Milk fatty acid profile of crossbred Holstein x Zebu cows fed on cake licuri

El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar el efecto de dietas suplementadas con diferentes concentraciones de pasta de licuri (PL) en el perfil de ácidos grasos y colesterol de la leche de vacas confinadas. Cuatro vacas con ½ a ¾ de sangre Holstein x Cebú fueron distribuidas en un cuadrado latino 4 x 4, donde los niveles de inclusión de la pasta de licuri en la dieta total fueron 0.0, 5.5, 11.0 y 16.5%, sustituyendo la pasta de soya en la dieta. Los niveles de inclusión de PL ocasionaron una disminución lineal del ácido láurico, elaídico, gamma-linolénico y linoleico conjugado (C18:2cis9trans11; C18:2trans10cis12). La pasta de licuri disminuyó las concentraciones de ácidos grasos poliinsaturados y del ácido linoleico conjugado; además de los ácidos grasos omega 6, que no son relevantes desde el punto de vista de la nutrición humana.The objective was to evaluate the inclusion level of licuri cake (LC) in the diet of confined cows on fatty acid profile and milk cholesterol. Four cows with a blood level of ½ to ¾ Holstein x Zebu blood were used, distributed in a 4 x 4 Latin square, where the inclusion levels of the cake in the total diet were 0.0, 5.5, 11.0 and 16.5%, replacing soybean meal in the diet. There was a linear decreasing effect for the fatty acids Lauric, Elaidic, Gamma-Linolenic and conjugated linoleic acid isomers (C18:2cis9trans11; C18:2trans10cis12) from the inclusion levels of LC. The inclusion of licuri cake negatively influenced the concentrations of polyunsaturated fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid isomers, in addition to the fatty acids of the Omega-6 series, which is not interesting from the human nutrition point of view

Control of Haematobia irritans in the Minas Gerais Semiarid

Background: Beef cattle is considered to be one of the most important economic activities, however, it presents problems in the production chain such as the occurrence of parasites that reduce the growth, performance, productivity and may cause mortalities occasionally. The chemical control is the most used alternative to reduce ectoparasites. Nevertheless, inappropriate management of insecticides has contributed to the selection of population resistant to the products available on the market. This paper aimed to evaluate the practices of management and the application of insecticides used to control horn flies in farms of dairy cattle in the North of the state of Minas Gerais.Materials, Methods & Results: It was visited 62 rural properties, which produce milk. Semi-structured questionnaires were applied in order to obtain information on the characteristics of the properties (location, size and type of the cattle), on the knowledge about the epidemiology of the horn flies, and on the practices adopted to the control of those parasites. The practices adopted include the moment of application of the insecticides, frequency of the cattle treatment, used products, method of application, number of animals treated, and choice and substitution criteria of insecticides. The data collected were tabulated in contingency tables, and they were analyzed using the chi-square test, considering a significance of 5%. The racial composition of the cattle in the farms was mainly mixed-race of unknown origin, representing 77% of the animals evaluated. In this research, it was reported a greater incidence of horn flies infestation on adult beef herd, and 23.6% of the producers reported occurrences of infestation in the whole herd, not differing by categories. The infestation peaks of the fly occurred from November to March. It was also found a greater frequency of pyrethroid use in the region (P < 0.001), where 43.1% of the producers used associations of pyrethroid or organophosphate to control the flies, high efficiency being reported. From the properties assessed, 92% presented inadequacy in the practices of control of horn flies, for instance, the lack of using cattle manure tank, the accumulation of open waste, the lack of rotation of insecticides, which can favor the selection of resistant flies.Discussion: In this paper, it was reported 77.19% of predominance of Haematobia irritans infestation from November to March mainly in animals with a higher percentage of European or mixed-race genetics. Such results corroborate with the literature, because it was verified the influence of race and hair color in the level of infestation in the animals, although, in the same race, each individual presents different susceptibilities. Taurine beef cattle are more susceptible to infestation by horn flies than zebu cattle. Thus, the lower the proportion of zebu cattle genetics in the herd, the greater the infestation. Taurine beef cattle are more infested because shows a greater number of sebaceous glands and greater concentration of testosterone being attractive before the calves castrated, cows, and after, young animals. Cypermethrin was predominant in most part of the commercial insecticides used in the properties to control this ectoparasite, which could be justified by the large number of products available on the market with such compound in the formulations. The high efficiency of the associations of the insecticides reported by the producers could justify itself by the presence of active ingredients with different mechanisms of action. However, the limitation on the use of these associations is that not always the chemical compounds contained in the drug act simultaneously, being able to favor the selection of parasites resistant to different insecticides present in these formulations

Control de la helmintiasis en becerros criados en una región semiárida cálida de Brasil

This study aimed to characterize the helminthiasis and anthelminthic effectiveness in calf herds raised in a hot semi-arid area. Sixty (60) cattle farms from the northern area of Minas Gerais, Brazilian sertão, were categorized by semi-structured questionnaires. It was also performed the fecal egg counts (FEC) reduction test to analyze the profile of anthelminthic resistance in eight herds. The study selected groups of at least 10 homogeneous calves with FEC ≥ 150 per treatment. After 12 h of fast, calf groups were treated with albendazole, levamisole, ivermectin, doramectin or abamectin, except the control groups (untreated). It was collected feces before treatments and 14 d later larvae genera of nematodes were identified after coproculture. Extensive grazing was the predominant creation system for beef calves, worming was employed every 6 mo in 64 % of the farms and macrocyclic lactones was the most frequently used anthelminthic group. The anthelminthic efficacy varied from 62 to 98.9 %. The resistance profile to ivermectin, levaminosole, albendazole and (or) doramectin verified in this research is alarming as the genus Haemonchus was the most frequent one before and after the treatments. It was detected variations in the creation systems, in control practices and in anthelminthic susceptibility profiles between herds. Therefore, this work emphasize the importance of using strategic control with FEC reduction test for choice of anthelminthic and the encouragement of practices of alternative control.El uso excesivo o inadecuado de los antihelmínticos sintéticos está promoviendo la selección de cepas resistentes de nematodos gastrointestinales al nivel mundial. Se llevó a cabo la caracterización de la helmintiasis y la eficacia antihelmíntica de cinco antihelmínticos en una muestra de becerros criados en el estado de Minas Gerais, Brasil. El estado está ubicado en una región conocida como el Sertão, y el clima es semiárido cálido. Se aplicaron cuestionarios semi-estructurados para recopilar datos sobre 60 granjas de ganado en el norte del estado. En ocho hatos se realizaron pruebas de la reducción del recuento de huevos fecales (RHF) para analizar el perfil de resistencia a cinco antihelmínticos comunes (albendazol, levamisol, ivermectina, doramectina y abamectina). Para aplicar el RHF, se recolectaron muestras fecales de grupos de al menos 10 becerros homogéneos con un RHF ≥150 por tratamiento. Se tomaron las muestras un día antes y catorce días después de la desparasitación con uno de los antihelmínticos; un grupo de control no recibió ningún tratamiento. Por medio de coprocultivo, se identificaron los géneros de las larvas presentes en las muestras. El cuestionario arrojó que el pastoreo extensivo fue el sistema predominante de producción de becerros, que se administraron antihelmínticos cada seis meses en el 64 % de las granjas, y que las lactonas macrocíclicas fue el grupo antihelmíntico más utilizado. La eficacia de los antihelmínticos evaluados varió entre el 62 y el 98.9 %. El perfil de resistencia verificado de la ivermectina, el levamisol, el albendazol y la doramectina es preocupante porque el género Haemonchus fue el más frecuente antes y después de los tratamientos. Se detectaron variaciones entre los hatos en términos de los sistemas de cría, las prácticas de control y los perfiles de susceptibilidad a los antihelmínticos. Los resultados resaltan la importancia de implementar el control estratégico de parásitos mediante la prueba de reducción de RHF para la elección de antihelmínticos, y de fomentar prácticas alternativas de control

Control of Haematobia irritans in the Minas Gerais Semiarid

Background: Beef cattle is considered to be one of the most important economic activities, however, it presents problems in the production chain such as the occurrence of parasites that reduce the growth, performance, productivity and may cause mortalities occasionally. The chemical control is the most used alternative to reduce ectoparasites. Nevertheless, inappropriate management of insecticides has contributed to the selection of population resistant to the products available on the market. This paper aimed to evaluate the practices of management and the application of insecticides used to control horn flies in farms of dairy cattle in the North of the state of Minas Gerais.Materials, Methods & Results: It was visited 62 rural properties, which produce milk. Semi-structured questionnaires were applied in order to obtain information on the characteristics of the properties (location, size and type of the cattle), on the knowledge about the epidemiology of the horn flies, and on the practices adopted to the control of those parasites. The practices adopted include the moment of application of the insecticides, frequency of the cattle treatment, used products, method of application, number of animals treated, and choice and substitution criteria of insecticides. The data collected were tabulated in contingency tables, and they were analyzed using the chi-square test, considering a significance of 5%. The racial composition of the cattle in the farms was mainly mixed-race of unknown origin, representing 77% of the animals evaluated. In this research, it was reported a greater incidence of horn flies infestation on adult beef herd, and 23.6% of the producers reported occurrences of infestation in the whole herd, not differing by categories. The infestation peaks of the fly occurred from November to March. It was also found a greater frequency of pyrethroid use in the region (P < 0.001), where 43.1% of the producers used associations of pyrethroid or organophosphate to control the flies, high efficiency being reported. From the properties assessed, 92% presented inadequacy in the practices of control of horn flies, for instance, the lack of using cattle manure tank, the accumulation of open waste, the lack of rotation of insecticides, which can favor the selection of resistant flies.Discussion: In this paper, it was reported 77.19% of predominance of Haematobia irritans infestation from November to March mainly in animals with a higher percentage of European or mixed-race genetics. Such results corroborate with the literature, because it was verified the influence of race and hair color in the level of infestation in the animals, although, in the same race, each individual presents different susceptibilities. Taurine beef cattle are more susceptible to infestation by horn flies than zebu cattle. Thus, the lower the proportion of zebu cattle genetics in the herd, the greater the infestation. Taurine beef cattle are more infested because shows a greater number of sebaceous glands and greater concentration of testosterone being attractive before the calves castrated, cows, and after, young animals. Cypermethrin was predominant in most part of the commercial insecticides used in the properties to control this ectoparasite, which could be justified by the large number of products available on the market with such compound in the formulations. The high efficiency of the associations of the insecticides reported by the producers could justify itself by the presence of active ingredients with different mechanisms of action. However, the limitation on the use of these associations is that not always the chemical compounds contained in the drug act simultaneously, being able to favor the selection of parasites resistant to different insecticides present in these formulations