Effect of Acute Ingestion of Green Tea Extract and Lemon Juice on Oxidative Stress and Lipid Profile in Pigs Fed a High-Fat Diet.

Green tea and its catechins have been shown to ameliorate high fat diet-induced oxidative stress and hyperlipidemia. However, low bioavailability of catechins limits their therapeutic potential. Lemon juice (LJ) has been suggested to enhance the bioavailability of catechins in vitro. This study investigated the antioxidative and hypolipidemic efficacy of a single dose of green tea extract (GTE) or GTE plus LJ (GTE + LJ) in high-fat diet fed pigs. Sixteen pigs ingested a single dose of GTE (190 mg/kg/day) or GTE + LJ (0.75 mL/kg/day) mixed with low-fat (LF; 5% fat) or high-fat (HF; 22% fat) diets and blood samples were collected for 24 h. Plasma catechin level peaked at two hours, and gradually returned to baseline after six hours following the intake. The addition of LJ significantly increased plasma catechin level. The diet containing GTE did not lower plasma cholesterol and triacylglycerol (TG) concentrations, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase activity, or malondialdehyde concentration in 24 h in HF-fed pigs. Addition of a single dose of LJ, however, significantly decreased plasma TG level in LF groups but did not cause further changes on any other markers compared to the GTE alone. Our findings indicate limited effect of a single meal containing GTE on plasma antioxidant enzymes, lipid profile, and lipid peroxidation in pigs and no significant synergistic/additive action of adding LJ to GTE within 24 h in pigs. A study with a longer treatment period is warranted to further understand the potential role of GTE in reducing HF diet-induced oxidative stress and the possible synergistic role of LJ

Perinatal Docosahexaenoic Acid Supplementation Improves Cognition and Alters Brain Functional Organization in Piglets.

Epidemiologic studies associate maternal docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)/DHA-containing seafood intake with enhanced cognitive development; although, it should be noted that interventional trials show inconsistent findings. We examined perinatal DHA supplementation on cognitive performance, brain anatomical and functional organization, and the brain monoamine neurotransmitter status of offspring using a piglet model. Sows were fed a control (CON) or a diet containing DHA (DHA) from late gestation throughout lactation. Piglets underwent an open field test (OFT), an object recognition test (ORT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to acquire anatomical, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) at weaning. Piglets from DHA-fed sows spent 95% more time sniffing the walls than CON in OFT and exhibited an elevated interest in the novel object in ORT, while CON piglets demonstrated no preference. Maternal DHA supplementation increased fiber length and tended to increase fractional anisotropy in the hippocampus of offspring than CON. DHA piglets exhibited increased functional connectivity in the cerebellar, visual, and default mode network and decreased activity in executive control and sensorimotor network compared to CON. The brain monoamine neurotransmitter levels did not differ in healthy offspring. Perinatal DHA supplementation may increase exploratory behaviors, improve recognition memory, enhance fiber tract integrity, and alter brain functional organization in offspring at weaning

Conjugated Linoleic Acid Does Not Improve Insulin Tolerance in Mice

Objective: To determine if the addition or removal of dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) would alter insulin tolerances in mice from two genetic lines. Research Methods and Procedures: High metabolic rate (MH) and low metabolic rate (ML) mice were assigned to consume 1) a control diet ad libitum, 2) a control diet at a restricted intake, or 3) a diet containing 1% CLA ad libitum. After 9 weeks, an insulin tolerance test was conducted, and a portion of the mice were killed. All remaining mice consumed the control diet ad libitum. Insulin tolerance tests were conducted 11 and 32 days after the diet change, and mice were killed 3 days after each test. Body fatness, fat pad weights, and serum insulin concentrations of mice were determined at each time-point. Two follow-up experiments were also conducted. Results: Restricted mice had insulin sensitivities not different than control mice. CLA-fed MH mice in experiment 1 were resistant (p \u3c 0.001) to insulin on each day measured. CLA-fed ML mice were slightly resistant (p = 0.08) to exogenous insulin on day 0 of recovery and not different from control mice on day 11 or 32. Glucose response to insulin in MH mice fed CLA in experiments 2 or 3 did not differ from control mice. Discussion: Mice fed CLA did not have improved insulin tolerances compared with control mice. In some cases, dietary CLA may cause insulin resistance. MH mice seem more sensitive to CLA than ML mice

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) during gestation and lactation does not alter sow performance or body weight gain and adiposity in progeny

The objective of this study was to determine the long-term effects of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in pigs exposed to CLA during fetal and neonatal growth. Sows were fed a diet with 0.83% soy oil or 0.83% CLA-60 containing 60% active CLA isomers from either d 40 (group 1; CON n = 8, CLA n = 6) or d 75 (group 2; CON n = 8, CLA n = 8) of gestation through weaning on d 28. Within group 1, one male and one female piglet per litter (CON n = 6, CLA n = 5) were sacrificed within 24 hours of birth (d 0) and body weights recorded. Semitendinosus muscle, subcutaneous adipose tissue and organs, including heart, liver, lung, kidney, brain were weighed and tissue samples were frozen. Two average weight barrows and two gilts per litter were weaned and fed standard diets without added CLA until market weight. CLA did not alter sow’s feed intake during gestation or lactation, body weight or backfat thickness, and litter size and weight at birth (P > 0.05). CLA decreased newborn pig heart, but not backfat or semitendinosus muscle weights relative to their body weights (d 0). CLA decreased pre-weaning weight in selected piglets but this was not maintained post-weaning. CLA decreased total milk fat by 17% (P  0,05). Le CLA a diminué le poids du cœur du nouveau-né, mais pas le poids du gras dorsal ou du muscle semitendinosus par rapport au poids corporel (d 0). Le CLA a diminué le poids pré-sevrage des porcelets mais cet effet ne s’est pas maintenu en post-sevrage. La matière grasse totale du lait a été diminuée par CLA de 17 % (P < 0,01), ce qui a eu pour conséquence une augmentation relative de la quantité d’acides gras saturés et une diminution de la quantité relative d’acides gras insaturés du lait le 21e jour de lactation (P < 0,05). La diminution de la vitesse de croissance jusqu’à 14 jours pourrait être due à la faible teneur en lipides du lait des truies puisque la vitesse de croissance et le poids corporel des porcelets n’ont pas différé en post-sevrage. Le sérum des porcelets nouveau-nés soumis au CLA a diminué le nombre relatif de préadipocytes et n’a pas modifié le stockage de lipides dans les cellules stromales vasculaires en culture. Ces observations ont d’ailleurs été plus marquées chez les femelles que chez les mâles (PDiet = 0,04 ; PDiet ×  Gender = 0,04). Il ne semble pas y avoir d’effets bénéfiques à long terme sur la croissance et la composition corporelle au poids habituel d’abattage chez les porcs ayant reçu 0,5 % de CLA jusqu’au sevrage

Total amino acid level affects the results of standardized ileal digestibility assays for feed ingredients for swine

It has been demonstrated that the fiber content of oilseed meals and total amino acids (AA) in distillers' grains products affects standardized ileal digestibility (SID) values from swine assays and that total protein concentration affects the AA digestibility in assays using chickens. This analysis was conducted to test the hypothesis that the total AA content of test samples affects the SID assay results. Databases containing total AA profiles and SID values of 20 feedstuffs commonly fed to pigs from 2 sources, AMINODat 5.0 (Evonik Industries, 2015) and the Nutrient Requirements of Swine, 12th edition (NRC, 2012) were used to compare AA concentration effects on standardized ileal digestibility coefficients. Databases were compared with AA and SID available in both data sets. The total AA values were similar for the 2 databases with an R2 of 0.979 (P < 0.001). The linear relationship between digestibility coefficients from the 2 databases was highly significant, an R2 of 0.810 (P < 0.001). Both databases had increased SID values with increasing AA contents within and across feed ingredients. The SID = f(AA concentration) relationship was confirmed with an individual paper. Since SID, as typically measured, is a function of both digestion and absorption, both processes following Michaelis–Menten kinetics, SID = f(AA concentration) may simply be a natural phenomenon. Other reasons for the relationship were explored. Methods of estimating endogenous AA losses and misapplication statistical procedures may contribute to variation in results and at least partially explain why SID = f(AA concentration)

Total amino acid level affects the results of standardized ileal digestibility assays for feed ingredients for swine

It has been demonstrated that the fiber content of oilseed meals and total amino acids (AA) in distillers' grains products affects standardized ileal digestibility (SID) values from swine assays and that total protein concentration affects the AA digestibility in assays using chickens. This analysis was conducted to test the hypothesis that the total AA content of test samples affects the SID assay results. Databases containing total AA profiles and SID values of 20 feedstuffs commonly fed to pigs from 2 sources, AMINODat 5.0 (Evonik Industries, 2015) and the Nutrient Requirements of Swine, 12th edition (NRC, 2012) were used to compare AA concentration effects on standardized ileal digestibility coefficients. Databases were compared with AA and SID available in both data sets. The total AA values were similar for the 2 databases with an R2 of 0.979 (P R2 of 0.810 (P f(AA concentration) relationship was confirmed with an individual paper. Since SID, as typically measured, is a function of both digestion and absorption, both processes following MichaeliseMenten kinetics, SID = f(AA concentration) may simply be a natural phenomenon. Other reasons for the relationship were explored. Methods of estimating endogenous AA losses and misapplication statistical procedures may contribute to variation in results and at least partially explain why SID = f(AA concentration)

Effect of Supplemental Protease on Growth Performance and Excreta Microbiome of Broiler Chicks

One-day-old chicks were assigned one of four dietary treatments in a 2 &times; 2 factorial design in which the main effects were diet (adequate vs. low protein) and the addition of protease (0 vs. 200 g/1000 kg of feed). Chick performance (days 0&ndash;14) was recorded and their excreta were analyzed for short chain fatty acids, ammonia, and composition of the microbiota using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Birds fed the low protein diet had lower body weight gain and poorer overall feed conversion ratio (FCR) (p &le; 0.04); however, these parameters were not affected by the inclusion of protease (p &ge; 0.27). Protease inclusion did not affect any particular bacterial genus in the excreta, but it increased the total number of observed OTUs (p = 0.04) and Faith&rsquo;s phylogenetic diversity (p = 0.05). Abundance of Proteus and Acinetobacter were lower in the excreta of chicks fed the low protein diet (p = 0.01). Abundance of Bacteroides was associated with poorer FCR, while Proteus was associated with improved FCR (p &le; 0.009). Although diet had a stronger impact than protease on chick performance, both diet and protease yielded some changes in the intestinal microbiotas of the birds