In vitro Anticoccidial Study of Oregano and Garlic Essential Oils and Effects on Growth Performance, Fecal Oocyst Output, and Intestinal Microbiota in vivo

This study investigated the in vitro effects of Greek oregano and garlic essential oils on inhibition of Eimeria parasites and their in vivo effects on production performance, intestinal bacteria counts, and oocyst output. An inhibition assay was performed in vitro using Eimeria tenella Wisconsin strain sporozoites and Madin-Darby bovine kidney (MDBK) cells. Intracellular sporozoite invasion was quantified by detection of E. tenella DNA using qPCR from cell monolayers harvested at 2 and 24 h post-infection. Parasite invasion was inhibited by the oregano essential oil at the concentration of 100 μg/ml by 83 or 93% after 2 or 24 h, respectively. Garlic essential oil reached a maximum inhibition of 70% after 24 h with the 50 μg/ml concentration. Normal morphology was observed in MDBK cells exposed to concentrations of 100 μl/ml of garlic or oregano for over 24 h. In the in vivo trial, 180 male broiler chicks (45.3 ± 0.7 g) were allocated into two treatments (6 pens of 15 chicks per treatment). Control treatment was fed commercial diets without antibiotics or anticoccidials. The ORE–GAR treatment was fed the same control diets, further supplemented with a premix (1 g/kg feed) containing the oregano (50 g/kg premix) and garlic (5 g/kg premix) essential oils. At day 37, all birds were slaughtered under commercial conditions, and intestinal samples were collected. ORE-GAR treatment had improved final body weight (1833.9 vs. 1.685.9 g; p < 0.01), improved feed conversion ratio (1.489 vs. 1.569; p < 0.01), and reduced fecal oocyst excretion (day 28: 3.672 vs. 3.989 log oocysts/g, p < 0.01; day 37: 3.475 vs. 4.007 log oocysts/g, p < 0.001). In the caecal digesta, ORE-GAR treatment had lower total anaerobe counts (8.216 vs. 8.824 CFU/g; p < 0.01), whereas in the jejunum digesta the ORE-GAR treatment had higher counts of E. coli (5.030 vs. 3.530 CFU/g; p = 0.01) and Enterobacteriaceae (5.341 vs. 3.829 CFU/g; p < 0.01), and lower counts of Clostridium perfringens (2.555 vs. 2.882 CFU/g; p < 0.01). In conclusion, the combined supplementation of oregano and garlic essential oils had a potent anticoccidial effect in vitro and a growth-promoting effect in broilers reared in the absence of anticoccidial drugs

The influence of animal species, gender and tissue on the structural, biophysical, biochemical and biological properties of collagen sponges

peer-reviewedAlthough collagen type I is extensively used in biomedicine, no study to-date has assessed how the properties of the produced scaffolds are affected as a function of species, gender and tissue from which the collagen was extracted. Herein, we extracted and characterised collagen from porcine and bovine, male and female and skin and tendon tissues and we subsequently fabricated and assessed the structural, biophysical, biochemical and biological properties of collagen sponges. All collagen preparations were of similar purity and free-amine content (p > 0.05). In general, the porcine groups yielded more collagen; had higher (p < 0.05) denaturation temperature and resistance to enzymatic degradation; and lower (p < 0.05) swelling ratio and compression stress and modulus than the bovine groups of the same gender and tissue. All collagen preparations supported growth of human dermal fibroblasts and exhibited similar biological response to human THP-1 monocytes. These results further illustrate the need for standardisation of collagen preparations for the development of reproducible collagen-based devices

Analysis of genome-wide DNA arrays reveals the genomic population structure and diversity in autochthonous Greek goat breeds

Goats play an important role in the livestock sector in Greece. The national herd consists mainly of two indigenous breeds, the Eghoria and Skopelos. Here, we report the population structure and genomic profiles of these two native goat breeds using Illumina's Goat SNP50 BeadChip. Moreover, we present a panel of candidate markers acquired using different genetic models for breed discrimination. Quality control on the initial dataset resulted in 48,841 SNPs kept for downstream analysis. Principal component and admixture analyses were applied to assess population structure. The rate of inbreeding within breed was evaluated based on the distribution of runs of homozygosity in the genome and respective coefficients, the genomic relationship matrix, the patterns of linkage disequilibrium, and the historic effective population size. Results showed that both breeds exhibit high levels of genetic diversity. Level of inbreeding between the two breeds estimated by the Wright's fixation index FST was low (Fst = 0.04362), indicating the existence of a weak genetic differentiation between them. In addition, grouping of farms according to their geographical locations was observed. This study presents for the first time a genome-based analysis on the genetic structure of the two indigenous Greek goat breeds and identifies markers that can be potentially exploited in future selective breeding programs for traceability purposes, targeted genetic improvement schemes and conservation strategies

Milk quality characteristics from Greek indigenous goats

The aim of this study was to assess the chemical and microbiological characteristics of goat milk from indigenous Greek breeds, domestic (Capraprisca) and Skopelos. Each breed's milk yield was recorded three times during lactation (early, mid and late stage of lactation) for two consecutive years. No significant differences were observed for fat. protein, lactose, casein and solids-non-fat contents of milk from both breeds. The dominant fatty acids (FA) in milk for both breeds were: palmitic (CI 6:0) and oleic (CI8:1). Other abundant FA was stearic (CI8:0), myristic (CI4:0). capric (CI0:0) and lauric (C12:0). The conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) content was similar in both breeds. Linolenic acid content in milk of Capra prisca breed was higher than in Skopelos. A high number of minor short chain fatty acids (SCFA). medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) and long chain fatty acids (LCFA) was also observed in milk fat. SCFA's increased in mid lactation in goats of Capra prisca breed, while no significant differences were noted during early, mid or late lactation period in medium or long chain FA. In Skopelos breed. SCFA's increased gradually from early to late lactation, while LCFAs followed a descending order. Enumeration of bacteria presented similar numbers of total viable count in milk of both breeds and higher number of Psychrotrophic ones in milk from Skopelos goats to domestic. Somatic cell counts (SCC) values were significant lower in Skopelos breed compared to Capra prisca. Caprine milk can be an important source of health promoting substances and deserves further investigation with specific investigation on milk of indigenous local breeds

Effects of an Oregano Based Dietary Supplement on Performance of Broiler Chickens Experimentally Infected with Eimeria Acervulina and Eimeria Maxima

A study was conducted to examine the effect of dietary oregano essential oil supplementation on the performance of broiler chickens challenged with Eimeria acervulina and Eimeria maxima at 14 days of age. A total of 375 day-old Cobb-500 male chicks separated into 5 equal groups with three replicates each, were used in this study. Two of the groups, one challenged with 1 X 10(5) sporulated oocysts of E. acervulina along with 1 X 10(5) sporulated oocysts of E. maxima and the other not, were given a basal diet and served as controls. The other three groups also challenged with combined E. acervulina and E. maxima were administered diets supplemented with oregano essential oil by adding the product Orego- Stim (containing 5% oregano essential oil) at the levels of 300 or 600 mg/kg, and the last group the anticoccidial substance salinomycin at the dosage of 60 mg/kg. Following the challenge, survival rate, bloody diarrhea and oocysts excretion, as well as intestinal lesion score were all determined. Throughout the experimental period that lasted 35 days, body weight gain and feed intake were weekly recorded, and feed conversion ratios were calculated. The results showed that dietary oregano oil supplementation in both oregano supplemented groups, attained body weight gains and feed conversion ratios not differing (p>0.05) to those of the non-challenged group or the salinomycin group. The challenged control presented lower (p>0.05) performance than those of the other groups for the consecutive three weeks after the challenge. These performance parameters along with lesion scoring indicated that oregano essential oil exerted an anticoccidial effect against E. acervulina and E. maxima, comparable to salinomycin

Comparative study of the effects of heavy metals on embryonic development of zebrafish

This study aimed to investigate the effects of heavy metals, such as copper, zinc, iron, cobalt, chromium, aluminium, manganese and molybdenum, on zebrafish egg hatching rate and the subsequent survival rate of the larvae. Each metal was used in the various concentrations of0.05 mg/L, 50 mg/L and 500 mg/L to detect the threshold limit of tolerance. The study's results showed significant differences in the hatching and survival rate of larvae between the control group and most of the experimental groups when adding heavy metals in various concentrations. The highest concentration (500 mg/L) of the induced heavy metals tested in this study resulted in total egg or larval mortality within 96 hr and significantly lower egg or larval life expectancy. Among the tested metals, zinc and molybdenum had the most significant impact on hatching time, in contrast to iron that did not differentiate the results from the control group. Copper, cobalt, chromium, aluminium and manganese did affect zebrafish eggs depending on their exposure concentrations, which differentiated the results from the control group. Also, the study's findings demonstrate a significant dependence of the hatched egg heart rate on the metal concentration, and in particular, higher concentrations of metals correspond to higher heart rate. Zinc, Molybdenum and copper was proved to be the most toxic heavy metals causing increased hazard rate to mortality up to 96 hr and shorter life expectancy. Finally, skeletal deformities that occasionally observed did not significantly affect the total life expectancy of the hatched eggs. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Lt

Milk quality characteristics of indigenous sheep breeds Boutsko, Frisarta and Karagouniko

In this study, the chemical and microbiological characteristics of ovine milk from three indigenous Greek breeds, Boutsko, Frisarta and Karagouniko were examined, while reared in the semi mountainous areas. The milk yield of each sheep breed was recorded at the early, mid and late stages of lactation for two consecutive years. The average composition of the samples of ewe's milk used in this study was similar for protein, lactose and total solids among the three; however fat values were significantly lower (p < 0.05) in Frisarta milk compared to Boutsko and Karagouniko. Total viable cells of Boutsko and Karagouniko raw milk were lower (p < 0.05) than those of Frisarta. Enterobacteria detected in bulk raw milk from Boutsko and Frizarta breeds were in lower numbers (p < 0.05) compared to milk from Karagouniko breed. Somatic cells were also counted in lower numbers in milk collected from Boutsko and Karagouniko breeds compared to Frisarta. The percentage of detected as potentially pathogenic bacteria (coagulase negative staphylococci and enterobacteriae) was higher in the milk from Frisarta sheep milk. © 2018 I Skoufos, I Giannenas, A Karamoutsios, A Tsinas, GK Papadopoulos, A Tzora

Effect of a dietary modification for fattening pigs on the environmental performance of commercial pig production in Greece

Investigation of the combined addition of attapulgite clay and benzoic acid in fattening pig diets seems to be reasonable both from a pig performance and environmental point of view. In this research, an in situ experimental procedure was performed in order to investigate the effect of supplementing the conventional diet (CNVD) supplied to the fattening pigs of a commercial pig farm in Greece (based on maize, barley, wheat bran and soybean meal) with 0.4% w/w attapulgite and 0.5% w/w benzoic acid at the expense of maize (ATTBAD diet) on their feed efficiency and growth performance. The results suggested a significant increase (p ≤ 0.05) in the total weight gain and the slaughter live-weight and a significant decrease (p ≤ 0.05) in the feed intake and feed conversion ratio per fattening pig when supplied the ATTBAD. These results were further used as an input to a ‘cradle-to-farm-gate’ environmental Life Cycle Assessment. The functional unit (FU) was 1 kg of sold pig live-weight and the environmental impact categories (EICs) assessed were climate change (CC) and CC from direct land use change, acidification, eutrophication, land use, water use and fossil energy use. The indicators for all EICs were connected with lower potential estimates per FU in the ATTBAD system, suggesting an improvement of the environmental performance when the ATTBAD is supplied to the fattening pigs of the farm. The improvement of intestinal functionality and enzyme activity, an increase in digesta retention time and a drop of digesta pH in the gastrointestinal tract were indicated as possible causes for the improvement in the growth performance of the fattening pigs when supplied the ATTBAD diet, which however need to be confirmed with further research. The contribution analysis highlighted the importance of the decreased feed intake and the increased total weight gain of the fatteners on the improved environmental performance of the ATTBAD system. The reasonable differences between the indicator estimates of this study and relevant literature, the fair data quality which characterizes the compiled life cycle inventory and the results of the performed Monte Carlo simulation, are considered as a good indication of the validity of the received results and further support the argument of the ATTBAD system's improved environmental performance. Therefore, the use of the ATTBAD instead of the CNVD could potentially offer environmental benefits to the studied supply chain. © 202