EVALUATION OF VACUUM POST-PELLET APPLICATIONS OF BIOACTIVES TO BROILER FEED ON EFFICACY AND PROTECTED DELIVERY

The use of vacuum coating is mostly limited to production of high fat containing extruded aqua and pet diets. The physical characteristics of extrudates are favourable for vacuum coating due to their high porosity and durability. However, with pelleted feed for broilers, there are potentially several opportunities, but there are also challenges; these are explored here. The opportunities identified were inclusion of high level of oils, protected delivery of feed additives (e.g., enzymes, probiotics, vaccines, etc.), improved and safe use of offensive feed additives and improvement of shelf-life of feed and additives. Challenges include the relatively high density of pellets (low porosity) which limits liquid infusion, increased processing cost and decreased feed throughput. However, feed ingredients selection and alternating processing variables (temperature, moisture, die specifications etc.) were deemed to overcome the challenges of low porosity. Three experiments were conducted to evaluate the use of vacuum coating in pelleted feed. In the first experiment, the effect of particle size on post-pellet oil absorption (OA), porosity, pellet durability index (PDI) and bulk density were investigated. The three particle sizes for three grains (wheat, barley and corn) were pelleted using a 4.7 mm die to get whole grain (WP), coarse (CP), and fine (FP) grind pellets. The pellets were coated with 15% canola oil without (VC-) and with (VC+; 0.3 bar) vacuum coating. The grain type was found to have a significant effect on the particle size when ground through either fine (3.2 mm) or coarse (6.4 mm) screen. With coarse grinding, the mean particle size was 1896, 1290 and 1057 µm, respectively for barley, wheat and corn; with fine grinding, the mean particle size was 1153, 767 and 732 µm, respectively. Porosity of CP from wheat and corn was significantly (P<0.01) higher than WP and FP. For barley, there was no difference in porosity of CP and FP but both were significantly higher than WP. For wheat, OA of CP was highest (P<0.01), but no significant difference was found between FP and WP. However, for barley, higher OA was found in FP followed by CP and WP. In corn, OA of CP was higher than for FP or WP. Vacuum coating (VC+) improved (P<0.01) OA of all pellets compared to VC-. Porosity was positively correlated with OA and negatively correlated to PDI and bulk density. Overall, the first experiment suggested that alteration of particle size and grain type could be the options for improving the oil absorption by vacuum coating. A second experiment was conducted to observe the effect of enzyme addition method (EAM; E-, without enzyme; PreE+, Pre-pellet addition of enzyme; PosE+, post-pellet addition of enzyme), conditioning temperature (CT; 65 or 95°C) and coating method (CM; VC- or VC+) on broiler performance when fed wheat-rye-based diets. Enzyme addition (pre or post-pellet addition in comparison to without enzyme) significantly improved (P<0.01) the body weight at 21 and 35d. Higher CT (95°C) improved feed conversion ratio (FCR) in both starter (P<0.01) and grow/finish phase (P=0.04) and PDI of both starter and grow/finish pellets (P<0.01) when compared to low CT (65°C). Vacuum coating did not have any effect on the diet extract viscosity, animal performance or digesta viscosity in either of the phases. However, with post-pellet vacuum coating, there was high retention of xylanase activity after processing. Vacuum coating significantly (P<0.05) reduced the relative length of small intestine of broilers at 21d but not at 35d. In the third experiment, broiler grow/finish diets were stored in an incubator (37°C) to see if vacuum coating can improve the shelf-life of feed. The results showed post-pellet vacuum-coated pellets retained higher enzyme activity after 15 days of storage. Although no effect of vacuum coating on animal performance was observed, vacuum coating was able to protect the enzyme during processing and storage. Further work needs to be done to translate these benefits to improve animal performance, which might be achieved using various vacuum coating and processing conditions, and bioactives

Herpetofauna of a Ramsar Site: The Beeshazar and Associated Lakes, Chitwan National Park, Nepal

The Nepalese herpetofauna has been poorly studied, and little is known about the distribution of the country’s amphibians and reptiles. We surveyed the herpetofauna at Beeshazar and associated lakes, a Ramsar site situated in the buffer zone of Chitwan National Park, Nepal. We conducted surveys between June and July 2015 using line transects, and nocturnal and diurnal visual encounter surveys (VES). We recorded 47 species comprising 13 anurans, 11 lizards, 18 snakes, four turtles, and one crocodilian. This document will serve as source material for outreach activities in conservation awareness of the herpetofauna in the buffer zone of the park. The present study suggests that the species composition of Beeshazar and associated lakes is likely to increase with additional systematic inventories

Lipidomes in health and disease: Analytical strategies and considerations

Lipidomics is a rapidly-growing field which focuses on global characterization of lipids at molecular and systems levels. As small changes in the concentrations of lipids may have important physiological consequences, much attention in the field has recently been paid to more accurate quantitation and identification of lipids. Community-wide efforts have been initiated, aiming to develop best practices for lipidomic analyses and reporting of lipidomic data. Nevertheless, current approaches for comprehensive analysis of lipidomes have some inherent challenges and limitations. Additionally, there is, currently, limited knowledge concerning the impacts of various external and internal exposures on lipid levels. In this review, we discuss the recent progress in lipidomics analysis, with a primary focus on analytical approaches, as well as on the different sources of variation in quantifying lipid levels, both technical and biological.</p

Impact of extensively hydrolyzed infant formula on circulating lipids during early life

Background: Current evidence suggests that the composition of infant formula (IF) affects the gut microbiome, intestinal function, and immune responses during infancy. However, the impact of IF on circulating lipid profiles in infants is still poorly understood. The objectives of this study were to (1) investigate how extensively hydrolyzed IF impacts serum lipidome compared to conventional formula and (2) to associate changes in circulatory lipids with gastrointestinal biomarkers including intestinal permeability. Methods: In a randomized, double-blind controlled nutritional intervention study (n = 73), we applied mass spectrometry-based lipidomics to analyze serum lipids in infants who were fed extensively hydrolyzed formula (HF) or conventional, regular formula (RF). Serum samples were collected at 3, 9, and 12 months of age. Child's growth (weight and length) and intestinal functional markers, including lactulose mannitol (LM) ratio, fecal calprotectin, and fecal beta-defensin, were also measured at given time points. At 3 months of age, stool samples were analyzed by shotgun metagenomics. Results: Concentrations of sphingomyelins were higher in the HF group as compared to the RF group. Triacylglycerols (TGs) containing saturated and monounsaturated fatty acyl chains were found in higher levels in the HF group at 3 months, but downregulated at 9 and 12 months of age. LM ratio was lower in the HF group at 9 months of age. In the RF group, the LM ratio was positively associated with ether-linked lipids. Such an association was, however, not observed in the HF group. Conclusion: Our study suggests that HF intervention changes the circulating lipidome, including those lipids previously found to be associated with progression to islet autoimmunity or overt T1D.Peer reviewe

Poison, plants and Palaeolithic hunters. An analytical method to investigate the presence of plant poison on archaeological artefacts

In this paper we present the development of a method for the detection of toxic substances on ancient arrow points. The aim is to go back in time until the Palaeolithic period in order to determine if poisonous substances were used to enhance the hunting weapons. The ethnographic documentation demonstrates that hunters of every latitude poisoned their weapons with toxic substances derived from plants and occasionally from animals. This highlights that often the weapons would be rather ineffective if the tips were not poisoned. The fact that toxic substances were available and the benefits arising from their application on throwing weapons, suggests that this practice could be widespread also among prehistoric hunters. The project reviewed the research of the toxic molecules starting from current information on modern plants and working backwards through the ages with the study of ethnographic and historical weapons. This knowledge was then applied to the archaeological material collected from International museum collections. Results have shown that using this method it is possible to detect traces of toxic molecules with mass spectrometry (MS) and hyphenated chromatographic techniques even on samples older than one hundred years, which we consider a positive incentive to continue studying plant poisons on ancient hunting tools

Circulating metabolites in progression to islet autoimmunity and type 1 diabetes

Aims/hypothesis Metabolic dysregulation may precede the onset of type 1 diabetes. However, these metabolic disturbances and their specific role in disease initiation remain poorly understood. In this study, we examined whether children who progress to type 1 diabetes have a circulatory polar metabolite profile distinct from that of children who later progress to islet autoimmunity but not type 1 diabetes and a matched control group. Methods We analysed polar metabolites from 415 longitudinal plasma samples in a prospective cohort of children in three study groups: those who progressed to type 1 diabetes; those who seroconverted to one islet autoantibody but not to type 1 diabetes; and an antibody-negative control group. Metabolites were measured using two-dimensional GC high-speed time of flight MS. Results In early infancy, progression to type 1 diabetes was associated with downregulated amino acids, sugar derivatives and fatty acids, including catabolites of microbial origin, compared with the control group. Methionine remained persistently upregulated in those progressing to type 1 diabetes compared with the control group and those who seroconverted to one islet autoantibody. The appearance of islet autoantibodies was associated with decreased glutamic and aspartic acids. Conclusions/interpretation Our findings suggest that children who progress to type 1 diabetes have a unique metabolic profile, which is, however, altered with the appearance of islet autoantibodies. Our findings may assist with early prediction of the disease.Peer reviewe

A longitudinal plasma lipidomics dataset from children who developed islet autoimmunity and type 1 diabetes

Early prediction and prevention of type 1 diabetes (T1D) are currently unmet medical needs. Previous metabolomics studies suggest that children who develop T1D are characterised by a distinct metabolic profile already detectable during infancy, prior to the onset of islet autoimmunity. However, the specificity of persistent metabolic disturbances in relation T1D development has not yet been established. Here, we report a longitudinal plasma lipidomics dataset from (1) 40 children who progressed to T1D during follow-up, (2) 40 children who developed single islet autoantibody but did not develop T1D and (3) 40 matched controls (6 time points: 3, 6, 12, 18, 24 and 36 months of age). This dataset may help other researchers in studying age-dependent progression of islet autoimmunity and T1D as well as of the age-dependence of lipidomic profiles in general. Alternatively, this dataset could more broadly used for the development of methods for the analysis of longitudinal multivariate data.Peer reviewe