Electronic Nose and Tongue for Pet Food Classification

Commercial canned dog and cat foods (four type of each) were classified by electronic nose (EN) and tongue (ET) methods. The classification was performed by canonical discriminant analysis (DA) followed by cross-validation, using the ET and EN sensory values separately (7 and 18 sensors) and also jointly. The number of entered variables corresponding to the total number of sensors (n=25) were decreased by using a stepwise procedure during DA. First the dog and cat samples were classified than the discrimination were performed on the canned foods (eight type). Thereafter two groups were formed depending on the compositional characteristics of the foods (pure animal vs animal and plant origin), and finally these groups were divided into four subgroups according to the concerning species (dog vs cat). In general, the lowest discriminating results were achieved by the single application of ET method (58.3- 81.7 %). The highest classification power (85–98.3%, CV% 83.3–95.8) derived from the joint application of the two sensory methods. According to the results achieved, the common application of EN and ET technology seems to be a promising tool for the aroma classification of pet foods

Szervetlen és szerves humát kötésben lévő mikroelemek (Cr, V, B) hatásának összehasonlító vizsgálata = Investigations on the mechanism of effects of humates and organic micro elements (Cr, V, B)

Három kísérletben vizsgáltuk a fulvosavnak és a huminsavnak valamint a szervetlen és szerves (humát- illetve fulvát-) kötésben lévő mikroelemek (Cr, B, V) hatását patkányokon. A fulvát, a humát illetve ezek kötéseiben lévő mikroelemek etetése nem idézett elő szignifikáns eltérést a kontrollállatokhoz képest a takarmányfogyasztásban, a súlygyarapodásban és a fajlagos takarmányhasznosításban. A kísérleti anyagok nem befolyásolták a plazma antioxidáns kapacitását. Nem volt kimutatható májkárosító hatás a fulvosav és a huminsav valamint szerves kötéseikben lévő mikroelemek esetében sem. Vizsgálati adataink arra utalnak, hogy a huminanyagok hypothyreoid hatásáért a fulvosav felelős korrelációban a dózissal (r=0,954). A humorális immunválaszt a 0,4%-ban alkalmazott fulvosav szignifikánsan erősíti (P<0,05) és az ellenanyagok vérben való perzisztálását is megnyújtja. A fulvosav és a huminsav szignifikánsan csökkentette (P<0,05) a vastagbéltartalom réztartalmát, a fulvosav növelte a vastartalmát, a huminsav csökkentette a mangántartalmát. A huminsav csökkentette (P<0,05) a réz- és vaskoncentrációt a májban. A vesében a fulvosav növelte a vas-, csökkentette a cinktartalmat, a huminsav csökkentette a vas- tartalmat (P<0,05). A szerves kötésben lévő mikroelemek esetében a vizsgálati mintákban nem tudtunk kimutatni szignifikáns eltérést a kontrollhoz képest. Sem az in vivo, sem az in vitro vizsgálatokkal nem volt bizonyítható a bakteriosztatikus hatás. | In this project the effect of fulvic acid (FA), humic acid (HA), Cr-, B- and V-fulvate or humate were investigated in rats. There were no significant effects of the above mentioned dietary supplementations on the feed consumption, weight gain, feed conversion ratio, antioxidant capacity of plasma, blood glucose level, activity of hydrolases in pancreas and small intestinal content. We could not observe any adverse effect on the liver function in either dietary treatments. Mild dose related (r=0.954) hypothyreoid effect of FA has been observed. There was a dose related (r=0.704) immune stimulatory effect of FA, with significant difference compared to the control, at 0.4% (P<0.05) level. Also the persistence of antibodies was longer. The effect of FA and HA on the micro elements were not always identical. Both FA and HA significantly decreased (P<0.05) the copper level of large intestinal content. FA increased the Fe, HA decreased the Mn concentration of the large intestinal content (P<0.05). HA decreased (P<0.05) the Cu and Fe content of liver. FA increased, HA decreased the Fe level, FA also decreased the Zn concentration of kidney (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the effect of inorganic form and fulvate or humate form of Cr, B and V on the microelement concentrations of large intestinal content, liver, kidney, bone and hair. Bacteriostatic effect could not be proven either in vivo or in vitro experiments

Electronic Nose and Tongue for Pet Food Classification

Commercial canned dog and cat foods (four type of each) were classified by electronic nose (EN) and tongue (ET) methods. The classification was performed by canonical discriminant analysis (DA) followed by cross-validation, using the ET and EN sensory values separately (7 and 18 sensors) and also jointly. The number of entered variables corresponding to the total number of sensors (n=25) were decreased by using a stepwise procedure during DA. First the dog and cat samples were classified than the discrimination were performed on the canned foods (eight type). Thereafter two groups were formed depending on the compositional characteristics of the foods (pure animal vs animal and plant origin), and finally these groups were divided into four subgroups according to the concerning species (dog vs cat). In general, the lowest discriminating results were achieved by the single application of ET method (58.3- 81.7 %). The highest classification power (85–98.3%, CV% 83.3–95.8) derived from the joint application of the two sensory methods. According to the results achieved, the common application of EN and ET technology seems to be a promising tool for the aroma classification of pet foods

Effect of arginine or glutamine supplementation on production, organ weights, interferon gamma, interleukin 6 and antibody titre of broilers

The objective of this study was designed to test whether supplementation of the diet with arginine (Arg) or glutamine (Gln) or their combination influences the production, organ weights and humoral immune response of broilers. A total of 432 one-day-old male Ross 308 broiler chickens were divided into 6 treatment groups: control, Arg-0.5%, Arg-1%, Gln-0.5%, Gln-1% and Arg-0.5%+Gln-0.5%. Drinking water and feed were provided ad libitum. On day 18 of the experiment 50% of chickens in each treatment group were immunised with bovine serum albumin. Ten and 21 days after immunisation blood samples were collected to determine the anti-albumin IgY titre, interleukin 6 (IL6) and interferon gamma (IFNG) and to measure the weight of the liver, spleen, bursa of Fabricius and thymus. Arg or Gln supplementation of the diets influenced neither the production nor the organ weights until 18 days of age. Between 18 and 39 days of age both Arg (0.5% and 1%) and Arg + Gln supplementation improved the feed conversion ratio (FCR) by 3.7%, 6.3% and 4.9%, respectively, while Gln-1% worsened it by 15%. Immunisation slightly (−0.79%) depressed the body weight gain of broilers fed the control diet, which was significantly improved by both Arg (0.5 or 1%) and Arg + Gln supplementation. Immunisation increased the weight of the spleen, bursa and thymus and decreased that of the liver. Supplementation with 1% Gln depressed (−5.13%) the body weight gain of the immunised chickens but strongly stimulated the immune response. Supplementations with Arg and Gln did not influence the IL6 and IFNG level of the blood; however, on day 10 after immunisation these two parameters showed a negative correlation with each other. Regarding production, organ weights and immunity, Arg supplementation should be recommended in the grower phase, while Gln supplementation can be useful in pullets raised for egg production, where a good immune response to vaccinations is an important factor

Fructose, glucose and fat interrelationships with metabolic pathway regulation and effects on the gut microbiota

The purpose of this 30-day feeding study was to elucidate the changes, correlations, and mechanisms caused by the replacement of the starch content of the AIN-93G diet (St) with glucose (G), fructose (F) or lard (L) in body and organ weights, metabolic changes and caecal microbiota composition in rats (Wistar, SPF). The body weight gain of rats on the F diet was 12% less (P = 0.12) than in the St group. Rats on the L diet consumed 18.6% less feed, 31% more energy and gained 58.4% more than the animals on the St diet, indicating that, in addition to higher energy intake, better feed utilisation is a key factor in the obesogenic effect of diets of high nutrient and energy density. The G, F and L diets significantly increased the lipid content of the liver (St: 7.01 +/- 1.48; G: 14.53 +/- 8.77; F: 16.73 +/- 8.77; L: 19.86 +/- 4.92% of DM), suggesting that lipid accumulation in the liver is not a fructose-specific process. Relative to the St control, specific glucose effects were the decreasing serum glucagon (-41%) concentrations and glucagon/leptin ratio and the increasing serum leptin concentrations (+26%); specific fructose effects were the increased weights of the kidney, spleen, epididymal fat and the decreased weight of retroperitoneal fat and the lower immune response, as well as the increased insulin (+26%), glucagon (+26%) and decreased leptin (-25%) levels. This suggests a mild insulin resistance and catabolic metabolism in F rats. Specific lard effects were the decreased insulin (-9.14%) and increased glucagon (+40.44%) and leptin (+44.92%) levels. Relative to St, all diets increased the operational taxonomic units of the phylum Bacteroidetes. G and L decreased, while F increased the proportion of Firmicutes. F and L diets decreased the proportions of Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria and Verrucomicrobia. Correlation and centrality analyses were conducted to ascertain the positive and negative correlations and relative weights of the 32 parameters studied in the metabolic network. These correlations and the underlying potential mechanisms are discussed

Effect of fulvic and humic acids on iron and manganese homeostasis in rats

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of fulvic acid (FA) and humic acid (HA) as the two main compounds of humic substances, separately on Fe and Mn homeostasis. Seventy-two male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 9 experimental groups. The control diet (AIN-93G formula) and diets supplemented with 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.4% and 0.8% HA or FA were fed for 26 days. Fe and Mn concentrations of the large intestinal content, liver, kidney, femur and hair were determined. No significant differences were observed in the production parameters. The effects of FA and HA on iron homeostasis were significantly different. FA proved to be a good iron source, and slightly increased the iron content of liver and kidney, but — up to a dietary iron level of 52.7 mg/kg — it did not influence the efficiency of iron absorption. Above a dietary iron level of 52.7 mg/kg down-regulation of Fe absorption can be assumed. HA significantly stimulated the iron uptake and there was no down-regulation of Fe absorption up to 0.8% dietary HA supplementation level (61.5 mg Fe/kg diet). In the HA groups the iron content of the liver and kidney decreased significantly, suggesting that in spite of the better Fe absorption, the HA—Fe complex does not provide iron to the investigated organs. Neither FA nor HA supplementation influenced the Fe content of the femur and hair and slightly decreased the Mn concentration in the large intestinal content. This effect was significant (with a 22.7% Mn concentration decrease) only at the HA supplementation rate of 0.8%. Neither FA nor HA influenced significantly the Mn concentrations of the liver, kidney and femur. The Mn concentration of the hair in rats receiving FA- or HA-supplemented diets was higher than in the control rats; however, this result needs further confirmation