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This study assessed the effects of dietary selenium (Se), iodine (I) and a combination of both on growth performance, thyroid gland activity, carcass characteristics and the concentration of iodine and selenium in Longissimus lumborum (LL) muscle in goats. Twenty-four bucks were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments: control (CON), basal diet without supplementation, basal diet + 0.6 mg Se/kg dry matter (DM) (SS), 0.6 mg I/kg DM (IP), or combination of 0.6 mg/kg DM Se and 0.6 mg/kg DM I (SSIP) and fed for 100 days. Animals fed diet SSIP exhibited higher (P < 0.05) body weight and better feed conversion ratio (FCR) than those fed other diets. Dressing percentage of goats fed the supplemented diets was higher (P < 0.05) than that of the control. Carcasses from the IP group had higher (P < 0.05) total fat proportion than the SSIP group. The levels of both elements were significantly elevated (P < 0.05) in LL muscle in supplemented goats. Thyroid follicular epithelial cells of IP and SSIP animals were significantly higher than those of CON and SS groups. The study demonstrated that the combined Se and I dietary supplementation improves growth performance, carcass dressing percentage and increases the retention of Se and I in goat meat., (© 2015 Japanese Society of Animal Science.)

Chlorella is one of the most widely accepted Chlorophyta used by many as livestock and aquaculture feed. Nonetheless, different studies on the overall performances of fish reported the unfavourable effect of high‐level supplementations of Chlorella vulgaris. The current study determined the impact of low‐level dietary supplementation of C. vulgaris alongside the different feeding durations and their interactions on the growth hormone (GH), growth performances, serum‐biochemical indices, hepatic function and some immunological parameters of red hybrid tilapia. The fingerlings (mean weight: 14.25 ± 0.01 g, length: 13.5 ± 0.49 cm) were fed diets containing 0, 0.99%, 2.91% and 4.76% of C. vulgaris powder per kilogram dry diet for 90 days. GH, growth performance, serum‐biochemical indices (total serum protein, albumin, globulin, glucose, aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase) and some immunological (respiratory burst and lysozyme activities) parameters of the fish were examined after 30, 60 and 90 days of feeding. The results demonstrated that tilapia fed C. vulgaris–supplemented diets showed increased levels of respiratory burst, lysozyme, albumin and total protein, GH and growth performances (P < 0.05), and the effects were duration dependent. After the 90 days of feeding, there was no adverse effect on the hepatic function of the fish. Besides, low survivability was observed in the control group than in the group fed the experimental diets. The group fed the diet supplemented with 4.76% C. vulgaris had significantly higher (P < 0.05) lysozyme activity throughout the duration of the feeding experiment. These results indicate that C. vulgaris enhanced growth performances, GH concentration, serum‐biochemistry and some immunological parameters of red hybrid tilapia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Probiotics have been primarily used as feed additives to improve poultry growth performance and health. This study determined the effects of probiotic supplementation on the physiological stress response and fear-related behaviour in ducks subjected to catching and crating. Results showed that probiotics, as measured by serum levels of corticosterone, heat shock protein 70, creatine kinase, triglyceride, and heterophil to lymphocyte ratios, alleviated stress following crating. Fear-related behaviours in crated birds were dampened by probiotic supplementation. Catching and crating may elicit stress and fear reactions in poultry because the procedures involve human contact and exposure to a novel environment. This study determined the effects of dietary probiotic supplementation on physiological stress, underlying fear, and growth performance of Pekin ducks subjected to catching and 4 h of crating. The study used a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement; the main factors were diet (basal or basal + probiotic) and crating durations (0 or 4 h). From 1 to 21 days of age (doa), birds were fed a basal or basal + probiotic (CLOSTAT® (Bacillus subtilis) (Kemin Industries, Inc., Des Moines, IA, USA), 1 g/kg) diet. At 21 doa, an equal number of ducklings from each dietary group were caught and crated for 4 h or left undisturbed in the home pens. Birds were examined for serum corticosterone (CORT), heat shock protein (HSP) 70, creatine kinase (CK), triglyceride (TG), glucose (GLU), cholesterol (CHOL), and lactate (LAC) concentrations, heterophil to lymphocyte ratios (HLR), tonic immobility (TI) duration, open-field (OF) test, body weight (BW), and feed conversion ratios (FCR). Diet had no significant (p > 0.05) effect on CORT among the non-crated ducks. However, after catching and crating, birds fed the control diet had significantly (p < 0.05) higher CORT than their probiotic-supplemented counterparts. Catching and crating significantly (p < 0.05) elevated HSP70, HLR, GLU, and CHOL but reduced TG in ducks. Birds fed the probiotic-supplemented diet showed significantly (p < 0.05) lower HSP70, HLR, TG, and CK than those fed the control diet. Probiotic-supplemented ducks showed reduced fear-related behaviours, including TI durations, ambulation latency, and body shaking. Diet had a negligible effect on body weights and FCR of ducks at 21 doa. In brief, catching and crating for 4 h augmented Pekin ducks' physiological stress and fear reactions, and supplementing birds with probiotics was beneficial in ameliorating these detrimental effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An 8‐week feeding trial was conducted to assess the suitability of fenugreek seed meal (FKSM; Trigonella foenum‐graecum) to replace fishmeal (FM) in diets of African catfish Clarias gariepinus. Five isonitrogenous and iso‐energetic diets were formulated with increasing amounts of FKSM, at the expense of FM, at 0 (Control), 100 (FKSM100), 180 (FKSM180), 260 (FKSM260) or 340 g/kg (FKSM340). Each treatment was triplicated, with 30 fish in each replicate (initial mean ± SD of 9.3 ± 0.5 g). Growth performance, haematology, serum biochemistry, carcass and fillet proximate composition, some innate immunological parameters and hepatic insulin‐like growth factor (IGF) I and II were measured. Growth, feeding efficiencies and hepatic IGF‐I and IGF‐II gene expression were unchanged in the dietary FKSM100 or FKSM180 treatments, compared to the control. In the FKSM180 treatment, blood haemoglobin, haematocrit, red blood cell counts, respiratory burst activity and lysozyme activity of catfish significantly increased. Carcass crude protein, ash and hepatic IGF‐I gene expression were significantly lower in the FKSM260 and FKSM340 treatments. Results show that up to 180 g/kg FKSM can replace FM at 350 g/kg, on a total protein basis in the diets of C. gariepinus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thirty growing cross-bred sheep (20.4 ± 1.9 kg body weight (BW)) were used to determine the effects of dietary supplementation of oil palm (Eleis guineensis) frond (OPF) pellets on growth performance, microbial population and carcass characteristics of sheep. Experimental animals were allotted into three treatment groups fed varying levels of OPF pellets and commercial sheep pellets. Treatment diets were control diet (CON group, n=10), 25% OPF pellet in diet (% w/w) (HAF group, n=10) and 50% OPF pellet in diet (OPF group, n=10). After 100 days of feeding, all animals from each group were slaughtered, and carcass and rumen fluid were sampled. Both the HAF and CON groups had much more propionic acid and less acetic acid (P<0.05) compared to the OPF group at 8 h of sampling. Both HAF and CON had more marbling compared to OPF (P<0.05). The HAF and CON groups had also more bacteria per milliliter (mL) of rumen fluid compared with the OPF group at 0 and 2 h of sampling. Therefore, the supplementation of OPF, which is an easily available oil palm by-product, could be used as a feed ingredient at 25% inclusion level to support sheep farming in tropical countries that lack grazing pasture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An in vitro gas production study was conducted to test the effect of papaya leaf (PL) at different concentrations of 0 (CON), 10% (Low PL: LPL), 15% (Medium PL: MPL) and 25% (High PL: HPL) of replacement with alfalfa hay (AH) in substrate (50% AH + 50% concentrate) on rumen methane (CH4) production, rumen biohydrogenation (BH) of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) and rumen microbial population. PL at different concentrations were mixed with 30 ml of buffered rumen fluid and were incubated for 24 h. Methane production (ml/250 mg DM) declined at a decreasing rate (linear p=0.03) with increasing levels of PL. The acetic/propionic ratio (1.80) was lowest (p<0.05) for HPL compared with CON (2.04), LPL (1.95) and MPL (1.89). Supplementation of the diet with PL significantly (p<0.05) decreased the rate of BH of C18:2n-6 (LA) and C18 PUFA after 24 h of incubation especially at the higher inclusion rate, resulting in an increased production of rumen BH intermediates such as conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), whereas saturated fatty acid (SFA) decreased in the rumen fluid after 24 h of incubation. Estimates of rumen microbial population using real-time PCR assay showed a reduction in total methanogens (p<0.05) in MPL (-12%) and HPL (-16%) and increase in total bacteria population (HPL: +5%) and Butyrivibro fibrisolvens (MPL: +20; HPL: +23%) among PL treatment groups compared with the CON group. These results emphasise PL as a beneficial feed material for ruminants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One hundred twenty day-old broiler chicks (Cobb 500) were randomly assigned into 4 treatment groups to investigate the effects of tannic acid supplementation (TA) on fatty acid composition in breast muscle of broilers under chronic heat exposure conditions. Five pen replicates of 6 chicks each were assigned to each of the following 4 dietary treatments: i) basal diet containing no TA at 25°C (CL); ii) basal diet containing no TA at 35°C (CH); iii) basal diet supplemented with 1% TA at 25°C (TL); and iv) basal diet supplemented with 1% TA at 35°C (TH). At the end of the 5-week experiment, breast muscle samples were collected to examine the fatty acid composition. Results showed that temperature, TA and their interaction effect significantly decreased body weight gain and feed intake. In addition, feed conversion ratio (FCR) significantly increased under high temperature, and addition of TA under high temperature did not improve the FCR. The effects of temperature, TA and their interaction on the saturated and unsaturated fatty acids were not significant (P>0.05). However, monounsaturated fatty acids significantly reduced by adding TA to the diet. Generally, TA improved the fatty acid profile of breast muscle of broilers under heat stress in comparison to the heat stressed chickens, which did not receive TA. Hence, it seems that dietary TA supplementation can be applied as a biological antioxidant for poultry nutrition in hot climatic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The competency of garlic and pennywort to improve broiler chicken growth and influence intestinal microbial communities and fatty acid composition of breast meat were studied. Two hundred forty, "day-old" chicks were randomly allocated to 4 treatment groups consisting of 6 replications of 10 chicks in each pen. The groups were assigned to receive treatment diets as follows: i) basal diet (control), ii) basal diet plus 0.5% garlic powder (GP), iii) basal diet plus 0.5% pennywort powder (PW) and iv) 0.002% virginiamycin (VM). Birds were killed at day 42 and intestinal samples were collected to assess for Lactobacillus and Escherichia coli. The pectoralis profundus from chicken breast samples was obtained from 10 birds from each treatment group on day 42 and frozen at -20°C for further analyses. Fatty acid profile of breast muscles was determined using gas liquid chromatography. Feed intake and weight gain of broilers fed with GP, PW, and VM were significantly higher (p<0.05) compared to control. Feeding chicks GP, PW, and VM significantly reduced Escherichia coli count (p<0.05) while Lactobacillus spp count were significantly higher (p<0.05) in the gut when compared to control group on day 42. Supplemented diet containing pennywort increased the C18:3n-3 fatty acid composition of chickens' breast muscle. Garlic and pennywort may be useful in modulating broiler guts as they control the enteropathogens that help to utilize feed efficiently. This subsequently enhances the growth performances of broiler chickens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) act as an important ligand for nuclear receptors in adipogenesis and fat deposition in mammals and avian species. This study aimed to determine whether similar effects are plausible on avian abdominal fat adipocyte size, as well as abdominal adipogenic transcriptional level. CLA was supplemented at different levels, namely, (i) basal diet without CLA (5% palm oil) (CON), (ii) basal diet with 2.5% CLA and 2.5% palm oil (LCLA), and (iii) basal diet with 5% CLA (HCLA).The content of cis-9, trans-11 CLA was between 1.69- and 2.3-fold greater (P < 0.05) than that of trans-10, cis-12 CLA in the abdominal fat of the LCLA and HCLA group. The adipogenic capacity of the abdominal fat depot in LCLA and HCLA fed chicken is associated with a decreased proportion of adipose cells and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA). The transcriptional level of adipocyte protein (aP2) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARy) was downregulated by 1.08- to 2.5-fold in CLA supplemented diets, respectively. It was speculated that feeding CLA to broiler chickens reduced adipocyte size and downregulated PPARy and aP2 that control adipocyte cellularity. Elevation of CLA isomers into their adipose tissue provides a potential CLA-rich source for human consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recent findings suggest that the intake of specific nutrients during the critical period in early life influence cognitive and behavioural development profoundly. Antioxidants such as vitamin E have been postulated to be pivotal in this process, as vitamin E is able to protect the growing brain from oxidative stress. Currently tocotrienols are gaining much attention due to their potent antioxidant and neuroprotective properties. It is thus compelling to look at the effects of prenatal and early postnatal tocotrienols supplementation, on cognition and behavioural development among offsprings of individual supplemented with tocotrienols. Therefore, this study is aimed to investigate potential prenatal and early postnatal influence of Tocotrienol-Rich Fraction (TRF) supplementation on cognitive function development in male offspring rats. Eight-week-old adult female Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomly assigned into five groups of two animals each. The animals were fed either with the base diet as control (CTRL), base diet plus vehicle (VHCL), base diet plus docosahexanoic acid (DHA), base diet plus Tocotrienol-Rich fraction (TRF), and base diet plus both docosahexaenoic acid, and tocotrienol rich fraction (DTRF) diets for 2 weeks prior to mating. The females (F0 generation) were maintained on their respective treatment diets throughout the gestation and lactation periods. Pups (F1 generation) derived from these dams were raised with their dams from birth till four weeks post natal. The male pups were weaned at 8 weeks postnatal, after which they were grouped into five groups of 10 animals each, and fed with the same diets as their dams for another eight weeks. Learning and behavioural experiments were conducted only in male off-spring rats using the Morris water maze. Eight-week-old adult female Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomly assigned into five groups of two animals each. The animals were fed either with the base diet as control (CTRL), base diet plus vehicle (VHCL), base diet plus docosahexanoic acid (DHA), base diet plus Tocotrienol-Rich fraction (TRF), and base diet plus both docosahexaenoic acid, and tocotrienol rich fraction (DTRF) diets for 2 weeks prior to mating. The females (F0 generation) were maintained on their respective treatment diets throughout the gestation and lactation periods. Pups (F1 generation) derived from these dams were raised with their dams from birth till four weeks post natal. The male pups were weaned at 8 weeks postnatal, after which they were grouped into five groups of 10 animals each, and fed with the same diets as their dams for another eight weeks. Learning and behavioural experiments were conducted only in male off-spring rats using the Morris water maze Results: Results showed that prenatal and postnatal TRF supplementation increased the brain (4-6 fold increase) and plasma α-tocotrienol (0.8 fold increase) levels in male off-springs. There is also notably better cognitive performance based on the Morris water maze test among these male off-springs. Conclusion: Based on these results, it is concluded that prenatal and postnatal TRF supplementation improved cognitive function development in male progeny rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Apart from feeding with forages, dietary supplementation with concentrate and rumen bypass fat is one of the feeding strategies to enhance nutrient availability and improve buffalo performance and productivity. This review paper thoroughly discussed the utilization of concentrate and bypass fat as dietary supplementation in buffalo feeding, and discussed the effects on performance, fermentation characteristics and general health of buffaloes to give better insight about the potential and challenges of dietary supplementation in buffalo diet. Based on the literature studies, it can be summarized that supplementation of concentrate and bypass fat in buffaloes may overcome the nutritional problems and improve the growth performance, health status, rumen environment and carcass traits. With the increase in the global buffalo herd, the use of supplementation in the ruminant feeding has become an important area for many researchers who are looking for an isocaloric and isonitrogenous diet to improve production parameters. In order to improve the performance of the Asian water buffalo, the optimal balance of all nutrients, including energy and protein, are important as macronutrients. Dietary supplementation is one of the alternatives to enhance the essential nutrient content in the buffalo diet and to improve the rumen metabolism of the animal. Researchers have found that supplementation of concentrate and rumen bypass fat could change growth performance and carcass traits without causing any adverse effects on the buffalo growth. Some studies showed that dry matter intake, body condition score and some blood parameters and hormones related to growth responded positively to concentrate and rumen bypass fat supplementation. In addition, changes of feeding management by adding the supplement to the ruminant basal diet helped to increase the profit of the local farmers due to the increased performance and productivity of the animals. Nevertheless, the effects of dietary supplementation on the performance of ruminants are inconsistent. Thus, its long-term effects on the health and productivity of buffaloes still need to be further investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]