The Effect of Different Feed Formulation Based on Local Feed Resource on Performance and Stress Parameter in Breeder Goat

Balanced nutrition is essential for health and performance of livestock. It is best when feed is formulated according to production stages of goat. However, as the goat grows, it may undergo transition of different feed formulation to meet its daily requirement. The transition may affect the performance of animals as well as it is a stressful condition. In this study, body weight gain and feed intake were used as indicators on performance, whereas hematological stress leucograms were used as indicator of stress parameter during implementation of different feed formulation among does. Eighteen adult does with similar body condition score and body weight approximately 20 kg were selected and divided into three groups equally (n = 6) and fed with different feed formulations, which were formulated using local feed source in the farm for a period of four weeks. Body weight was measured before implementation, on week 2 and week 4, blood sampling was conducted before implementation and during week 4 for comparison and feed intake was measured every day. All data were statistically analyzed using SPSS. Does fed with Diet 3 showed highest body weight gain and feed intake, followed by Diet 2 and Diet 1. There was significant difference (P0.05) on body weight gain for all groups. Stress parameter on leucocyte counts for Diet 1 showed the highest number as compared to the other groups but no significant difference (P0.05) as compared to normal value. Neutrophils:lymphocytes ratio for all groups were within normal range and no significant difference (P0.05). The implementation of feed formulation according to production stages is recommended as it increases performance and prevents from nutritional stress

Feed Formulation Based on Local Feed Resources and Its Effects on Nutritional-Related Blood Profile in Breeder Goats

A comparative study was conducted to determine the nutrient composition of different feed formulations and its effect on nutritional related blood profile in breeder goats. Eighteen female adult goats, Capra aegagrus hircus (Boer cross) were selected and allocated into three different groups (n = 6) and assigned according to different feed formulations. Blood sampling was conducted before and after fourth weeks of feeding trial and analysed for selected parameters. Proximate analysis of diets was done and revealed comparable value of crude protein and crude fat. Glucose, total protein and calcium level in serum showed significant difference between groups (P-value 0.05) while cholesterol and fatty acid showed no significant difference (P-value 0.05). Fatty acid analysis of feed and serum showed polyunsaturated fatty acid was higher than satureated fatty acid. Overall, diet 3 shows the highest value of all blood parameters analysed in this study. Hence, it is very important to provide animal with nutrient according to production stages as sufficent protein and energy will improve the animal performance in terms breeding efficacy and quality of animal products. This study indicates that different feed formulation affects certain nutritional related blood profile in goat

Extraction and physicochemical characterization of chitin and chitosan isolated from house cricket

Chitin ranks next to cellulose as the most important bio-polysaccharide which can primarily be extracted from crustacean shells. However, the emergence of new areas of the application of chitin and its derivatives are on the increase and there is growing demand for new chitin sources. In this study, therefore, an attempt was made to extract chitin from the house cricket (Brachytrupes portentosus) by a chemical method. The physicochemical properties of chitin and chitosan extracted from crickets were compared with commercial chitin and chitosan extracted from shrimps, in terms of proximate analysis in particular, of their ash and moisture content. Also, infrared spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy and elemental analysis were conducted. The chitin and chitosan yield of the house cricket ranges over 4.3%–7.1% and 2.4%–5.8% respectively. Chitin and chitosan from crickets compares favourably with those extracted from shrimps, and were found to exhibit some similarities. The result shows that cricket and shrimp chitin and chitosan have the same degree of acetylation and degree of deacetylation of 108.1% and 80.5% respectively, following Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The characteristic XRD strong/sharp peaks of 9.4 and 19.4° for α-chitin are common for both cricket and shrimp chitin. The percentage ash content of chitin and chitosan extracted from B. portentosus is 1%, which is lower than that obtained from shrimp products. Therefore, cricket chitin and chitosan can be said to be of better quality and of purer form than commercially produced chitin and chitosan from shrimp. Based on the quality of the product, chitin and chitosan isolated from B. portentosus can replace commercial chitin and chitosan in terms of utilization and applications. Therefore, B. portentosus is a promising alternative source of chitin and chitosan

gut health and serum growth hormone level of broiler chicken fed dietary chitin and chitosan from cricket and shrimp

Growth hormones (GH) alone does not explain the growth rate in the chicken as growth in an animal is multi-factorial. Normal morphology of the intestinal villus and crypt, with adequate regulation of intestinal nutrient transporters, is essential to a healthy gut. Nutrition plays a significant role in gut health management, but information on the effect of dietary chitin and chitosan on gut morphology, gene expression of nutrient transporter, and serum levels of GH in broiler chickens is scanty. Thus, this study aimed at evaluating the comparative effect of dietary chitin and chitosan from cricket and shrimp on the small intestinal morphology, relative gene expression of intestinal nutrient transporters and serum level of GH in the broiler. A total of 150 day-old male Cobb500 broiler chicks were randomly allotted to one of the five treatment groups (n = 30). Treatment 1 was fed basal diet only, treatments 2 to 5 were fed a basal diet with 0.5 g cricket chitin, cricket chitosan, shrimp chitin, and shrimp chitosan, respectively, per kg diet. At days 21 and 42, duodenal and jejunal samples were assessed for structural morphology and jejunum for the relative gene expression of PepT1, EAAT3, SGLT1, and SGLT5 using quantitative real-time PCR. Results bared that dietary cricket chitosan and shrimp chitosan significantly (P < 0.05) improved jejunal villus height and reduced crypt depth without improving the body weight (BW). The gut morphology of birds under cricket chitin was poor and significantly (P < 0.05) different from other treated groups. Both the dietary chitin and chitosan at day 21 and only dietary chitosan at day 42 significantly (P < 0.05) down-regulated the relative mRNA expression of PepT1, EAAT3, SGLT1, and SGLT5 of broiler chickens. Treated groups differ non-significantly at both phases, while cricket chitin numerically increased the relative expression of PepT1, EAAT3, and SGLT1. Therefore, the potential of cricket chitin to improve BW and to up-regulate nutrient transporters is worthy of further exploration

Facile Synthesis of Calcium Carbonate Nanoparticles from Cockle Shells

A simple and low-cost method for the synthesis of calcium carbonate nanoparticles from cockle shells was described. Polymorphically, the synthesized nanoparticles were aragonites which are biocompatible and thus frequently used in the repair of fractured bone and development of advanced drug delivery systems, tissue scaffolds and anticarcinogenic drugs. The rod-shaped and pure aragonite particles of 30±5 nm in diameter were reproducibly synthesized when micron-sized cockle shells powders were mechanically stirred for 90 min at room temperature in presence of a nontoxic and nonhazardous biomineralization catalyst, dodecyl dimethyl betaine (BS-12). The findings were verified using a combination of analytical techniques such as variable pressure scanning electron microscopy (VPSEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transmission infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), and energy dispersive X-ray analyser (EDX). The reproducibility and low cost of the method suggested that it could be used in industry for the large scale synthesis of aragonite nanoparticles from cockle shells, a low cost and easily available natural resource