Reliability of acid-insoluble ash as internal marker for the measurement of digestibility in rabbits

[EN] The present study aimed to evaluate acid-insoluble ash (AIA) as an internal marker for the measurement the coefficient of total tract apparent digestibility (CTTAD) in rabbits through two experiments (E1 and E2). In E1, 48 rabbits were used to calculate the CTTAD of the same basal diet according to the European reference method (ERM), the AIA and the titanium dioxide (TiO2 with 1 g of TiO2 /kg diet) techniques (n=16 rabbits/method). The effect of feed sample quantity on dietary AIA content was investigated and total collection of faeces was carried out to calculate marker recovery. In E2, 48 rabbits were allotted to three groups fed diets with no sugar beet pulp (SBP0) or with 100 (SBP100) and 200 (SBP200) g sugar beet pulp/ kg (n=16 rabbits/group). Each group was divided into two subgroups, ERM and AIA (n=8 rabbits/subgroup), in which CTTAD was measured using the European reference and AIA method, respectively. In AIA subgroups, only 10% of the total daily faecal output was sampled from 9:00 to 9:30 am. Feed analysis in E1 showed that increasing sample quantity from 5 to 9 g did not affect the dietary AIA content; however, the analytical error was 7 and 5 times lower (P<0.05) for 9 g, when compared to 5 and 7 g samples. Feed analysis also showed 1.030±0.003 g TiO2 /kg diet. Faecal marker recovery was 99.80±0.03 and 96.89±0.16% for AIA and TiO2 , respectively. The CTTAD of dry matter (DM), did not differ between methods in E1, but a 5-fold higher variability (P<0.05) was observed for the TiO2 technique in comparison with the ERM and AIA methods. Also, no differences in the CTTAD of DM between the ERM and AIA methods were found in E2. In conclusion, AIA is a reliable internal marker in rabbits and offers the possibility of measuring the CTTAD of diets with precision, when complete faecal collection or feed intake measurement is not possible.Papadomichelakis, G.; Fegeros, K. (2020). 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Effects of olive pulp addition to broiler diets on performance, selected biochemical parameters and antioxidant enzymes

H παραγωγή ελαιόλαδου δημιουργεί ορισμένα υποπροϊόντα τα οποία μπορούν να χρησιμοποιηθούν στη διατροφή των ζώων. Αυτά τα υποπροϊόντα περιέχουν αρκετές πολυφαινολικές ενώσεις που ενδέχεται να παρουσιάζουν αντιοξειδωτικές ιδιότητες. Η παρούσα μελέτη σχεδιάστηκε για να αξιολογήσει την επίδραση της προσθήκης πάστας ελαιόκαρπου στο σιτηρέσιο ορνιθίων κρεοπαραγωγής στην ανάπτυξη, στην απόδοση σε σφάγιο και στην ενεργότητα ορισμένων αντιοξειδωτικών ενζύμων. Διακόσιοι (200), νεοσσοί κρεοπαραγωγής Cobb 500, ηλικίας μιας ημέρας, εκτράφηκαν για συνολικά 42 ημέρες. Υπήρξαν 4 διατροφικές επεμβάσεις. Στην επέμβαση T1 δεν προστέθηκε πάστα ελαιόκαρπου στο εναρκτήριο, ανάπτυξης και τελικό σιτηρέσιο. Στην επέμβαση Τ2, η πάστα ελαιόκαρπου προστέθηκε στο εναρκτήριο, ανάπτυξης και τελικό σε επίπεδο 0, 2,5 και 5% αντιστοίχως. Στην επέμβαση Τ3, η πάστα ελαιόκαρπου προστέθηκε στα τρία σιτηρέσια σε επίπεδο 0, 5 και 5% αντιστοίχως, ενώ στην επέμβαση T4 σε επίπεδο 0, 5 και 8% αντιστοίχως. Μελετήθηκε η ανάπτυξη, η απόδοση σε σφάγιο και ένας αριθμός βιοχημικών παραμέτρων. Η oλευρωπεΐνη και η υδροξυτυροσόλη ανιχνεύτηκαν στην πάστα ελαιόκαρπου σε επίπεδα 952 και 216 mg/kg αντιστοίχως. Τα ορνίθια αναπτύχθηκαν καλά και δεν παρατηρήθηκαν διαφορές μεταξύ των επεμβάσεων στο τελικό σωματικό βάρος, την απόδοση σε σφάγιο, την ολική αντιοξειδωτική ικανότητα και την ενεργότητα των αντιοξειδωτικών ενζύμων. Εφαρμογή της διακριτικής ανάλυσης έδειξε ότι τα δείγματα διακρίνονται βάση του επιπέδου προσθήκης πάστας ελαιόκαρπου. Τα δείγματα των επεμβάσεων Τ2 και Τ3 εντοπίστηκαν στο κέντρο του διαγράμματος απομακρυσμένα από τις άλλες επεμβάσεις παρουσιάζοντας υψηλές τιμές σε απόδοση σε σφάγιο, αναλογία βάρους στήθους προς σωματικό βάρος και ενεργότητα των περισσοτέρων αντιοξειδωτικών ενζύμων. Συμπερασματικά, η πάστα ελαιόκαρπου μπορεί να χρησιμοποιηθεί στα σιτηρέσια ορνιθίων κρεοπαραγωγής έως 5% και μελλοντικές μελέτες σε πραγματικές συνθήκες εκτροφής ίσως αναδείξουν περαιτέρω τις θετικές επιδράσεις αυτού στην απόδοση και αντιοξειδωτική προστασία των ορνιθίων.Olive oil production generates various by-products that can be used in animal nutrition. These by-products contain several polyphenolic compounds that may exhibit antioxidant properties. The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of adding olive pulp to the feed on broiler performance, carcass yield and antioxidant enzymes. Two hundred (200), as hatched, day-old, Cobb 500 broilers were reared in total for 42 days. There were 4 dietary treatments. In T1 treatment, no olive pulp was added to starter, grower and finisher diet. In T2 treatment, olive pulp was added to starter, grower and finisher diet at a level of 0, 2.5 and 5% respectively. In T3 treatment, olive pulp was added to starter, grower and finisher diet at a level of 0, 5 and 5% respectively. In T4 treatment, olive pulp was added to starter, grower and finisher diet at a level of 0, 5 and 8% respectively. Performance, carcass yield and a number of biochemical parameters were examined. Oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol were present in the olive pulp at 952 and 216 mg/kg respectively. Broilers performed well and no differences were observed between treatments on final body weight, carcass yield, total antioxidant activity and expression of selected antioxidant enzymes. Discriminant analysis was further applied and revealed that samples clustered according to added level of olive pulp. Samples from broilers fed T2 and T3 diet were located in the middle of the plot away from other treatments exhibiting high values of carcass, breast yield and most of the antioxidant enzyme activities. In conclusion, olive pulp can be used up to 5% in diets of broilers and future studies conducted on-farm conditions may pronounce its impact on growth performance and antioxidant potential

Effect of Vitamin E Supplementation on Various Functional Properties of Macrophages and Neutrophils Obtained from Weaned Piglets

Sixteen piglets were used to determine the effect of vitamin E supplementation on several functional properties of macrophages and neutrophils obtained from weaned piglets. Piglets, immediately following weaning, were assigned to one of three experimental groups: control (no vitamin E supplementation), low level of vitamin E supplementation (100 mg DL-\u3b1-tocopheryl acetate/kg diet) and high level of vitamin E supplementation (300 mg DL-\u3b1-tocopheryl acetate/kg diet). Supplementation of vitamin E lasted for a period of 36 days, following a 3-day adaptation period after weaning. Blood samples were collected on days 0, 12, 24 and 36 of the experimental period, monocytes/macrophages and neutrophils were isolated and the following parameters were determined in macrophages and neutrophils activated by phorbol myristate acetate: total cell-associated and membrane-bound urokinase plasminogen activator (u-PA) activity and Superoxide anion production. Results showed that macrophages and neutrophils isolated from piglets that received supplemental vitamin E had higher (P 0.05) on total and membrane-bound u-PA activities and superoxide anion production by porcine macrophages and neutrophils on days 24 and 36 of the experimental period. In conclusion, the low level of vitamin E supplementation is recommended for piglets for the first 2 weeks after weaning

Profiling of composition and metabolic activities of the colonic microflora of growing pigs fed diets supplemented with prebiotic oligosaccharides

It is evident that quantitative information on different microbial groups and their contribution in terms of activity in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract of humans and animals is required in order to formulate functional diets targeting improved gut function and host health. In this work, quantitative information on levels and spatial distributions of Bacteroides spp, Eubacterium spp, Clostridium spp, Escherichia coli, Bifidobacterium spp and Lactobacillus/Enterococcus spp. along the porcine large intestine was investigated using 16S rRNA targeted probes and fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH). Caecum, ascending colon (AC) and rectum luminal digesta from three groups of individually housed growing pigs fed either a corn-soybean basal diet (CON diet) or a prebiotic diet containing 10 g/kg oligofructose (FOS diet) or trans-galactooligosaccharides (TOS diet) at the expense of cornstarch were analysed. DAPI staining was used to enumerate total number of cells in the samples. Populations of total cells, Bacteroides, Eubacterium, Clostridium and Bifidobacterium, declined significantly (P < 0.05) from caecum to rectum, and were not affected by dietary treatments. Populations of Lactobacillus/ Enterococcus and E coli did not differ throughout the large intestine. The relative percent (%) contribution of each bacterial group to the total cell count did not differ between caecum and rectum, with the exception of Eubacterium that was higher in the AC digesta. FISH analysis showed that the sum of all bacterial groups made up a small percentage of the total cells, which was 12.4%, 21.8% and 10.3% in caecum, AC and rectum, respectively. This supports the view that in swine, the diversity of GI microflora might be higher compared to other species. In terms of microflora metabolic activity, the substantially higher numerical trends seen in FOS and TOS treatments regarding total volatile fatty acid, acetate concentrations and glycolytic activities, it could be postulated that FOS and TOS promoted saccharolytic activities in the porcine colon. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved