Effects of dietary supplementation of L-carnitine on performance, carcass and meat characteristics of quails

The present study was conducted to determine the effects of feeding diets containing two levels of metabolizable energy (12.13 or 11.72 MJ ME/kg) and two different fat sources (sunflower- and fish-oil) with or without supplemental L-carnitine (0 or 50 mg/kg diet) on growth performance and carcass and meat characteristics of Japanese quails. Two hundred and forty day-old male quail chicks were randomly assigned to eight treatment groups, each subdivided into three replicates of 10 chicks. The chicks were raised from hatch until 5 wks of age. Feeding the diet containing 12.13 MJ ME/kg increases body weight and body weight gain significantly, and improved the feed conversion ratio above that of the lower energy diet. Feed intakes of the birds were unaffected by treatments. The cold carcass yield of quails fed the diet containing sunflower oil was significantly higher than those receiving the diets containing fish oil. After 35 days of feeding the diet containing the standard energy level (12.13 MJ ME/kg) the thigh yield of the birds was significantly higher than that of the chicks on the lower energy diet. Dietary treatments did not affect pH values of edible meat in the quails. Feeding diets containing sunflower oil and L-carnitine significantly decreased malonaldehyde (MA) amounts in the edible meat. The crude protein content of the edible meat fraction was significantly higher when the dietary energy level was decreased from 12.13 to 11.72 MJ ME/kg diet. Decreasing dietary energy levels significantly decreased the “L” (lightness) and “b” values (less yellow) of the meat, while dietary L-carnitine supplementation resulted in a significant increase in “L” value. The total edible meat of the quails on the diets containing fish oil had a higher “a” value (more red) than the quails receiving sunflower oil in their diets. It was concluded that additional studies are required to clarify the role of dietary L-carnitine in the oxidation of long-chain fatty acids, its antioxidant properties and its importance in energy metabolism in Japanese quails. Keywords: L-carnitine; metabolizable energy; fat sources; carcass quality; shelflife of edible meat South African Journal of Animal Science Vol. 37 (3) 2007: pp.189-20

Effects of oregano essential oil supplementation to diets for broiler chicks with delayed feeding after hatching. 1. Performances and digestibility of nutrients

WOS: 000334644300002The study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of oregano essential oil at different levels (0, 250 or 500 mg kg(-1)) on growth performance, digestive organs, nutrient composition of carcass, nutrient digestibility and bacterial populations of the small intestine of broiler chicks with immediate, 24, 48 or 72 h delayed feeding from d 0 to 21. The following diets were used from 0 to 21 d. Diet 1 (control, CONT): a commercial diet containing no essential oil, diet 2 (00250): supplemented with oregano essential oil at 250 mg kg(-1) and diet 3 (00500): supplemented with oregano essential oil at 500 mg kg(-1). [GRAPHICS] Especially, with extended delay of access to diet and water body weight gain during the period of 0 and 21 d was significantly decreased and feed conversion ratio from 4 to 21 d-old broilers was significantly aggravated. Experimental treatments did not affect the relative weights of yolk sac and digestive organs except gizzard and the nutrient composition of carcass in broilers at 21 d. CONT group or the group with delayed access to diet and water for 72 h showed a significantly reduced ileal digestibility of organic matter and crude protein. The extension of the delayed access to diet and water significantly increased total aerobic bacteria and coliform bacteria contents of chickens' small intestine at 21 d. The supplemented levels of oregano essential oil to the diet have not been sufficient to compensating the negative effects on growth performance. The reason was probably the aggravated bacterial content of small intestine and the nutrient ileal digestibility by the delayed access to diet and water. There is need for further research to determine the effects of the optimal level or of the combined use of the active compounds in oregano essential oil in diet to remove the negative effects on growth performance, digestive organs, nutrient digestibility and bacterial populations of small intestine of broilers with delayed access to diet and water

Effects of oregano or red pepper essential oil supplementation to diets for broiler chicks with delayed feeding after hatching. 1. Performance and microbial population

WOS: 000330523300009This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of oregano or red pepper essential oil on the performance, digestive organs, serum biochemistry parameters, and microbial population of the small intestine of broilers with immediate, or 24- or 48-h posthatching delayed access to diet and water. The dietary treatments included (1) a non-supplemented corn-soybean meal diet (CONT), (2) CONT + 250 mg/kg of oregano essential oil (OO250), and (3) CONT + 250 mg/kg of red pepper essential oil (RPO250). Irrespective of dietary treatment, especially delayed access to diet and water for 48 h posthatch significantly decreased daily BW gain from 0 to 21 d and daily feed intake from 4 to 21 d and increased the relative weight of the yolk sac at 3 d of broilers. The relative weight of the liver or gizzard of chickens at 21 d was significantly decreased by delayed access to diet and water for 24 h posthatch. The diet containing RPO250 significantly increased the relative weight of the pancreas at 21 d. Delayed access to diet and water for 24 or 48 h posthatch significantly reduced serum glucose levels at 21 d. The serum aspartate aminotransferase level in broilers given immediate access to feed and water was significantly decreased by the diet containing RPO250. Generally, the coliform bacteria and total yeast contents of the small intestine of chickens were significantly increased by extending the time to access to feed and water for broilers. Total aerobic bacteria contents of the small intestine of broilers with immediate, or 24- or 48-h posthatching delayed access to diet and water was significantly decreased by CONT, OO250, and RPO250 diets

Effects of oregano essential oil supplementation to diets for broiler chicks with delayed feeding after hatching. 1. Performances and digestibility of nutrients [Einfluss eines Zusatzes von essentiellen Ölen aus Oregano zu Broilerrationen bei verzögerter Anfütterung nach dem Schlupf. 1. Leistung und Nährstoffverdaulichkeit]

The study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of oregano essential oil at different levels (0, 250 or 500 mg kg-1) on growth performance, digestive organs, nutrient composition of carcass, nutrient digestibility and bacterial populations of the small intestine of broiler chicks with immediate, 24, 48 or 72 h delayed feeding from d 0 to 21. The following diets were used from 0 to 21 d. Diet 1 (control, CONT): a commercial diet containing no essential oil, diet 2 (OO250): supplemented with oregano essential oil at 250 mg kg-1 and diet 3 (OO500): supplemented with oregano essential oil at 500 mg kg-1. Especially, with extended delay of access to diet and water body weight gain during the period of 0 and 21 d was significantly decreased and feed conversion ratio from 4 to 21 d-old broilers was significantly aggravated. Experimental treatments did not affect the relative weights of yolk sac and digestive organs except gizzard and the nutrient composition of carcass in broilers at 21 d. CONT group or the group with delayed access to diet and water for 72 h showed a significantly reduced ileal digestibility of organic matter and crude protein. The extension of the delayed access to diet and water significantly increased total aerobic bacteria and coliform bacteria contents of chickens' small intestine at 21 d. The supplemented levels of oregano essential oil to the diet have not been sufficient to compensating the negative effects on growth performance. The reason was probably the aggravated bacterial content of small intestine and the nutrient ileal digestibility by the delayed access to diet and water. There is need for further research to determine the effects of the optimal level or of the combined use of the active compounds in oregano essential oil in diet to remove the negative effects on growth performance, digestive organs, nutrient digestibility and bacterial populations of small intestine of broilers with delayed access to diet and water. © Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart

Effects of dietary energy density and L-carnitine supplementation on growth performance, carcass traits and blood parameters of broiler chickens

The present study was conducted to determine the effects of dietary metabolisable energy (ME) density and L-carnitine supplementation on the performance, carcass traits and blood parameters of broiler chickens. The experiment was designed with three levels of dietary energy (low, medium and high) and two levels of L-carnitine (0 and 100 mg/kg diet) in a 3x2 factorial arrangement. L-carnitine supplementation did not significantly affect body weight gain (BWG), feed intake (FI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR). However, FCR and BWG showed a significant improvement as dietary energy density increased. No significant interactions were observed between energy density and L-carnitine supplementation in the performance and carcass parameters studied in the study. Carcass yield and proportion of carcass sections were not affected significantly by any of the treatments. Chemical composition of the leg (thigh and drumstick) and breast muscle was not significantly influenced by dietary energy or carnitine, with the exception of the dry matter (DM) content of breast muscle. A low ME diet caused a significant increase in the DM content of chicken breast muscle. Furthermore, blood parameters did not show any differences between treatments. However, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity in blood was elevated in chickens fed a high ME diet compared to those on a low ME diet. The results of the investigation showed that L-carnitine supplementation produced no significant improvement in broiler performance and meat quality. Higher levels of diet ME increased broiler performance, though no significant interactions could be found between energy and carnitine levels. South African Journal of Animal Science Vol. 37 (2) 2007: pp. 65-7

schoolchildren: An epidemiological study

Objective: The aim was to determine the prevalence of voiding dysfunction and its related risk factors in Turkish schoolchildren.Materials and methods: A randomly selected, cross-sectional study was conducted using a self-administered and previously validated questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of two parts. The first part included personal demographic and familial information, and the second part included the Dysfunctional Voiding and Incontinence Scoring System (DVISS). The questionnaires were given to 4668 children between 6 and 15 years of age, which were completed by the parents and children together. The children with a score of >= 9 were accepted as having lower urinary tract dysfunction (LUTD).Results: The data were collected from 4016 children (the response rate was 86.0%), including 48.6% boys and 51.4% girls. The mean age was 10.5 +/- 2.2 years. The overall frequency of LUTD was 9.3%. While the 6-year-old children had the highest frequency (23.1%) of LUTD, this rate was 7.9% at the age of 10, and the children aged 14 years had the lowest frequency (4.9%), (p = 9) had the following risk factors: less educated parents, a parent that had lower urinary tract symptoms when he or she was a child, more persons per room (>= 2 persons), more siblings (>= 4 siblings) at home, past medical history of urinary tract infections, and squatting position (in girls).Conclusions: Lower urinary tract problems are one of the most important and ongoing health problems in childhood. Determining the prevalence of lower urinary tract problems in children and their related risk factors is the first step to managing and reducing the number of children suffering from voiding problems. (C) 2014 Journal of Pediatric Urology Company. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Effects of novel feed additives in wheat based diets on performance, carcass and intestinal tract characteristics of quail

The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of the supplementation of an antibiotic growth promoter or novel feed additives with or without a xylanase-based enzyme complex to wheat-based diets on the growth performance, carcass yields and quality and intestinal characteristics (length of the total and small intestine, pH and viscosity of digesta, microflora) of Japanese quail. Eight hundred and forty day-old male quail chicks were randomly assigned to 14 groups of similar mean weight each of which included three replicates of 20 quail. The control group received a wheat-soyabean meal basal diet. In the treatment groups, the basal diet was supplemented with one of the following: an antibiotic, oregano essential oil, cinnamon essential oil, oregano essential oil plus cinnamon essential oil, a probiotic, a mannanoligosaccharide, and the same diets plus an enzyme. During the 35-d growth period there were no significant differences in body weight gain (BWG), feed intake (FI) or feed conversion ratio (FCR) of quail between dietary treatments. The use of oregano essential oil plus cinnamon essential oil or mannanoligosaccharide without the enzyme complex in the quail diets decreased plasma total cholesterol level compared to the control diet. The dietary supplementation of AGP, oregano essential oil, cinnamon essential oil, oregano essential oil plus cinnamon essential oil without the enzyme complex decreased plasma triglyceride levels compared with the control diet. When oregano essential oil, cinnamon essential oil, oregano oil plus cinnamon oil, a probiotic or a mannanoligosaccharide with an enzyme complex were used in a wheat based quail diet, the intestinal viscosity was significantly decreased compared to the control diet. Although the use of essential oils in combination with the enzyme complex, a probiotic and a mannanoligosaccharide with or without the enzyme complex in the wheat based diet significantly reduced the intestinal viscosity compared to the control diet, these treatments negatively decreased plasma total cholesterol and triglyceride

A different aspect of corrosive ingestion in children: socio-demographic characteristics and effect of family functioning.

OBJECTIVE: Corrosive ingestion is thoroughly investigated in terms of its complications and treatment modalities but to date family functioning, behavior, attitude and knowledge of mothers of children who ingested corrosives has not been investigated and socio-demographic data has rarely been mentioned. Therefore a study was planned to investigate the socio-demographic data, family functioning, knowledge, behavior and attitude of mothers of children who ingested corrosive materials. METHODS: The mothers of 50 children who ingested corrosive materials and 60 controls were asked to answer a questionnaire which included socio-demographic data and questions about their attitude, behavior and knowledge of corrosive ingestion. The mothers were also asked to reply family assessment device (FAD) and parental attitude research instrument (PARI). RESULTS: The average ages of the children were 5.31+/-2.32 in the corrosive group with an M:F ratio of 1:1. The level of education of both mothers (p=0.000) and fathers (p=0.000) in the corrosive group were lower than that of the controls. There was no difference between the two groups in terms of number of working mothers (p=0.085). In the corrosive group the families used to have three or more children (42%) and the socioeconomic status of this group was lower than the controls (p=0.001). In the corrosive group these substances were purchased unlabeled (64%) and kept mainly in coke bottles. The affective involvement dimension of the FAD and the attitude of over-parenting and democratic attitude dimensions of the PARI tests were significantly different in the corrosive group among mothers from lower educational level whereas no difference was detected among mothers from higher educational level in this regard. CONCLUSION: It was found that both level of education of the parents and socioeconomic factors played important role in shaping the habits that might lead to corrosive ingestion in children. For the prevention of corrosive ingestion broad based strategies including education are required