Control of E. coli and Salmonella in growing-finishing pigs through the use of potassium diformate (KDF) – European case studies

Control of pathogenic bacteria has a high priority in European pork production. They can be a significant cause of zoonotic diseases and cause major economic losses in the pork production chain, through reduced productivity, increased veterinary and hygiene control costs. Preventing the spread of E. coli and Salmonella to the consumer requires special control measures during slaughter and processing. The extra cost of these controls is increasingly being transferred back to the producer in the form of financial penalties or the loss of the market for contaminated pigs. Improving gut health has been shown to be effective against intestinal pathogens, a strategy that has only really been made possible through the removal of antibiotic growth promoters in feed. Creating and maintaining a healthy intestinal environment has become essential to productivity and food safety programmes alike

Poly-β-hydroxybutyrate administration during early life: effects on performance, immunity and microbial community of European sea bass yolk-sac larvae

The reliable production of marine fish larvae is one of the major bottlenecks in aquaculture due to high mortalities mainly caused by infectious diseases. To evaluate if the compound poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) might be a suitable immunoprophylactic measure in fish larviculture, its capacity to improve immunity and performance in European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) yolk-sac larvae was explored. PHB was applied from mouth opening onwards to stimulate the developing larval immune system at the earliest possible point in time. Larval survival, growth, microbiota composition, gene expression profiles and disease resistance were assessed. PHB administration improved larval survival and, furthermore, altered the larva-associated microbiota composition. The bacterial challenge test using pathogenic Vibrio anguillarum revealed that the larval disease resistance was not influenced by PHB. The expression profiles of 26 genes involved e.g. in the immune response showed that PHB affected the expression of the antimicrobial peptides ferritin (fer) and dicentracin (dic), however, the response to PHB was inconsistent and weaker than previously demonstrated for sea bass post-larvae. Hence, the present study highlights the need for more research focusing on the immunostimulation of different early developmental stages for gaining a more comprehensive picture and advancing a sustainable production of high quality fry

Control of E. coli and Salmonella in growing-finishing pigs through the use of potassium diformate (KDF) – European case studies

Control of pathogenic bacteria has a high priority in European pork production. They can be a significant cause of zoonotic diseases and cause major economic losses in the pork production chain, through reduced productivity, increased veterinary and hygiene control costs. Preventing the spread of E. coli and Salmonella to the consumer requires special control measures during slaughter and processing. The extra cost of these controls is increasingly being transferred back to the producer in the form of financial penalties or the loss of the market for contaminated pigs. Improving gut health has been shown to be effective against intestinal pathogens, a strategy that has only really been made possible through the removal of antibiotic growth promoters in feed. Creating and maintaining a healthy intestinal environment has become essential to productivity and food safety programmes alike.</p

On the Effects of Reactive Oxygen Species and Nitric Oxide on Red Blood Cell Deformability

The main function of red blood cells (RBCs) is the transport of respiratory gases along the vascular tree. To fulfill their task, RBCs are able to elastically deform in response to mechanical forces and, pass through the narrow vessels of the microcirculation. Decreased RBC deformability was observed in pathological conditions linked to increased oxidative stress or decreased nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability, like hypertension. Treatments with oxidants and with NO were shown to affect RBC deformability ex vivo, but the mechanisms underpinning these effects are unknown. In this study we investigate whether changes in intracellular redox status/oxidative stress or nitrosation reactions induced by reactive oxygen species (ROS) or NO may affect RBC deformability. In a case-control study comparing RBCs from healthy and hypertensive participants, we found that RBC deformability was decreased, and levels of ROS were increased in RBCs from hypertensive patients as compared to RBCs from aged-matched healthy controls, while NO levels in RBCs were not significantly different. To study the effects of oxidants on RBC redox state and deformability, RBCs from healthy volunteers were treated with increasing concentrations of tert-butylhydroperoxide (t-BuOOH). We found that high concentrations of t-BuOOH (≥ 1 mM) significantly decreased the GSH/GSSG ratio in RBCs, decreased RBC deformability and increased blood bulk viscosity. Moreover, RBCs from Nrf2 knockout (KO) mice, a strain genetically deficient in a number of antioxidant/reducing enzymes, were more susceptible to t-BuOOH-induced impairment in RBC deformability as compared to wild type (WT) mice. To study the role of NO in RBC deformability we treated RBC suspensions from human volunteers with NO donors and nitrosothiols and analyzed deformability of RBCs from mice lacking the endothelial NO synthase (eNOS). We found that NO donors induced S-nitrosation of the cytoskeletal protein spectrin, but did not affect human RBC deformability or blood bulk viscosity; moreover, under unstressed conditions RBCs from eNOS KO mice showed fully preserved RBC deformability as compared to WT mice. Pre-treatment of human RBCs with nitrosothiols rescued t-BuOOH-mediated loss of RBC deformability. Taken together, these findings suggest that NO does not affect RBC deformability per se, but preserves RBC deformability in conditions of oxidative stress