Tolerance and safety evaluation of N, N-dimethylglycine, a naturally occurring organic compound, as a feed additive in broiler diets

N, N-dimethylglycine (DMG) is a tertiary amino acid that naturally occurs as an intermediate metabolite in choline-to-glycine metabolism. The objective of the present trial was to evaluate tolerance, safety and bioaccumulation of dietary DMG in broilers when supplemented at 1 g and 10 g Na-DMG/kg. A feeding trial was conducted using 480 1-d-old broiler chicks that were randomly allocated to twenty-four pens and fed one of three test diets added with 0, 1 or 10 g Na-DMG/kg during a 39 d growth period. Production performance was recorded to assess tolerance and efficacy of the supplement. At the end of the trial, toxicity was evaluated by means of haematology, plasma biochemistry and histopathology of liver, kidney and heart (n 12), whereas bioaccumulation was assessed on breast meat, liver, blood, kidney and adipose tissue (n 8). Carcass traits were similar between the control and 1 g Na-DMG/kg feed groups (P>0·05), but the feed:gain ratio was significantly improved at 1 g Na-DMG/kg feed compared with the control or the 10-fold dose (P = 0·008). Histological examinations showed no pathological effects and results of haematology and plasma biochemistry revealed similar values between the test groups (P>0·05). Bioaccumulation occurred at the 10-fold dose, but the resulting DMG content in breast meat was comparable with, for instance, wheat bran and much lower than uncooked spinach. In conclusion, DMG at 1 g Na-DMG/kg improved the feed:gain ratio in broilers without DMG being accumulated in consumer parts. Furthermore, dietary supplementation with DMG up to 10 g Na-DMG/kg did not induce toxicity or impaired performance in broilers

Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis of the Antifungal Activity of Allicin Alone and in Combination with Antifungal Drugs

The antifungal activity of allicin and its synergistic effects with the antifungal agents flucytosine and amphotericin B (AmB) were investigated in Candida albicans (C. albicans). C. albicans was treated with different conditions of compounds alone and in combination (allicin, AmB, flucytosine, allicin + AmB, allicin + flucytosine, allicin + AmB + flucytosine). After a 24-hour treatment, cells were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) to measure morphological and biophysical properties associated with cell death. The clearing assay was conducted to confirm the effects of allicin. The viability of C. albicans treated by allicin alone or with one antifungal drug (AmB, flucytosine) in addition was more than 40% after a 24-hr treatment, but the viability of groups treated with combinations of more than two drugs was less than 32%. When the cells were treated with allicin alone or one type of drug, the morphology of the cells did not change noticeably, but when cells were treated with combinations of drugs, there were noticeable morphological changes. In particular, cells treated with allicin + AmB had significant membrane damage (burst or collapsed membranes). Classification of cells according to their cell death phase (CDP) allowed us to determine the relationship between cell viability and treatment conditions in detail. The adhesive force was decreased by the treatment in all groups compare to the control. Cells treated with AmB + allicin had a greater adhesive force than cells treated with AmB alone because of the secretion of molecules due to collapsed membranes. All cells treated with allicin or drugs were softer than the control cells. These results suggest that allicin can reduce MIC of AmB while keeping the same efficacy

Allelopathic effects of Ulva pertusa, Corallina pilulifera and Sargassum thunbergii on the growth of the dinoflagellates Heterosigma akashiwo and Alexandrium tamarense

The allelopathic effects of fresh tissue, dry powder and aqueous extracts of three macroalgae, Ulva pertusa, Corallina pilulifera and Sargassum thunbergii, on the growth of the dinoflagellates Heterosigma akashiwo and Alexandrium tamarense were evaluated using coexistence culture systems in which concentrations of the three macroalga were varied. The results of the coexistence assay showed that the growth of the two microalgae was strongly inhibited by using fresh tissue, dry powder and aqueous extracts of the three macroalga; the allelochemicals were lethal to H. akashiwo at relatively higher concentrations of the three macroalga. The macroalgae showing the most allelopathic effect on H. akashiwo and A. tamarense using fresh tissue were U. pertusa and S. thunbergii, using dry powder were S. thunbergii and U. pertusa, and using aqueous extracts were U. pertusa and C. pilulifera. We also examined the potential allelopathic effect on the two microalgae of culture filtrate of the three macroalga; culture medium filtrate initially exhibited no inhibitory effects when first added but inhibitory effects became apparent under semi-continuous addition, which suggested that continuous release of small quantities of rapidly degradable allelochemicals from the fresh macroalgal tissue were essential to effectively inhibit the growth of the two microalgae

Tolerance and safety evaluation of N, N-dimethylglycine, a naturally occurring organic compound, as a feed additive in broiler diets

N,N-dimethylglycine (DMG) is a tertiary amino acid that naturally occurs as an intermediate metabolite in choline-to-glycine metabolism. The objective of the present trial was to evaluate tolerance, safety and bioaccumulation of dietary DMG in broilers when supplemented at 1 g and 10 g Na-DMG/kg. A feeding trial was conducted using 480 1-d-old broiler chicks that were randomly allocated to twenty-four pens and fed one of three test diets added with 0, 1 or 10 g Na-DMG/kg during a 39 d growth period. Production performance was recorded to assess tolerance and efficacy of the supplement. At the end of the trial, toxicity was evaluated by means of haematology, plasma biochemistry and histopathology of liver, kidney and heart (n 12), whereas bioaccumulation was assessed on breast meat, liver, blood, kidney and adipose tissue (n 8). Carcass traits were similar between the control and 1 g Na-DMG/kg feed groups (P.0·05), but the feed:gain ratio was significantly improved at 1 g Na-DMG/kg feed compared with the control or the 10-fold dose (P¼0·008). Histological examinations showed no pathological effects and results of haematology and plasma biochemistry revealed similar values between the test groups (P.0·05). Bioaccumulation occurred at the 10-fold dose, but the resulting DMG content in breast meat was comparable with, for instance, wheat bran and much lower than uncooked spinach. In conclusion, DMG at 1 g Na-DMG/kg improved the feed:gain ratio in broilers without DMG being accumulated in consumer parts. Furthermore, dietary supplementation with DMG up to 10 g Na-DMG/kg did not induce toxicity or impaired performance in broilers

An attempt to define the sodium requirements of lactating dairy cows in a tropical environment

BACKGROUND: Lactating dairy cattle in the tropics may require more sodium (Na) owing to the hot and humid climatic conditions. It is unknown whether the current recommendations on Na for lactating cows can be quantitatively used in tropical countries. This study attempted to define the Na requirement of lactating dairy cows under tropical conditions by measuring Na levels in saliva, milk and faeces. RESULTS: The concentrations of Na and potassium (K) in milk, faeces and serum were not affected by dietary treatments. The amount of Na absorbed by cows fed the basal (low-Na) diet containing 0.4 g Na kg-1 dry matter (DM) was equal to the amount of Na lost in the milk, showing that these animals were fed an Na-deficient ration. This observation was corroborated by salivary Na and K levels, with the cows on the low-Na diet having salivary Na concentrations below 120 mmol L-1 in combination with salivary K concentrations above 20 mmol L-1 (P <0.05). CONCLUSION: Consumption of a daily ration formulated to contain the current Na requirement set by the NRC appears to provide too much Na for lactating cows under tropical conditions. A tentative value of 1.2 g kg-1 DM is proposed as the Na requirement for dairy cows under tropical conditions. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industr

Biogas production and purification using membrane processes

In this master thesis, a single-stage anaerobic co-digestion system was operated treating a mixture of leachate and tannery wastewater, increasing salinity from 5 to 15 g Na+ L-1. Biogas production (1.6 ± 0.3 – 3.0 ± 0.3 L d-1) increased as salinity increased up to 10 g Na+ L-1 as well as CH4 yield (0.29 ± 0.03 – 0.33 ± 0.03 L CH4 g-1 COD). At 15 g Na+ L-1, a decrease in biogas production and granules fragmentation were observed. Overall, the results showed that the microbial community was able to withstand salinities up to 15 g Na+ L-1, presenting a good performance on the co-treatment of leachate and tannery wastewater. The second part of this master thesis was focused on the effect of combining metal organic frameworks (MOF-5), with high adsorption properties towards CO2 when compared with CH4, with a combination of different poly(ionic liquid)/ionic liquid (PIL/IL) membranes for biogas upgrading. The MOF-5 was incorporated at different loadings (10, 20 and 30 wt%), and mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) were prepared by solvent evaporation method. The results showed that MOF-5 particles were uniformly dispersed into the PIL/IL matrix, except for PIL C(CN)3/40 [C2MIM][C(CN)3]. The prepared PIL/IL/MOF-5 membranes revealed suitable thermal stability (Tonset up to 300-380ºC) for biogas upgrading, but a loss of mechanical stability was found after the incorporation of MOF-5. Nevertheless, increasing MOF-5 content in the MMMs resulted in an improvement on CO2 permeability, which increased 133% for PIL Tf2N/40 [C2MIM][BETi]/30 MOF-5 when compared to PIL Tf2N/40 [C2MIM][BETi]. It was therefore possible to demonstrate the improvement of CO2/CH4 separation performance of this MMMs system using MOF-5, which opens the perspective of using these materials for biogas upgrading

Pilarisasi dan Karakterisasi Montmorillonit

PILARISASI DAN KARAKTERISASI MONTMORILLONIT. Telah dilakukan pilarisasi montmorillonit dengan Cr2O3 dengan metode interkalasi dan karakterisasinya baik secara kualitatif maupun kuantitatif. Sintesis lempung terpilar dilakukan melalui dua tahap yaitu tahap pembuatan agent pemilar berupa oligomer kation chrom dan pemilaran montmorillonit. Pembuatan oligomer dilakukan dengan melarutkan garam Cr(NO3)3. 9H2O dalam air terdemineralisasi selama 36 jam dengan pemanasan pada suhu 95oC sambil diaduk dengan pengaduk magnet. Pemilaran lempung dilakukan dengan melarutkan Na-montmorillonit ke dalam larutan campuran air terdemineralisasi dan aseton, selanjutnya mencampurkan suspensi tersebut ke dalam larutan oligomer sambil diaduk dengan pengaduk magnet pada suhu pemanasan 40 oC selama 24 jam. Campuran disaring kemudian padatan yang diperoleh dikeringkan dan selanjutnya dikarakteristik menggunakan spektrofotometer inframerah, difraksi sinar-X, analisis adsorpsi gas dan analisis pengaktifan neutron. Analisis yang sama juga dilakukan pada Na-montmorillonit yang digunakan sebagai pembanding. Tahap selanjutnya adalah uji keasaman permukaan yang dilakukan secara kualitatif yaitu dengan metode spektrofotometer infra merah dan secara kuantitatif dengan metode gravimetri yaitu dengan mengadsorbsikan amoniak ke dalam montmorillonit terpilar Cr2O3. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pilarisasi Na-montmorillonit dengan Cr2O3 membentuk montmorillonit terpilar Cr2O3 dengan tinggi pilar sebesar 5,95Å, Pilarisasi juga mengakibatkan kenaikan luas permukaan spesifik dari dari 90,0587 m2/g (Na-montmorillonit) menjadi 170,471 m2/g (montmorillonit terpilar) dan volume total pori dari 60,9264 x 10-3 cm3/g (Na-montmorillonit) menjadi 92,6631 x 10-3 cm3/g (montmorillonit terpilar Cr2O3). Keasaman permukaan montmorillonit meningkat dari 0,6673 mmol/g (Na-Montmorillonit) menjadi 2,6965 mmol/g (montmorillonit terpilar Cr2O3)

Analysis of Some Mineral Elements in Major Coconut Cultivars in Nigeria

The mineral content of different cultivars of the endosperm tissues of coconut (Cocos nucifera Linn) samples commonly available in some parts of Nigeria were collected and analyzed for Fe, Zn, Ca and Mg by atomic absorption spectrophotometric techniques, while Na and K were determined by Flame photometric techniques. The mineral content of the coconut water ranged from 0.09 0.06µg/g Zn to 959.52 52.65µg/g Na while the mineral levels of the coconut meat ranged from 6.14  1.52µg/g Zn to 7809.53 436.41µg/g Na. The concentrations of the minerals were generally higher in the coconut meat than in the coconut water samples.  However, hybrid samples from Badagry, especially the larger nuts contained the highest levels of the minerals. The levels of Na, K and Ca suggest that health and nutritional benefits can be derived from consuming coconut water and coconut meat. Keywords: coconut meat, coconut water, mineral, nutritional benefit

The plant-based diet containing treated lupin seed in the nutrition of hens and the comparison of its production efficacy with the diet based on animal protein

Cilj je ovog rada istražiti učinak zamjene životinjskih bjelančevina (mesnokoštano brašno) biljnim bjelančevinama (obrađene sjemenke lupine) na produktivnost i zdravlje kokoši nesilica. Pokus je proveden na konzumnim nesilicama hibrida Isa Brown u dobi od 22. do 58. tjedna. Korištena lupina sorte JUNO nije negativno utjecala na produkciju jaja i kvalitetu ljuske jaja. Međutim, značajno povećnje (P ≤ 0,01) zabilježeno je kod slijedećih parametara; prosječne mase proizvedenih jaja (od 60,03 g na 61,66 g), mase ljuske jaja (s 7,17 g na 7,78 g) i mase bjelanjka (od 36,33 g na 37,31 g). Premda učinak lupine na masu žumanjka nije bio utvrđen, dokazano je (P ≤ 0,01) poboljšanje njegove boje. Pozitivnim rezultatom zamjene mesnokoštanog brašna lupinom možemo smatrati i značajno (P ≤ 0,05) smanjenje sadržaja kolesterola u žumanjku jajeta (za 15,86 g.kg-1).The aim of this work was to verify the production efficacy of a plant-based feeding mixture and its effect on the quality of eggs. Animal protein (i.e. meat-and-bone meal) in the feeding mixture was replaced with vegetable protein (treated lupin seed). The experiment was performed with Isa Brown hybrid females aged 22-58 weeks. The diet containing lupin seed (the variety JUNO) as a replacement of meat-and-bone meal had no negative effect on egg production and the quality of egg shell in utility layers. Moreover, the highly conclusive increase (P ≤ 0.01) was found in the following parameters: the average weight of produced eggs (60.03 g as compared to 61.66 g), the weight of egg shell (from 7.17 g to 7.78 g), and the weight of egg white (from 36.33 g to 37.31 g). The weight of egg yolk remained unaffected but its colour improved (P ≤ 0.01). Another positive effect observed with the experimental diet is that it conclusively (P ≤ 0.05) decreased the level of cholesterol in egg yolk by 15.86 g per kg