Honey, a Gift from Nature to Health and Beauty: A Review

Benefits of honey are contributed by the composition of its elements such as glucose, fructose, glucose oxidase, vitamins and phenolic compounds. For health, honey can be used to treat wounds due to the antibacterial activity conferred by the hydrogen peroxide produced by glucose oxidase in honey. Anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, deodorizing and tissue regeneration activities in honey also help in the wound healing process. It can also be an alternative sweetener for diabetic patients to ensure compliance to a healthy diet. Moreover, honey exerts several effects such as lowering low density lipids and increasing high density lipids, thus reducing risk of atherosclerosis. In terms of beauty, honey can be used on skin and hair. It moisturizes skin through its natural humectant properties contributed by high contents of fructose and glucose. Honey treats acne on the skin due to its antibacterial activity, anti-inflammatory action and tissue repair. The hair can benefit from honey in such a way that the hair has abundance, and becomes easier to comb. However, there have not been as many studies regarding the use of honey in skin in comparison to its use for health. Therefore, future studies on honey could research its use, action and benefits in both cosmetics and dermatology

Gross anatomical and histomorphological observations on the terminal rectum and the cloaca in the Ostrich Struthio camelus

In birds, the ability to void urine separate from faeces is unique to ostriches. To further explore this characteristic, the anatomy of the terminal rectum and cloaca of the Ostrich Struthio camelus was studied in four ostriches by gross anatomical dissection and light microscopy. The terminal rectum had an unusual tunica muscularis externa (TME) and was clearly demarcated from the caudal part of the rectum proper by a semilunar fold, an abrupt thickening of the gut wall and an increase in the calibre of the gut. The cloaca had a distinct rectocoprodeal fold at the terminal rectum–cloaca junction with a well-formed sphincter muscle. The cloaca had a proximal coprodeum, a middle urodeum and a caudal proctodeum. The mucosa of the cloaca was folded and lined by simple columnar epithelium except in the urodeum and the floor and ventral walls of the proctodeum. The coprodeal wall had a thick circular muscle layer; however, the other parts of the cloaca mainly had longitudinally/obliquely directed fibres in the TME. This muscle arrangement could contribute to the dynamics of the terminal rectum that allow for separate defecation and micturition. We also propose a schema for this phenomenon that for birds is unique to ostriches. OSTRICH 2009, 80(3): 185–19

The novel use of “point of care” devices to evaluate transport duration on selected pork quality parameters

Point-of-care (POC) devices were used to measure plasma metabolic substrates in pigs subjected to stressful conditions. These were then related to the meat pH, drip loss and carcass temperature. Forty Large White x Landrace pigs (20 females and 20 males) weighing approximately 67 ± 6.5 kg were used in the study. Twenty of the pigs were subjected to a stressful regimen for two hours and the other 20 pigs were transported for 15 minutes from their pens directly to the abattoir. Salivary cortisol, plasma glucose, triglycerides and lactate concentrations were determined before and after transportation to the abattoir and carcass temperature, pH and drip loss were measured after slaughter. There were no differences in the lactate, cortisol, pH and triglycerides measurements from the pigs of different sexes. Female pigs had higher carcass temperature and lower glucose levels than male pigs. Regression analysis showed that back fat and lactate accounted for 99% of variation in the pH24h of pigs transported over a short duration while lactate was responsible for only 16% of the variation in pigs transported over the long duration. The difference in lactate accounted for 78% of variation in the carcass temperature at 45 minutes for pigs transported over the short duration while in the long duration group, the weight was responsible for 81% of the variation. In conclusion, POC devices measured differences in lactate concentrations in pigs transported over different durations and relationships between the lactate and the carcass pH, carcass temperature and drip loss was determined.Keywords: Stress, long and short duration, animal welfar

Haematology and clinical chemistry parameters in indigenous Mukota, Large White and Large White x Mukota crossbred pigs in Zimbabwe

The study was designed to compare blood parameters of three-month old, apparently healthy Mukota, Large White (LW) and LW ´ Mukota pigs. The blood picture of three- and six-month old Mukota pigs was also assessed. Red cell indices were higher (