pathogenic GPV strains isolated in 2003 and 2004 from Poland and the United Kingdom, respectively. The Swedish isolate exhibited less homology with pathogenic strains from Hungary and Asia and with attenuated vaccine strains. The epidemiologic investigation showed that the virus was first introduced to a contract farm (farm A) and then was transferred with newly hatched goslings to the farm that had submitted the birds for necropsy (index farm). The exact time and source of the virus introduction to farm A could not be determined with absolute certainty. Possible sources of the infection included backyard goose eggs that had been delivered to farm A for subcontract incubation and hatching, wild geese that frequented the flock of breeding geese on pasture on farm A, and a clutch of Canada goose eggs (Branta canadensis) that had been produced by wild geese and was hatched in the same machine as the eggs produced by farm A.     

Morphinandienone alkaloids from Dehaasia longipedicellata

Five morphinoid alkaloids have been isolated from Dehaasia longipedicellata, namely (-) pallidine, a new alkaloid (+) pallidinine (1), (+)-milonine, (-) 8,14-dehydrosalutaridine and (-) sinoacutine.     

Electrically conductive paper of polyaniline modified pineapple leaf fiber

This research work reports new electrically conductive paper made of pineapple leaf fiber and polyaniline (PALF/PANI). The conductive paper shows remarkable preservation of mechanical properties while achieving its conductive state. Also it was found that, the amount of PANI needed to achieve the conductivity transformation is as low as 5 wt.%.     

Bioactive cinchona alkaloids from Remijia peruviana

Three known Cinchona alkaloids of the quinine type, quinine (1), cupreine (2), cinchonine (3), and the possible artifact cinchonine-HCl (3-HCl), along with two new ones, acetylcupreine (4) and N-ethylquinine (5), have been isolated from the bark of Remijia peruviana (Rubiaceae). Their stereochemical structures were established by high resolution NMR spectroscopy. Alkaloids 2-4 had antifeedant effects on Leptinotarsa decemlineata with varying potencies. Compound 4 was cytotoxic to both insect Sf9 and mammalian CHO cells after 48 h of incubation, while 3-HCl had stronger and selective cytotoxicity to Sf9. Quinine 1 had a moderate to low effect on Trypanosoma cruzi. Tumoral cells were also affected by these alkaloids, with 4 and 3-HCl being the most cytotoxic to all the cell lines tested. Overall, the 8R, 9S configurations, as in 3 and 3-HCl, as well as the C-6'acetylated alkaloid 4, with an 8S, 9R configuration, showed stronger biological effects.     

Differentiation of interglycosidic linkages in permethylated flavonoid glycosides from linked-scan mass spectra (B/E)

A series of per-O-methylated flavonoid di- and tri-glycosides, linked with 1-2 and/or 1-6 glycosidic bonds between sugar rings that were isolated from different plant materials were analyzed. It was demonstrated that the fragmentation behavior of permethylated flavonoid glycosides is dependent on the glycosidic bond placement between sugars. Y(n) type fragment ions, created after glycosidic bond cleavage with oxygen retention on sugar at the reducing end for permethylated compounds, were observed in the normal and linked-scan mass spectra recorded for alpha(1-2) bonded conjugates of flavonoid di- and tri-glycosides. Moreover, for alpha (1-6) linked glycosides, Y fragments created after rearrangement and elimination of internal sugar residues were observed in addition to Y(n) type ions, but these fragment ions were not registered in normal desorption ionization spectra. This second type of fragmentation was also reported previously in collision-induced dissociation tandem mass spectrometry (CID MS/MS) spectra of some oligosaccharides and flavonoid glycosides, but their presence was independent of the glycosidic bonds placement between sugar rings.     

In vivo and ex vivo assessment of the interaction between ivermectin and danofloxacin in sheep

The impact of an efflux pump-related interaction between ivermectin and danofloxacin on their intestinal transport (ex vivo) and disposition kinetics (in vivo) was assessed. Eighteen male Corriedale sheep were randomly assigned to one of three groups. Animals in Group A received 0.2mg/kg ivermectin by SC injection, those in Group B were given 6 mg/kg danofloxacin SC on two occasions 48 h apart and those in Group C were treated with both compounds at the same rates. Plasma concentrations of ivermectin and danofloxacin were measured by HPLC using fluorescence detection. Ex vivo intestinal drug transport activity was measured by the use of the Ussing chamber technique. Plasma concentrations of ivermectin in the first 6 days after injection tended to be higher in Group C than Group A. Contemporaneous treatment with ivermectin significantly increased systemic exposure to danofloxacin (AUC values were 32-35% higher) and prolonged the elimination half-life of danofloxacin (40-52% longer). Ex vivo, incubation with ivermectin significantly decreased the efflux transport of rhodamine 123, a P-glycoprotein substrate, in sheep intestine, but no significant effect of danofloxacin on transport activity was observed. Evaluation of the interaction of danofloxacin with the breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) showed that pantoprazole and ivermectin significantly decreased danofloxacin secretion in the rat intestine. Thus, the ivermectin-induced reduction of danofloxacin efflux transport observed in this study may involve BCRP activity but the involvement of P-glycoprotein cannot be ruled out.