Acetylcholine esterase as a possible marker for the detection of halal way of slaughtering

Introduction: Different methods of slaughtering are being practiced because of differences in religious guidelines and environmental issues (use of electricity) or convenience of handling etc. Variation in methods of slaughtering results in different conditions namely, release of varying amount of blood and different degree of movement of its body parts prior to death. These issues are related to the release of neurotransmitter (NT) at the neuro-muscular junction (NMJ) eventually is subject to be released from the body through the blood flow. Experimental design: Muscle samples from chicken in small pieces were collected immediately after slaughtering. Slaughtering was carried out using sharp knife. Two different conditions pertaining to the Islamic guidelines of slaughtering were investigated. such as whether the neck was severed (S+) or not (S-) from the body during slaughtering and whether the animal just after slaughtering was released (R+) or not (R-). The level of acetylecholine esterase mRNA involved in the degradation of acetylecholine, a NT at NMJ was investigated by RT-PCR. Results: The level of acetylecholine esterase mRNA was not detected in the sample obtained from the chicken slaughtered following Islamic guidelines i.e., neck should not be severed and body should be released just after the slaughtering (R+S-). Conclusions: Level of acetylcholine or acetylcholine esterase can be used as a biomarker to identify if the slaughtering is performed following Islamic guidelines

Different slaughtering techniques and possible physiological and biomolecular effects

The aim of the study was to identify possible physiological and biomolecular changes during slaughtering. For slaughtering, before the neck cutting, chickens are immobilized manually or immobilized using shackles. Neck cutting is generally performed using automated knife, often results in decapitation. Both of these immobilization and neck cutting conditions are expected to influence muscle contraction and blood loss. We have investigated the activity and transcription of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) which terminates cholinergic synaptic transmission by hydrolysing the neurotransmitter acetylcholine that is responsible for muscle contraction and relaxation. We have also analysed the residual haemoglobin content of the skeletal muscle as indicator of blood loss. Skeletal muscle sample was collected from the chickens that were slaughtered either by decapitation (C) or by severance of the jugular veins, carotid arteries, oesophagus and trachea only (P); whilst immediately after slaughtering, chickens were either released (R) or manually constrained (T). Differences in the conditions of slaughtering: CR, PR or PT did not affect blood loss as measured by the residual Hb content and the amount of Zn and Fe either in muscle or liver, deducing no significant difference (p>0.05) in blood loss due to different type of slaughtering. No significant differences (p>0.05) were observed in AChE activity in muscles taken from all slaughter groups. However, AChE transcripts were detected in muscles from chickens from PT and CR groups which might be due to the decapitation and/or constrained muscular activity after neck cutting. Hence the results of the current study indicate that, constraining during slaughtering and decapitation might induce stress to the animals

Assessment of biomolecular expression and possible physiological changes during different types of slaughtering

Traditional practices of slaughtering of chicken or other domestic animals involves knife. However, depending on the ease of handling and religious guidelines, technical differences in the slaughtering procedures exist. Such as if jugular vein will be cut or not. Besides, immediately after slaughtering, the animals are either released (R+) or held tightly (R-) that allows or restricts the movement of the slaughtered animals respectively. To identify possible physiological and biomolecular changes during slaughtering, chicken were slaughtered using a sharp knife. Neck of the chicken were either severed (S+) or not (S-) during slaughtering and bodied were either released immediately after slaughtering (R+) or held tightly allowing restricted movement till the animals were dead (R-). Muscles and liver from slaughtered animals were analyzed to identify possible physiological and biomolecular changes during slaughtering which varies in the mentioned parameters. The expression of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) mRNA, AChe activity, and the content of Zn and Fe were analyzed. Notably acetylcholine (Ach) is a major neurotransmiter (NT) in neuromuscular junction (NMJ) of vertebrate, release of which is related to muscle movement and blood removal; but due to its very short lifespan, it is actually measured indirectly by measuring the enzyme AChe. AChe mRNA expression was analyzed using Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) and the enzyme activity of AChe was measured spectrophotometrically. The expression of AChe mRNA found to be low in chickens that were slaughtered without severing neck and released immediately after slaughtering, compared to those which were slaughtered by severing the neck and/or held tightly after slaughtering. However, AChe activity was found similar in all samples. As we measured using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS), content of Zn and Fe in muscle and liver in different samples were also found similar range

Effects of different methods of slaughtering on protein expression in chicken meat

We have investigated variation of total protein profile in chicken skeletal muscle expected to be influenced due to variation in method of slaughtering. Two types of samples, depending on the method of slaughtering using sharp knife, were examined: (i) CT- neck was cut off completely and body was tied until the animal died and (ii) PRneck was cut off partially leaving the spinal cord intact and body was released immediately after slaughtering. Proteins expressed in higher amount were mostly found to be distributed in the range of Mw 45-66 kDa as resolved using SDS-PAGE. While resolved in 2D-PAGE, differences in protein expression were observed between samples. Protein spotted on the gel near pH 5.0 and Mw 116 kDa was found in the skeletal muscle from CT while it was absent the samples from PR. ABSTRAK: Variasi profil jumlah protein di dalam otot skeletal telah dikaji dengan jangkaan bahawa ianya dipengaruhi oleh kaedah penyembelihan yang berbeza. Berdasarkan kaedah penyembelihan, dua jenis sampel telah diperiksa: (i) CT – leher telah dipotong sepenuhnya dan badan haiwan diikat hingga mati and (ii) PR – leher dipotong separuh meninggalkan kord tulang belakang dalam keadaan sempurna dan badan dilepaskan serta-merta selepas penyembelihan. Kandungan protein didapati tinggi dalam taburan Mw 45-66 kDa sebagai terurai menggunakan SDS-PAGE. Sementara itu, kandungan protein yang berbeza diperhatikan di dalam penguraian 2D-PAGE. Tompok protein kelihatan pada gel sekitar pH 5 dan Mw 116 kDa telah dijumpai pada CT otot skeletal, tetapi tidak kelihatan pada sampel PR

Beneficial effects of ginger (Zingiber officinale) on carbohydrate metabolism in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Zingiber officinale (ZO), commonly known as ginger, has been traditionally used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Several studies have reported the hypoglycaemic properties of ginger in animal models. The present study evaluated the antihyperglycaemic effect of its aqueous extract administered orally (daily) in three different doses (100, 300, 500 mg/kg body weight) for a period of 30 d to streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. A dose-dependent antihyperglycaemic effect revealed a decrease of plasma glucose levels by 38 and 68 % on the 15th and 30th day, respectively, after the rats were given 500 mg/kg. The 500 mg/kg ZO significantly (P < 0·05) decreased kidney weight (% body weight) in ZO-treated diabetic rats v. control rats, although the decrease in liver weight (% body weight) was not statistically significant. Kidney glycogen content increased significantly (P < 0·05) while liver and skeletal muscle glycogen content decreased significantly (P < 0·05) in diabetic controls v. normal controls. ZO (500 mg/kg) also significantly decreased kidney glycogen (P < 0·05) and increased liver and skeletal muscle glycogen in STZ-diabetic rats when compared to diabetic controls. Activities of glucokinase, phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase in diabetic controls were decreased by 94, 53 and 61 %, respectively, when compared to normal controls; and ZO significantly increased (P < 0·05) those enzymes' activities in STZ-diabetic rats. Therefore, the present study showed that ginger is a potential phytomedicine for the treatment of diabetes through its effects on the activities of glycolytic enzyme