Effects of Putative Growth or Health‐Enhancing Dietary Additives on Juvenile Olive Flounder,Paralichthys olivaceus,Performance

The effect on growth and body composition of various dietary additives with putative growth or health‐enhancing properties were determined in juvenile olive flounder (25 g initial weight). Nine experimental diets were prepared to contain one of the following additives: control (Con) with no additive, Opuntia ficus‐indica ver. saboten (OF), propolis (PP), lactic acid bacteria (LA), γ‐poly‐glutamic acid (PG), onion extract (OE), organic sulfur (OS), Biostone® (BS), and fig extract (FE). Fishmeal, dehulled soybean meal, and corn gluten were used as the protein source of the experimental diets. Wheat flour and soybean oil were used as the carbohydrate and lipid sources, respectively. Dietary additives were included in each experimental diet at 1% at the expense of wheat flour except for the FE (aqueous), which was substituted at 1% of the amount of water added to the diet. Fish were hand‐fed to satiation twice a day for 6 d/wk for 6 wk. Weight gain of fish fed the OE diet was higher than that of fish fed with the PP diet. Chemical composition of fish was not different among the experimental diets. OE was the most effective dietary additive to improve performance of olive flounder among additives used in this study.     

Growth and feed utilization of large size rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) reared in freshwater: diet and species effects, and responses over time

Four diets differing in crude protein/crude lipid concentrations (CP/CL), 570/200, 510/220, 460/240, 430/260 (g kg^?1 dry diet) were fed to near‐satiety to rainbow trout (initial body weight, IBW = 268 g, domestic strain) and Atlantic salmon (IBW = 456 g, wild strain) for 308 days to determine the effect of diets, species and fish size on efficiency of feed, nitrogen (N) and energy utilization. Within species, weight gain, feed efficiency (FE), and energy retention efficiency (ERE, E gain/E intake) were not affected by diet (P < 0.05). N retention efficiency (NRE, N gain/N intake) increased linearly (P < 0.05) with decreasing CP/CL for both species. NRE and FE were higher for salmon compared with trout. Whole body CP of salmon was significantly (P < 0.05) higher, and lipid significantly (P < 0.05) lower, than those of trout. There was a significant (P < 0.05) linear decrease in FE as fish grew, regardless of diet and species. NRE linearly decreased (P < 0.0001) and lipid to protein deposition ratio (LD/PD) increased (P < 0.05) as trout grew. NRE linearly increased (P < 0.05) while ERE and LD/PD linearly decreased (P < 0.05) as salmon grew. Salmon appeared to rely to a greater extent on non‐protein energy‐yielding nutrients to support cost of growth than did trout.     

Serum immunoglobulin fused interferon-�� inhibited tumor growth in athymic mice bearing colon 26 adenocarcinoma cells

Interferon (IFN) has therapeutic potential for a wide range of infectious and proliferative disorders. However, the half-life of IFN is too short to have a stable therapeutic effect. To overcome this problem, serum immunoglobulin has been fused to IFN. In this study, the efficacy of serum immunoglobulin fused INFs (si-IFN1 and si-IFN2) was evaluated on athymic mice bearing colon 26 adenocarcinoma cells. Seven days after the implantation of tumor cells, each group of mice was injected once a week with si-IFN1 and si-IFN2 at two different concentrations (10 × : 30 µg/kg and 50 × : 150 µg/kg). A slight anti-tumoral effect was observed in all 10 × groups compared to the control. In the 50 × groups, however, si-IFN1 and si-IFN2 showed significant anti- tumoral effects compared to the control. To gain more information on the mechanisms associated with the decrease of tumor size, a Western blot assay of apoptosis-related molecules was performed. The protein expression of cytochrome c, caspase 9, 6, and 3 were increased by si-IFN1 and si-IFN2. These 2 IFNs also increased the expressions of p53, p21, Bax and Bad. Interestingly, si-IFN1 and si-IFN2 decreased the expression of VEGF-β. Taken together, serum immunoglobulin fused IFNs increased therapeutic efficacy under current experimental condition.     

Beef quality traits of heifer in comparison with steer,bull and cow at various feeding environments

The present review has been focused largely on the sex type differences in beef quality among heifers, cows, steers and bulls in various feeding environments. Genetic groups, feeding systems and gender are the major factors that change carcass characteristics and fatty acid profiles of cattle. Studies identified that heifer beef has super characteristics in eating quality and a better healthy composition in fatty acids than steer, cow and bull. Diet influences the variation of fatty acid profile; particularly the level of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) interacts with breed and sex. Animals finished in pasture systems were reported to show better ratios of PUFA/ saturated fatty acids and n‐6/n‐3. Carcasses of roughage‐fed beef are lighter and have less marbling and lower quality grades but have higher cutability than carcasses of grain‐fed bulls. Heifers and cows are reported to deposit more fat than steers and bulls. Among males, lower production of testosterone by steers favors more fat thickness compared with bulls. Marbling greatly varies among cattle belonging to different sexes, and particularly, females have genetic makeup that efficiently controls deposition. The current review identified that heifers can be a premium beef brand, while steer beef currently take a large part of market share across the world.     

Antiviral activity of Alpinia katsumadai extracts against rotaviruses

In vitro anti-rotavirus activity of Alpinia katsumadai (AK) extracts were evaluated against bovine G8P[7] and porcine G5P[7] rotaviruses in two different assay strategies, a mixed treatment assay and a post treatment assay. In the mixed treatment assay, six AK extracts [AK-1 (EtOH extract), AK-3 (H(2)O layer), AK-5 (40% methanol fraction), and AK-9-11 (H(2)O extract, polysaccharide fraction, supernatant fraction)] exhibited inhibitory activities against G5P[7] rotavirus with the EC(50) values ranging from 0.7±0.4 to 33.7±6.5 μg/mL. Extracts AK-1, AK-3, and AK-5 inhibited rotavirus infection against G8P[7] rotavirus, the with EC(50) values of 8.4±2.2 μg/mL, 6.5±0.8 μg/mL and 8.4±5.0 μg/mL, respectively. By hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay, six AK extracts completely inhibited viral adsorption onto human RBCs in both strains of rotaviruses at less than 11 μg/mL. However, in the post treatment assay, there was no anti activity shown against both strains of rotaviruses. As a result, six AK extracts were attributed mainly to having a strong interaction with hemagglutinin protein on the outer surface of rotavirus, resulting to blockage of viral adsorption.     

Variation and correlation analysis of flavonoids and carotenoids in Korean pigmented rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars

Flavonoids and carotenoids of pigmented rice ( Oryza sativa L.), including five black cultivars and two red cultivars, from Korea were characterized to determine the diversity among the phytochemicals and to analyze the relationships among their contents. Black cultivars were higher in flavonoids and carotenoids than the red and white cultivars. The profiles of eight phytochemicals identified from the rice grains were subjected to principal component analysis (PCA) to evaluate the differences among cultivars. PCA could fully distinguish between these cultivars. The Heugjinjubyeo (BR-1) and Heugseolbyeo (BR-2) cultivars were separated from the others based on flavonoid and carotenoid concentrations. Flavonoid contents had a positive correlation with carotenoid contents among all rice grains. The BR-1 and BR-2 cultivars appear to be good candidates for future breeding programs because they have simultaneously high flavonoid and carotenoid contents.     

Dehydro-alpha-lapachone isolated from Catalpa ovata stems: activity against plant pathogenic fungi

The methanol extract of stems of Catalpa ovata G Don exhibits potent in vivo antifungal activity against Magnaporthe grisea (Hebert) Barr (rice blast) on rice plants, Botrytis cinerea Pers ex Fr (tomato grey mould) and Phytophthora infestans (Mont) de Bary (tomato late blight) on tomato plants, Puccinia recondita Rob ex Desm (wheat leaf rust) on wheat plants and Blumeria graminis (DC) Speer f. sp. hordei Marchal (barley powdery mildew) on barley plants. An antifungal substance was isolated and identified as dehydro-alpha-lapachone from mass and nuclear magnetic resonance spectral data. It completely inhibited the mycelial growth of B. cinerea, Colletotrichum acutatum Simmonds, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides Simmonds, M. grisea and Pythium ultimum Trow over a range of 0.4-33.3 mg litre(-1). It also controlled the development of rice blast, tomato late blight, wheat leaf rust, barley powdery mildew and red pepper anthracnose (Colletotrichum coccodes (Wallr) S Hughes). The chemical was particularly effective in suppressing red pepper anthracnose by 95% at a concentration of 125 mg litre(-1).     

A review of diet formulation strategies and feeding systems to reduce excretory and feed wastes in aquaculture

Significant efforts should be devoted to reducing waste outputs from aquaculture operations in order to lower the environmental impacts of aquaculture in many parts of the world. Since most aquaculture wastes are ultimately from dietary origin, reduction of waste outputs should first be through improvements of diet formulation and feeding strategies. The first step in the production of feeds producing less solid waste is to eliminate poorly digestible ingredients (such as whole grain or grain by-products used as binders and fillers in the feed formulae) and to use highly digestible ingredients with good binding properties. Further reduction of solid waste can then be achieved through careful selection of the ingredients to improve apparent digestibility and the nutrient balance of the feed. Nitrogen waste outputs can be reduced through the reduction of the digestible protein to digestible energy (DP/DE) ratio of the diet. Phosphorus waste outputs can be reduced through careful selection of the ingredients and optimization of the digestible phosphorus content of the diet to meet the requirement of the fish but avoid greatly exceeding this required level. Finally, feeding practices that minimize feed wastage should be adopted since feed wastage can have a very significant impact on waste outputs from fish culture operations.