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Laying hens, selectively bred for high egg production, often suffer from bone fragility and fractures, impacting their welfare and causing economic losses. Additionally, gut health and muscle quality are crucial for overall health and productivity. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of ß-Hydroxy-ß-methylbutyrate (HMB) supplementation on performance, bone metabolism, intestinal morphology, and muscle quality in laying hens. Forty-eight Bovans Brown hens were divided into a control group and an HMB-supplemented group (0.02% HMB in diet). The study spanned from the 31st to the 60th wk of age. Assessments included bone mechanical testing, serum hormonal analysis, histological analysis of bone and intestine, and muscle quality analysis. The HMB supplementation led to decreased feed intake without affecting body weight or laying rate in laying hens. It caused an increase in both mean daily and total egg weight, indicating improved feed utilization, without influencing the feed intake to egg weight ratio. Enhanced bone formation markers and altered intestinal morphometric parameters were observed, along with improved trabecular bone structure. However, no changes in measured other bone quality indices, including geometric, densitometric, or mechanical properties were observed. Muscle analysis revealed no significant changes in overall meat quality, except for a decrease in cholesterol content and alterations in the fatty acid profile, notably a reduction in total n-3 polyunsaturated and total polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). In conclusion, although not all effects of HMB supplementation were unequivocally beneficial, the positive changes in performance data and trabecular bone microarchitecture support further research into various doses and durations of supplementation. Such studies are necessary to fully understand and optimize the benefits of HMB for enhancing the health and productivity of laying hens., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In recent years, a supplementation of livestock animals, including poultry, with β-Hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (HMB) has gained attention for its effects on protein and fat metabolism. This study investigates the effects of HMB in the laying hen diet on egg quality, focusing on amino acid and fatty acid composition. Laying hens were supplemented with 0.02% HMB, with performance parameters and egg components analyzed. HMB supplementation led to increased albumen weight, influencing egg weight while also reducing feed intake per egg without affecting laying rate, yolk indices, fat, or cholesterol content. Notably, the study revealed significant changes in egg amino acid and fatty acid profiles due to HMB supplementation. Various amino acids, including glycine, serine, and isoleucine, were altered in the yolk, impacting nutritional value and potential health benefits. Regarding fatty acids, the study observed changes in both saturated as well as n-6 and n-3 fatty acids, affecting the overall lipid profile of egg yolks. However, the shifts in fatty acid composition could have implications for cardiovascular health due to altered ratios of n-6/n-3 fatty acids. Further research is required to comprehensively understand the implications of these findings for consumer-oriented egg quality and health benefits.

The goal of the current study was to examine the effects of prenatal exposure to fumonisins (FBs) on bone properties and metabolism in weaned rat offspring divided into groups intoxicated with FBs at either 0 (the 0 FB group), 60 (the 60 FB group), or 90 mg/kg b.w. 0 (the 90 FB group). Female and male offspring exposed to FBs at a dose of 60 mg/kg b.w. had heavier femora. Mechanical bone parameters changed in a sex and FBs dose-dependent manner. Growth hormone and osteoprotegerin decreased in both sexes, regardless of FBs dose. In males osteocalcin decreased, while receptor activator for nuclear factor kappa-Β ligand increased regardless of FBs dose; while in females changes were dose dependent. Leptin decreased in both male FBs-intoxicated groups, bone alkaline phosphatase decreased only in the 60 FB group. Matrix metalloproteinase-8 protein expression increased in both female FBs-intoxicated groups and decreased in male 90 FB group. Osteoprotegerin and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 2 protein expression decreased in males, regardless of FBs dose, while nuclear factor kappa-Β ligand expression increased only in the 90 FB group. The disturbances in bone metabolic processes seemed to result from imbalances in the RANKL/RANK/OPG and the OC/leptin systems.

Animal feed is very frequently contaminated with different types of mold, the metabolites of which are toxic to living organisms. Mold-contaminated cereal is rich in heat-resistant and harmful metabolites such as fumonisins (FBs). The amount of FBs consumed as part of animal feed, including livestock feed, is unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of maternal oral FB intoxication on basal duodenum morphology and the immunolocalization of gut hormones responsible for food intake (leptin and ghrelin), as well as their receptors, in newborn rat offspring. Pregnant Wistar rats were randomly allocated to one of three groups: a control group or one of two FB-intoxicated groups (60 or 90 mg FB/kg b.w., respectively). Basal morphological duodenal parameters changed in a dose- and sex-dependent manner. The intensity of the ghrelin immunoreaction was unchanged in females, while in males it increased after FB exposure (60 mg/kg b.w.), with a simultaneous decrease in expression of the ghrelin receptor. Leptin and its receptor immunoreaction intensity was decreased in both sexes following FB exposure. The current study highlighted the potential involvement of intestinal ghrelin and leptin in the metabolic disturbances observed later in life in offspring that were prenatally exposed to fumonisins.

Quality feed is essential for correct bone development and proper functioning of animals. Post-weaned piglets experience a radical change in eating behaviour that can influence their feed intake. For this reason, functional feed additives and ingredients that can be used in post-weaning feeds are needed. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of partially replacing wheat with rapeseed meal fermented using Bacillus subtilis strain 87Y on overall bone quality and bone metabolism in weaner piglets. From the 28th day of life, barrows were fed either a standard wheat-based diet or a diet containing 8% fermented rapeseed meal (FRSM) with or without a feed additive containing enzymes, antioxidants, probiotics, and prebiotics. The experimental period lasted 60 days, after which femur quality indices were assessed. Differences in bone length and weight were observed, but there were no changes in bone mineralization or bone mid-diaphysis morphometrical traits between treatments. FRSM inclusion reduced bone mid-diaphysis biomechanical properties, but these changes were dependent on feed-additive supplementation. Analysis of the levels of serum bone turnover markers suggests the intensification of bone resorption in FRSM-fed groups as deoxypyridinoline levels increase. The results obtained warrant further research on what the disturbances in bone mechanical properties and metabolism observed in FRSM-fed weaners means for the subsequent fattening period.

Cereals are often contaminated with fumonisins, which are the toxic byproducts of mold. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of maternal exposure to fumonisins on the development and the liver function of the offspring at weaning. Two doses of fumonisins (60 and 90 mg/kg b.w.) were tested. The changes in the basal blood morphology, the biochemical parameters, the absolute and relative weights of the vital organs, and the changes in the cardiac and biceps brachii muscle histology were studied. The liver damage was assessed by evaluating the liver morphology and the common clinical liver panel. Maternal fumonisin intoxication caused a decrease in the body weight at birth and an increase in the heart, liver, kidney, lungs, ovaries, and testes weights. The cytokines and hormones, as well as the red blood cell counts and hemoglobin levels, were elevated in a dose-dependent manner following the exposure to fumonisins. Maternal exposure caused degenerative morphological and structural changes in the liver, as well as inflammation in the striated muscles, such as the heart and biceps brachii, and disproportionate development of the rat offspring in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, FB exposure resulted in the disproportional development of the rat offspring in a dose-dependent manner, which was probably caused by the bodily hormonal dysregulation. Prenatal fumonisin exposure can be a pathological precursor for serious diseases, such as obesity and diabetes, later in life.

Fumonisins (FBs), including fumonisin B1 and B2 produced by the fungus Fusarium verticillioides , are widespread mycotoxins contaminating crop plants as well as processed food. The aim of the experiment was to determine whether the exposure of 5-week-old pregnant rats to FBs at 60 mg/kg b.w. (group FB 60 ) or 90 mg/kg b.w. (group FB 90 ) results in morphological changes in the duodenum of weaned offspring, particularly the enteric nervous system (ENS). In addition, the levels of expression of galanin and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) in the ENS were analysed by immunofluorescence in the control and experimental groups of animals. No significant morphological changes in the thickness of the muscle layer or submucosa of the duodenum were noted in group FB 60 or FB 90 . In group FB 90 (but not FB 60 ), there was a significant increase in the width of the villi and in the density of the intestinal crypts. Immunofluorescence analysis using neuronal marker Hu C/D showed no significant changes in group FB 60 or FB 90 in the morphology of the duodenal ENS, i.e., the myenteric plexus (MP) and submucosal plexus (SP), in terms of the density of enteric ganglia in the MP and SP, surface area of MP and SP ganglia, length and width of MP and SP ganglia, surface area of myenteric and submucosal neurons, diameter of myenteric and submucosal neurons, density of myenteric and submucosal neurons, and number of myenteric and submucosal neurons per ganglion. In both groups, there was an increase (relative to the control) in the percentage of Hu C/D-IR/VIP-IR (IR-immunoreactive) and Hu C/D-IR/galanin-IR myenteric and submucosal neurons in the ganglia of both the MP and SP of the duodenum. In addition, in groups FB 60 and FB 90 , there was an increase in the number of nerve fibres showing expression of VIP and galanin in the mucosa, submucosa and circular muscle layer of the duodenum. The results indicate that prenatal exposure to FBs does not significantly alter the histological structure of the duodenum (including the ENS) in the weaned offspring. The changes observed in the chemical code of the myenteric and submucosal neurons in both experimental groups suggest harmful activity of FBs, which may translate into activation of repair mechanisms via overexpression of neuroprotective neuropeptides (VIP and galanin).

The current study examined the effects of exposure of pregnant dams to fumonisins (FBs; FB1 and FB2), from the seventh day of pregnancy to parturition, on offspring bone metabolism and properties. The rats were randomly divided into three groups intoxicated with FBs at either 0, 60, or 90 mg/kg b.w. Body weight and bone length were affected by fumonisin exposure, irrespective of sex or dose, while the negative and harmful effects of maternal FBs' exposure on bone mechanical resistance were sex and dose dependent. The immunolocalization of osteoprotegerin (OPG) and receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-Β ligand (RANKL), in bone and articular cartilage, indicated that the observed bone effects resulted from the FB-induced alterations in bone metabolism, which were confirmed by the changes observed in the Western blot expression of OPG and RANKL. It was concluded that the negative effects of prenatal FB exposure on the general growth and morphometry of the offspring bones, as a result of the altered expression of proteins responsible for bone metabolism, were dose and sex dependent.

Fumonisins are protein serine/threonine phosphatase inhibitors and potent inhibitors of sphingosine N-acyltransferase (ceramide synthase) disrupting de novo sphingolipid biosynthesis. The experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of fumonisins (FB) exposure from the 7th day of pregnancy to parturition on offspring bone development. The rats were randomly allocated to either a control group ( n = 6), not treated with FBs, or to one of the two groups intoxicated with FBs (either at 60 mg FB/kg b.w. or at 90 mg FB/kg b.w. Numerous negative, offspring sex-dependent effects of maternal FB exposure were observed with regards to the histomorphometry of trabecular bone. These effects were due to FB-inducted alterations in bone metabolism, as indicated by changes in the expression of selected proteins involved in bone development: tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 2 (TIMP-2), matrix metalloproteinase 8 (MMP-8), matrix metalloproteinase 13 (MMP-13), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The immunolocalization of MMPs and TIMP-2 was performed in trabecular and compact bone, as well as articular and growth plate cartilages. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the exposure of pregnant dams to FB negatively affected the expression of certain proteins responsible for bone matrix degradation in newborns prenatally exposed to FB in a dose- and sex-dependent manner.