Effects of dietary protein and inulin on growth and nitrogen balance in growing pigs.

This study was conducted to determine the effects of dietary protein and inulin on growth, nitrogen balance and feces characteristics in growing pigs. The diet treatments were two levels of CP, 18% and 14% with or without 0.3% inulin addition. Daily live weight gain (DLWG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were not affected by the dietary treatments. However, N intake and N excretion were decreased (P<0.05) with reduced CP level. Addition of inulin had no effect on the total amount of N excretion, but tended to shift N excretion from urine to feces. It is concluded that reduction of dietary CP up to 14% in diet of growing pigs will reduce N excretion and thereby environmental pollution

Inhibitory effects of lactic acid and lauricidin on spoilage organisms of chicken breast during storage at chilled temperature.

Different concentrations of lauricidin (LU, containing 1% lactic acid) and lactic acid alone (LA) were evaluated for their effectiveness in reducing naturally occurring microflora of raw chicken breasts. Chicken breasts were dipped in 0 (control), 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0% solutions of LU (w/v) or LA (v/v) for 10, 20, and 30 min and stored at 4°C for 14 d. Total Plate Counts (TPC) and populations of Pseudomonas spp. and Enterobacteriaceae were determined before and after dipping and after storing for 1, 3, 7, 10, and 14 d. Additionally, Hunter L, a, and b values and pH of the chicken breast were also determined. From the obtained results, TPC on chicken breast treated with LU was found to be decreased by 0.92 to 1.2 log CFU/g from a mean initial log 5.69 CFU/g, while those dipped in LA decreased by 0.53 to 2.36 log CFU/g. Pseudomonas population on chicken breast dipped in LU decreased by 0.79 to 1.77 log CFU/g from an initial 3.90 log CFU/g, while in LA treated it decreased by 0.39 to 1.82 log CFU/g. Enterobacteriaceae counts were also found to be reduced by 0.14 to 1.14 log CFU/g on chicken breast dipped in LU, while the reduction was from 0.59 to 2.18 log CFU/g in chicken breast dipped in LA. The major bacterial types isolated from LU treated chicken breast belonged to the Enterobacteriaceae group, which included: Enterobacter, E. coli and Citrobacter. Whereas, in the LA treated breast it belonged to: Pseudomonas, E. coli, and Kocuria rhizophila (formerly Micrococcus luteus). Dipping chicken breast in LU and LA caused a significant decrease (p ≤ 0.05) in their pH values. Also, treatment with LU and LA caused a slight darkening in color (decreased Hunter L value), increase in redness (increased Hunter a value), and increase in yellowness (increased Hunter b value). Based on the results obtained in the present study, Lactic acid and Lauricidin showed high potential to be used as a sanitizer in reducing the population of spoilage microorganisms naturally occurring on raw chicken, and can be explored commercially for extension of their shelf life

Properties of proteolytic enzyme from ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe)

Proteases in ginger rhizome have the potentials in industrial applications. This study was conducted to extract and characterize the proteolytic enzyme from ginger ( Zingiber officinale Roscoe). Ginger protease (GP) was extracted from ginger rhizome by homogenization with 100 mM potassium phosphate buffer pH 7.0 containing 10 mM cysteine and 5 mM EDTA which were found to be the most efficient extraction buffer and stabilizers. After centrifugation at 10,500 x g, protein in the crude extract was precipitated using 60% ammonium sulfate following which the precipitate was redissolved in 50 mM potassium phosphate buffer pH 7.0, dialyzed and then lyophilized. The extraction method yielded 0.94% (w/w of fresh weight) of GP with a specific activity of 27.6 ± 0.1 Unit/mg protein where 1 Unit is defined as the amount of protease causing an increase in absorbance by 1 unit per minute using azocasein as the substrate. Results show that the GP was completely inhibited by heavy metal cations i.e. Cu 2+ and Hg 2+ , and a thiol blocking agent or inhibitor, n-ethyl maleimide (NEM), indicating that GP is most probably a cysteine protease. The enzyme has an optimum temperature at 60 o C and the optimum pH ranged between pH 6 to 8. Monovalent cations (K + and Na + ) have no significant effect on activity of GP, but divalent and trivalent cations showed moderate inhibitory effect. Detergents such as sodium dodecyl sulfate increased the activity of GP while Tween 80 and Tween 20 slightly reduced the activity

Effects of Feeding Fermented Fish on Egg Cholesterol Content in Hens

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of feeding fermented fish (FF) to layers on laying performance, and polyunsaturated fatty acid and cholesterol levels in eggs and plasma. A total of 96, 13-week-old Babcock B380 pullets were used in this study. They were randomly assigned to four numerically equal groups with eight replicates per treatment, three birds per replicate. All the birds were housed in individual cages. The dietary treatments were: Control diet, without FF; FF3 diet containing 3% (w/w) FF, FF6 diet containing 6% (w/w) FF and FF9 diet containing 9% (w/w) FF. The study was carried out for 16 weeks inclusive of two weeks of adjustment. Weekly feed intake and egg production were recorded. Blood plasma cholesterol and fatty acid profiles were assayed at the end of the experiment. FF did not enhance (P > 0.05) egg mass but (P < 0.05) decreased egg weight slightly. However, egg yolk cholesterol and plasma cholesterol concentrations were reduced (P < 0.05) by FF. The n-6:n-3 fatty acids ratio in the egg yolk (Control = 7.9, FF9 = 6.2) and plasma (Control = 10.6, FF9 = 6.2) were decreased by feeding FF. Moreover, FF was able to increase (P < 0.05) the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) concentrations in egg yolk and plasma. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that FF increased DHA and reduced egg yolk cholesterol in poultry eggs

Primjena metode odzivnih površina radi poboljšanja biosinteze folata s pomoću mliječno-kiselih bakterija

Lactic acid bacteria (Lactococcus lactis NZ9000, Lactococcus lactis MG1363, Lactobacillus plantarum I-UL4 and Lactobacillus johnsonii DSM 20553) have been screened for their ability to produce folate intracellularly and/or extracellularly. L. plantarum I-UL4 was shown to be superior producer of folate compared to other strains. Statistically based experimental designs were used to optimize the medium formulation for the growth of L. plantarum I-UL4 and folate biosynthesis. The optimal values of important factors were determined by response surface methodology (RSM). The effects of carbon sources, nitrogen sources and para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) concentrations on folate biosynthesis were determined prior to RSM study. The biosynthesis of folate by L. plantarum I-UL4 increased from 36.36 to 60.39 µg/L using the optimized medium formulation compared to the selective Man de Rogosa Sharpe (MRS) medium. Conditions for the optimal growth of L. plantarum I-UL4 and folate biosynthesis as suggested by RSM were as follows: lactose 20 g/L, meat extract 16.57 g/L and PABA 10 µM.Ispitana je sposobnost mliječno-kiselih bakterija (Lactococcus lactis NZ9000, Lactococcus lactis MG1363, Lactobacillus plantarum I-UL4 i Lactobacillus johnsonii DSM 20553) da intracelularno i/ili ekstracelularno proizvedu folate. Najbolji soj za proizvodnju folata bio je L. plantarum I-UL4. Statistički je dizajn eksperimenta primijenjen radi optimiranja sastava podloge za uzgoj L. plantarum I-UL4 i biosintezu folata. Utvrđen je utjecaj koncentracija izvora ugljika i dušika, te para-aminobenzojeve kiseline na biosintezu folata, a zatim su metodom odzivnih površina određene optimalne vrijednosti glavnih parametara sinteze. U usporedbi s uzgojem L. plantarum I-UL4 u selektivnoj de Man-Rogosa-Sharpe podlozi, u optimiranoj se podlozi biosinteza folata povećala sa 36,36 na 60,39 μg/L. Optimalni je sastav podloge bio: 20 g/L laktoze, 16,57 g/L mesnog ekstrakta i 10 μM paraaminobenzojeve kiseline

Improvement of folate biosynthesis by lactic acid bacteria using response surface methodology

Lactic acid bacteria (Lactococcus lactis NZ9000,Lactococcus lactis MG1363, Lactobacillus plantarum I-UL4 and Lactobacillus johnsonii DSM 20553) have been screened for their ability to produce folate intracellularly and/or extracellularly. L. plantarum I-UL4 was shown to be superior producer of folate compared to other strains. Statistically based experimental designs were used to optimize the medium formulation for the growth of L. plantarum I-UL4 and folate biosynthesis. The optimal values of important factors were determined by response surface methodology (RSM). The effects of carbon sources, nitrogen sources and para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) concentrations on folate biosynthesis were determined prior to RSM study. The biosynthesis of folate by L. plantarum I-UL4 increased from 36.36 to 60.39 mg/L using the optimized medium formulation compared to the selective Man de Rogosa Sharpe (MRS) medium. Conditions for the optimal growth of L. plantarum I-UL4 and folate biosynthesis as suggested by RSM were as follows: lactose 20 g/L, meat extract 16.57 g/L and PABA 10 mM

Optimisation of lignin peroxidase production using locally isolated Pycnoporus sp. through factorial design

Lignin peroxidase has been extensively studied and has been reported to produce by white rot fungus. The highest lignin peroxidase producer from local isolates, identified as Pycnoporus sp. was selected for the optimisation study. Factorial design approach was significant to determine the optimum conditions that significantly influenced the production of lignin peroxidase by Pycnoporus sp. Several factors were selected in a range indicated by -1 and +1 for lower and upper level, respectively. The results of ANOVA were analysed to check for the significant factors. Optimum condition for the highest lignin peroxidase activity of 51.1 U L-1 was obtained at 24 mM of nitrogen concentration, agitation speed at 110 rpm, pH 3.5, inoculum concentration of 6x106 spores mL-1 and with the addition of inducer (veratryl alcohol). Considering the results obtained, this statistical design was effective in improving the lignin peroxidase production from Pycnoporus sp

Study of lactic acid bacteria and Enterobacteriaceae counts and fatty acids composition in a fermented product

This study was conducted to study the characteristics of a fermented product (FP). An evaluation of measurements of consistency and repeatability on microbiological analyses, including lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and Enterobacteriaceae counts and fatty aids profiles was performed. Physico-chemical properties (pH, dry matter and ash, crude protein, crude fat and crude fibre) of FP were ascertained. The fermentation process was repeated three times under the same running conditions and using the same amounts of raw materials. The results indicated that the product obtained from the fermentation process increased the LAB population and decreased the Enterobacteriaceae populations after the fermentation process. The presence of essential fatty acids (linoleic acid 24%, linolenic acid 1.1 %, Eicosapentaenoic acid 3.6%, Docosapentaenoic acid 0.7%, and Docosahexaenoic acid 2.0%) and limeflavored aroma represents added value attributes to the product and it might have potential as an animal feed additive. Chemical determination showed a net decrease in pH to around 4.5. The dry matter, crude fibre, crude protein, crude fat and ash contents of the three batches of FP were similar. These results indicated that the quality of FP was consistent with repeatable preparation process

Isolation and Characterization of Coprophilous Cellulolytic Fungi from Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) Dung

A lot of work has been done on isolation of cellulolytic fungi from the natural environment, but no such work was done on Asian elephant dung in Malaysia. Fungi that grow on elephant dung which is full of fibres may serve as a source of potential cellulase enzymes. Commercial cellulase enzymes used for the hydrolysis of lignocellulose biomass are not only expensive, but may as well hinder progress in the bioethanol industry. In this study, eight new fungi were isolated from Asian elephant dung sourced from Malaysian forest reserve. The fungi were identified morphologically and by molecular assay. The sequences of the fungi were deposited in the Gen Bank NCBI and were assigned accession numbers. Phylogenetic tree of the fungi was constructed to show similarities of the new fungi to known strains. The fungi were tested for cellulolytic potential using carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). Trichoderma aureoviride strain UPM 09 (JN811061) and Fusarium equiseti strain UPM 09 (JN811063) proved to be potential cellulolytic fungi. This study shows that nature harbors the best cellulolytic fungi for biotechnological applications yet to be exploited. Keywords: cellulolytic, fungi, cellulase, lignocelluloses, biomass, Trichoderma aureoviride, Fusarium equiset