The effect of replacing dietary barley with dry corn gluten feed on the dynamics of ruminal pH

ABSTRACT The effect of replacing the barley with dry corn gluten feed (DCGF) on ruminal pH was studied on three fistulated dry cows, arranged in a 3x3 Latin square experimental design. The diets, fed once a day, consisted in alfalfa hay, ryegrass hay and barley-based compound feed. In the experimental groups, barley was partially (50%) or totally replaced by DCGF. Rumen pH was measured in rumen fluid sampled at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 hours after the morning meal. Following pH parameters were calculated: mean pH, minimum pH, maximum pH, duration of pH decrease below 6.2, intensity of pH decrease below 6.2, area under pH curve and time when pH reached its minimum. Both partial and total replacement of barley with DCGF induced a significant increase of mean ruminal pH from 6.31 to 6.47 and 6.63, respectively. The differences are more marked when only biologically relevant decrease of pH, below 6.2, was considered. Thus, duration of pH decrease below 6.2 diminished from 6.25 hours in control group to 4.85 and 2.30 hours, respectively. Intensity of pH decrease below 6.2 also diminished, from 2.93 hours x pH units in control group, to 1.53 and 0.58 hours x pH units in experimental groups. It was concluded that replacement of barley with DCGF clearly increased the level of the ruminal pH, thus being as a possible solution in preventing the excessive post-prandial decrease of pH and its negative effects on ruminal activity

The Yeast Fermentation Effect on Content of Bioactive, Nutritional and Anti-Nutritional Factors in Rapeseed Meal

The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes in the content of bioactive, nutritional and anti-nutritional factors in rapeseed meal that was fermented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae or Saccharomyces boulardii yeasts at two different periods of time, for improvement of nutritional characteristics in piglets’ feeding. The fermentation has reduced the content of two anti-nutritional factors, intact glucosinolates and 3-butyl isothiocyanate, by 51.60–66.04% and 55.21–63.39%, respectively, by fermentation with either Saccharomyces cerevisiae or Saccharomyces boulardii for 24 h. The fermentation by these yeasts also lowered the content of total polyphenolic compounds by 21.58–23.55% and antioxidant activity (DPPH) by 17.03–21.07%. Furthermore, the content of carbohydrates and organic acids has dramatically decreased between 89.20 and 98.35% and between 31.48 and 77.18%, respectively. However, the content of some individual phenolic acids (gallic, p-coumaric, sinapic) and crude protein content (10–13%) has been increased. Thus, the results showed that fermentation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae or Saccharomyces boulardii has reduced the content of antinutritive factors and increased the protein content of the rapeseed meal, without major adverse effects on its overall nutritive value

Grape seed meal by-product is able to counteract oxidative stress induced by lipopolysaccharide and dextran sulphate in IPEC cells and piglets after weaning

Oxidative stress is a pivotal factor in the pathogenesis of intestinal inflammation, leading to cellular damage and tissue injury. Natural antioxidants compounds found in agro-industrial by-products have proven their effectiveness in treatment of intestinal inflammation and oxidative stress, exhibiting many favourable effects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the capacity of a grape seed meal byproduct (GSM) to counteract the effects induced by E. coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 5μg/ml) in vitro on IPEC-1 cells and by dextran sulphate sodium (DSS, 1g/b.w./day) in vivo on piglets after weaning. Reactive oxygen species (ROS), pro-oxidant markers (malondialdehyde MDA, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances TBARS, protein carbonyl, DNA oxidative damage) antioxidant enzymes (catalase -CAT, superoxide dismutase -SOD, glutathione peroxidase -GPx, endothelial and inducible nitric oxide synthases -eNOS and iNOS) and several important components of Keap1/Nrf2 signalling pathway were analysed in IPEC-1 cells as well as in piglet’s colon and lymph nodes. Our results demonstrated that GSM extract or 8% dietary GSM showed anti-oxidant properties counteracting the pro-oxidant response (ROS, MDA-TBARS, protein carbonyl, DNA/RNA damage) induced by LPS or DSS and restoring the levels of endogenous antioxidant enzymes, including CAT, SOD, GPx, eNOS and iNOS in colon and mesenteric lymph nodes. These beneficial effects were modulated via Nrf2 signalling pathway in both in vitro and in vivo studies

Electrospun Membranes Based on Polycaprolactone, Nano-Hydroxyapatite and Metronidazole

The aim of this research was to develop new electrospun membranes (EMs) based on polycaprolactone (PCL) with or without metronidazole (MET)/nano-hydroxyapatite (nHAP) content. New nHAP with a mean diameter of 34 nm in length was synthesized. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR) were used for structural characterization of precursors and EMs. The highest mechanical properties (the force at maximum load, Young’s modulus and tensile strength) were found for the PCL membranes, and these properties decreased for the other samples in the following order: 95% PCL + 5% nHAP > 80% PCL + 20% MET > 75% PCL + 5% nHAP + 20% MET. The stiffness increased with the addition of 5 wt.% nHAP. The SEM images of EMs showed randomly oriented bead-free fibers that generated a porous structure with interconnected macropores. The fiber diameter showed values between 2 and 16 µm. The fiber diameter increased with the addition of nHAP filler and decreased when MET was added. New EMs with nHAP and MET could be promising materials for guided bone regeneration or tissue engineering

Effect of DSS and GSM diet on ROS and TBARS levels in colon and mesenteric lymph nodes.

Unchallenged and DSS-challenged pigs were assigned for 30 days to a control diet (Control and DSS groups) or 8% GSM diet (GSM and DSS + GSM groups). At the end of the experiment, colon and lymph nodes samples from all animals (n = 5) were collected and analysed for ROS and TBARS Results are presented as means ± standard errors. a, b, c = Histograms for each group with unlike superscript letters were significantly different (p < 0.050).</p

Expression of Nrf2 protein in cytoplasmic and nuclear lysates of colon and mesenteric lymph nodes under DSS and GSM action.

Expression of Nrf2 protein in cytoplasmic and nuclear lysates of colon and mesenteric lymph nodes under DSS and GSM action.</p

Composition and antioxidant activity of GSM extract.

Composition and antioxidant activity of GSM extract.</p

Fig 2 -

The effects of GSM on the antioxidant genes expression (A) and antioxidant activity (B, C, D) in IPEC-1 cells. IPEC-1 cells were incubated with the following treatments: Control = untreated cells; LPS = cells treated with LPS (5μg/ml) + 100 μL culture media, 24h; GSM = cells pre-incubated 4h without LPS and treated after with 100 μL (50μg/mL) of GSM phenolic extract; LPS + GSM = cells pre-incubated with LPS (5μg/ml) 4 h and treated after with 100 μL (50μg/mL) of GSM phenolic extract 24h; EGCG = cells pre-incubated 4h without LPS and treated after with 100 μL (23μg/ml) EGCG; LPS + EGCG = cells pre-incubated with LPS (5μg/ml) 4 h and treated after with 100 μL (23μg/ml) EGCG, 24h. Results are presented as means ± standard errors, from three experimental series. a, b, c = Histograms for each group with unlike superscript letters were significantly different (p < 0.050). The enzyme activities were expressed as: μmol/ml (CAT), U/ml (SOD), μmol/ml (TAC). The heatmap (the upper right panel) represents antioxidant gene expression levels in experimental groups of cells. The magnitude of gene expression level is represented by a colour scale (top) going from low (blue) to high (red).</p

S1 Raw images -

Oxidative stress is a pivotal factor in the pathogenesis of intestinal inflammation, leading to cellular damage and tissue injury. Natural antioxidants compounds found in agro-industrial by-products have proven their effectiveness in treatment of intestinal inflammation and oxidative stress, exhibiting many favourable effects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the capacity of a grape seed meal byproduct (GSM) to counteract the effects induced by E. coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 5μg/ml) in vitro on IPEC-1 cells and by dextran sulphate sodium (DSS, 1g/b.w./day) in vivo on piglets after weaning. Reactive oxygen species (ROS), pro-oxidant markers (malondialdehyde MDA, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances TBARS, protein carbonyl, DNA oxidative damage) antioxidant enzymes (catalase -CAT, superoxide dismutase -SOD, glutathione peroxidase -GPx, endothelial and inducible nitric oxide synthases -eNOS and iNOS) and several important components of Keap1/Nrf2 signalling pathway were analysed in IPEC-1 cells as well as in piglet’s colon and lymph nodes. Our results demonstrated that GSM extract or 8% dietary GSM showed anti-oxidant properties counteracting the pro-oxidant response (ROS, MDA-TBARS, protein carbonyl, DNA/RNA damage) induced by LPS or DSS and restoring the levels of endogenous antioxidant enzymes, including CAT, SOD, GPx, eNOS and iNOS in colon and mesenteric lymph nodes. These beneficial effects were modulated via Nrf2 signalling pathway in both in vitro and in vivo studies.</div