Favorable therapeutic response of osteoporosis patients to treatment with intravenous zoledronate compared with oral alendronate

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of orally-administered alendronate compared with intravenously-administered zoledronate. Methods: This prospective study was carried out at Barts Health HNS Trust between April 2010 and March 2012. This study compares changes in bone mineral density (BMD) in 234 patients treated with 2 bisphosphonates: alendronate taken orally, and zoledronate administered intravenously. One hundred and eighteen patients received alendronate at 70 mg/week, while 116 patients received zoledronate once annually. Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry was used to measure BMD of the left hip and anterior-posterior spine (lumbar L1-L4) skeletal sites at baseline, and at one-, and 2-years post-treatment. Results: This study provides evidence that lumbar spine BMD increased by 3.6% in patients receiving alendronate, and 5.7% in patients receiving zoledronate after 2 years compared with baseline values (p=0.0001 for both). Total hip BMD decreased in patients treated with alendronate by 0.4% but increased in patients receiving zoledronate by 0.8% (p=0.0001). Conclusion: This study provides evidence that zoledronate is more effective than alendronate in treating patients with osteoporosis and with no gastrointestinal (GI) serious side effects. Furthermore, zoledronate appears to have the added advantage of a better safety profile in patients suffering from GI intolerance of oral bisphosphonates

Effect of Tea Saponins on Rumen Microbiota and Rumen Function in Qinchuan Beef Cattle

Antibiotics can promote livestock growth but have side effects, so the search for safe and effective alternatives to antibiotics is urgent. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of supplementing cattle feed with tea saponins on ruminal bacteria and fungi. Sixteen Qinchuan beef cattle with a live body weight of 250 ± 10 kg were divided into four groups (four animals in each group) using a completely randomized experimental design. Four different levels of tea saponins were provided to the Qinchuan cattle as treatments, including 0 g/cattle per day control, CON), 10 g/cattle per day (low-level, LT), 20 g/cattle per day (medium-level, MT) and 30 g/cattle per day (high-level, HT). The pre-feeding period was 10 days and the official period was 80 days in this experiment. After 90 days of feeding, the rumen fluid from sixteen Qinchuan beef cattle was collected using an oral stomach tube for evaluating changes in ruminal microbiota and rumen fermentation parameters. Results indicate that the total VFAs and proportions of propionate in the LT group was significantly higher than that in the CON and HT groups (p < 0.05). For ruminal bacteria, results indicate that the Chao1 index of the MT group was significantly lower than the CON and HT groups (p < 0.05). The phyla Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes were found to be the most abundant in all treatment groups, with the LT group having significantly increased relative abundances of Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Ascomycota at the phylum level (p < 0.05). The relative abundance of Bacteroides was found to be relatively lower in the LT, MT and HT treatment groups compared with the CON treatment group at the genus level (p < 0.05). For ruminal fungi, the LT treatment group was found to have higher relative abundances of Saccharomyces and Aspergillus, and lower relative abundances of Succiniclasticum and Bacteroides at the at the phylum level (p < 0.05). Compared with the CON treatment group, a significant increase in the relative abundance of Saccharomyces and Aspergillus were observed in the LT treatment group at the genus level (p < 0.05). PICRUSt analyses identified pathways associated with Xenobiotic biodegradation and metabolism and glycolysisIII to be significantly enriched in the LT and HT treatment groups (p < 0.05). These findings could provide insights on how tea saponins may influence ruminal bacteria and fungi, providing a theoretical basis for replacing antibiotics with tea saponins for promoting growth in cattle

Effect of Tea Saponins on Rumen Microbiota and Rumen Function in Qinchuan Beef Cattle

Antibiotics can promote livestock growth but have side effects, so the search for safe and effective alternatives to antibiotics is urgent. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of supplementing cattle feed with tea saponins on ruminal bacteria and fungi. Sixteen Qinchuan beef cattle with a live body weight of 250 ± 10 kg were divided into four groups (four animals in each group) using a completely randomized experimental design. Four different levels of tea saponins were provided to the Qinchuan cattle as treatments, including 0 g/cattle per day control, CON), 10 g/cattle per day (low-level, LT), 20 g/cattle per day (medium-level, MT) and 30 g/cattle per day (high-level, HT). The pre-feeding period was 10 days and the official period was 80 days in this experiment. After 90 days of feeding, the rumen fluid from sixteen Qinchuan beef cattle was collected using an oral stomach tube for evaluating changes in ruminal microbiota and rumen fermentation parameters. Results indicate that the total VFAs and proportions of propionate in the LT group was significantly higher than that in the CON and HT groups (p p p p p p p < 0.05). These findings could provide insights on how tea saponins may influence ruminal bacteria and fungi, providing a theoretical basis for replacing antibiotics with tea saponins for promoting growth in cattle