Swine Toxicoses

Swine toxicoses, while not involving a large portion of swine losses, are important as problems of differential diagnosis and as economic considerations in individual herds. The problem of poisoning is important also in that swine toxicities are not amenable to treatment. Therefore, diagnosis of the problem, prompt removal from the source, and proper preventive procedures and management are essential

Environmental Veterinary Medicine: General Aspects

The primary concern of the veterinary profession is the service it can render to mankind. The significance of veterinary medical services is measured by the availability of food which is supplied efficiently, the emotional and psychological improvement of others through the enjoyment of companion animals, and improvement of the public health by control of diseases of man which may result from contact with animals

Evaluation of diatomaceous earth as an adjunct to sheep parasite control in organic farming

Diatomaceous earth (DE) has been touted as a natural and effective way to control gastrointestinal (Gl) parasites in sheep. In this study, grazing lambs were fed DE at 5 and 10 percent of a supplemental ration for periods from 66 to 117 days. Weight gains, hemoglobin, packed cell volume, fecal egg/gram counts, and abomasal Gl larval counts were not different in controls vs. DE-fed lambs, although there was a trend toward lower fecal egg/gram counts in DE-treated lambs. DE by itself was not shown to be an effective parasite control agent, but could be used as part of a parasite control program

Botanicals as part of an integral value-added pork production system

Selected herbs are known to naturally possess antibacterial and other characteristics that could be useful in animal protein production. Inclusion of these herbs in animal feeds as alternative growth promotion and efficiency stimulants may be able to address some of the current concerns about the possibility of significant antibiotic-resistant bacteria development that stems from drugs currently used at subtherapeutic levels in animal production. Several herbs were tested for their ability to aid animal growth rates and feed efficiency without giving rise to antibiotic-resistant microbes

Characterization of Fumonisin B1-GlucoseReaction Kinetics and Products

The reaction of fumonisin B1 with the reducing sugar D-glucose can block the primary amine group of fumonisin B1 and may detoxify this mycotoxin. A method to separate hundred milligram quantities of fumonisin B1-glucose reaction products from the excess D-glucose with a reversed-phase C18 cartridge was developed. Mass spectrometry revealed that there were four primary products in this chain reaction when fumonisin B1 was heated with D-glucose at 65 C for 48 h: N-methyl-fumonisin B1, N-carboxymethyl-fumonisin B1, N-(3-hydroxyacetonyl)-fumonisin B1, and N-(2-hydroxy, 2-car- boxyethyl)-fumonisin B1. The N-(1-deoxy-D-fructos-1-yl) fumonisin B1 (fumonisin B1-glucose Schiff’s base) was detected by mass spectrometry when fumonisin B1 was heated with D-glucose at 60 C. The nonenzymatic browning reaction of fumonisin B1 with excess D-glucose followed apparent first- order kinetics. The activation energy, Ea, was 105.7 kJ/mol. Fumonisin B1 in contaminated corn could precipitate the nonenzymatic browning reaction with 0.1 M D-glucose at 60 and 8

Glucose Reaction with Fumonisin B1 Partially Reduces Its Toxicity in Swine

Acute and subacute intraperitoneal doses of fumonisin B1 (FB1) were administered to test the efficacy of the FB1-glucose reaction products in detoxifying FB1 in swine. In the acute study at 11 µmol of FB1/kg of body weight, five of six pigs administered FB1 and four of six pigs administered FB1- glucose died from acute pulmonary edema. Analysis of weight gain, serum aspartate aminotransferase and γ-glutamyltransferase, total cholesterol, and pathological evaluation did not provide evidence of protection against FB1 toxicity by the FB1-glucose reaction products. In the subacute study at 5.5 µmol of FB1/kg of body weight, one pig administered FB1 died from liver damage. Analysis of serum aspartate aminotransferase, γ-glutamyltransferase, and total bilirubin showed protection against FB1 toxicity by the FB1-glucose reaction products. The levels of sphinganine and sphinganine/sphingosine ratios in serum and liver as well as pathologic findings provided definitive evidence of protection against the FB1 toxic effects by this detoxification procedure (p \u3c 0.05)

Fumonisin B-Glucose Reaction Products Are Less Toxic When Fed to Swine

The effects of fumonisin B-glucose reaction products in swine diets was examined. Pigs were fed diets containing 528 µmol of total fumonisin B/kg (FB), 528 µmol of total FB-glucose adducts/kg (FB-G, 122 µmol of unreacted FB/kg), or 0 µmol of total FB/kg for 15 days to test the efficacy of the FB-G reaction products in detoxifying FB. Weight gain in FB pigs was lower than in FB-G or controls, which was correlated with feed intake reduction in FB pigs. Serum aspartate aminotransferase, γ-glutamyltransferase, and total bilirubin in FB pigs were higher than in FB-G or control pigs. Serum sphinganine/shingosine ratios in FB pigs were higher than in FB-G or control pigs. Microscopic examination of tissues from FB pigs showed generalized liver necrosis and apoptosis with marked cellular pleomorphism and disorganized hepatic cords. The liver and kidneys in the FB-G group appeared to be normal. Tissues of controls were free of lesions. Results suggest that dietary FB-G products are less toxic to swine and may provide an detoxification approach in instances of widespread FB grain contamination (p \u3c 0.05)