Effect of rosemary and garlic oil supplementation on glutathione redox system of broiler chickens

The purpose of present study was to investigate the effect of rosemary and garlic oils on the lipid peroxidation and glutathione redox system in the blood and liver of broiler chicken. Day-old Hubbard broiler chickens (n=200) were fed with commercial broiler feed (control) and supplemented with garlic oil (0.25 g kg-1), rosemary oil (1.5 g kg-1) or their combination (0.25 g kg-1 garlic oil and 1.5 g kg-1 rosemary oil). At the end of the growing period (42 days of age) blood and liver samples of 10 animals were taken from each group to determine malondialdehyde and reduced glutathione content and glutathione peroxidase activity. There were no significant differences in the blood plasma or in red blood cell haemolysates among the groups, but garlic oil supplementation increased significantly reduced glutathione content and both essential oils the glutathione peroxidase activity in liver. However, combination of the two oils caused increase of malondialdehyde content of liver together with significantly higher glutathione peroxidase activity as compared to the control. Due to the beneficial effect on glutathione redox system both essential oils – used solely – can be used to reduce the effects of oxidative processes in physiological conditions

Some chemical and physical characteristics of farmed pheasant hens (Phasianus cholchicus) breast meat

Ring necked pheasant is the most significant game bird in Hungary. Around 300.000 pheasant harvested (hunted) annually and generally these birds are consumed by the hunters. As there are limited data on the quality of pheasant meat, in the present study we aimed to analyze some physical and chemical properties of it. At 20 weeks of age 63 pheasant hens were exterminated by cervical dislocation and meat, liver, spleen and heart samples were taken. The live weight of the birds was 1045±92g (870 to 1300g). The average weight of the liver, spleen and heart was 14.12±2.58, 0.47±0.13 and 4.30±0.49, respectively. The average drip loss was 5.90±2.38% (0.68±0.28g). As was expected the average protein content (26.2±0.7%) of the pheasant breasts was markedly higher than in broiler or turkey. The average fat content (0.4±0.2%) was similar to that in turkey. The unique chemical and physical properties of the pheasant meat make it suitable to fit in the human nutrition

Refined heart failure detection algorithm for improved clinical reliability of OptiVol alerts in CRT-D recipients

   Background: The reliability of intrathoracic impedance monitoring for prediction of heart failure (HF) by implantable cardiac devices is controversial. Despite using additional device-based parameters described in the PARTNERS HF study, such as new onset of arrhythmias, abnormal autonomics, low biventricular pacing rate or patient activity level, the predictive power of device diagnostic algorithm is still in doubt. The objective of this study was to compare the device diagnostic algorithm described in the PARTNERS HF study to a newly developed algorithm applying refined diagnostic criteria. Methods: Fourty two patients were prospectively enrolled who had been implanted with an intrathoracic impedance and remote monitoring capable implantable cardiac defibrillator with a cardiac resychroniza­tion therapy (CRT-D) device in this observational study. If a remote OptiVolTM alert occurred, patients were checked for presence of HF symptoms. A new algorithm was derived from the original PARTNERS HF criteria, considering more sensitive cut-offs and changes of patterns of the device-based parameters. Results: During an average follow-up of 38 months, 722 remote transmissions were received. From the total of 128 transmissions with OptiVol alerts, 32 (25%) corresponded to true HF events. Upon multivariate discriminant analysis, low patient activity, high nocturnal heart rate, and low CRT pacing (< 90%) proved to be independent predictors of true HF events (all p < 0.01). Incorporating these three refined criteria in a new algorithm, the diagnostic yield of OptiVol was improved by increasing specific­ity from 37.5% to 86.5%, positive predictive value from 34.1% to 69.8% and area under the curve from 0.787 to 0.922 (p < 0.01), without a relevant loss in sensitivity (96.9% vs. 93.8%). Conclusions: A refined device diagnostic algorithm based on the parameters of low activity level, high nocturnal heart rate, and suboptimal biventricular pacing might improve the clinical reliability of OptiVol alerts.  

Effects of Fusarium Mycotoxin Exposure on Lipid Peroxidation and Glutathione Redox System in the Liver of Laying Hens

It has been proven by several studies that Fusarium mycotoxins induce oxidative stress in animals, consequently inducing lipid peroxidation, which the glutathione system can neutralize. A short-term (3-day) in vivo feeding trial was performed with laying hens using a double dose of the EU recommendation for mycotoxin contamination (T-2 toxin 0.5 mg/kg feed; deoxynivalenol (DON) 10 mg/kg feed; fumonisin B(1) (FB1) 40 mg/kg feed). Some lipid peroxidation and glutathione redox system parameters and gene expression levels were measured in the liver. The results show that FB1 significantly decreased the reduced glutathione (GSH) content and the activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) compared to the control and the two other mycotoxin-treated groups on day 3. Lipid peroxidation was affected by all three mycotoxins. Significantly lower values were observed in the case of conjugated dienes for all of the three mycotoxins and malondialdehyde concentration as an effect of DON on day 3. T-2 toxin and DON upregulated the expression of the GPX4 gene. The results show that Fusarium mycotoxins had different effects at the end of the trial. The FB1 exposure caused a decrease in the glutathione redox markers, while DON decreased the formation of malondialdehyde. The results suggest that the Fusarium mycotoxins investigated individually differently activated the antioxidant defense and caused low-level oxidative stress at the dose applied