The activity of diagnostic enzymes and the concentration of lipids in the blood vessels of cattle

Blood vessel walls are shown to contain creatine phosphokinase, lactate dehydrogenase, gamma glutamyl transpeptidase and aspartate transaminase activity. The activity of these enzymes in the serum may be enhanced by leakage from damaged blood vessels.The activity of the enzymes alanine transaminase and alkaline phosphatase as well as the content of triglycerides, cholesterol and lipoproteins are very low in the vascular tissue and are unlikely to be of diagnostic value in vascular tissue injury.     

Utilization of blue panic (Panicum antidotale) as an alternative feed resource for feeding Barky sheep in arid regions

Tropical Animal Health and Production - This study aimed at elucidating effects of replacing sorghum with blue panic (BP) on total dry matter intake (TDMI), average daily gain (ADG), feed...     

Pharmacokinetics,metabolism and excretion of celecoxib,a selective cyclooxygenase‐2 inhibitor,in horses

Celecoxib, a nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drug, is frequently used to treat arthritis in humans with minimal gastrointestinal side effect compared to traditional NSAIDs. The primary aim of this study was to determine the pharmacokinetic profile of celecoxib—a selective cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2) inhibitor in horses. Six horses were administered a single oral dose of celecoxib at 2 mg/kg (body weight). After oral dosing, the drug reached a maximum concentration (mean ± SD) in blood of 1,088 ± 324 ng/ml in 4.58 hr. The elimination half‐life was 13.60 ± 3.18 hr, and the area under the curve was 24,142 ± 1,096 ng hr ml^?1. The metabolism of celecoxib in horses was via a single oxidative pathway in which the methyl group of celecoxib is oxidized to a hydroxymethyl metabolite and is further oxidized to form a carboxylic acid metabolite. Celecoxib is eliminated mainly through faeces as unchanged drug and as metabolites in urine. Therefore, instructions for a detection time following therapeutic dosing of celecoxib can be set by the racing practitioner and veterinarians to control illegal use in horse racing based on the results of this study.     

Carcass yields,muscle amino acid and fatty acid profiles,and antioxidant indices of broilers supplemented with synbiotic and/or organic acids

The objective of the current research was to explore the possible impacts of dietary supplementation with synbiotic and/or organic acids (OA) on the performance traits, carcass yields and muscle amino acid and fatty acid (FA) profiles of broilers. Randomly, a total of 160 day‐old chicks (Ross 308) were assigned into four equal groups (40 birds each), with each group subdivided into eight replicates (five birds/pen). The control group (CON) fed the basal diet with no supplements, while diets of the treated groups were supplemented with OA (Sodium butyrate 40%; 1 g/kg), synbiotic (comprised Bacillus subtilis, Saccharomyces cerivisiae, Streptococcus faecium, Mannan‐Oligosaccharides and β‐Glucan; 1 g/kg) and equal mix of OA and synbiotic (2 g/kg). Broilers fed the diets supplemented with synbiotic or synbiotic plus OA produced a significantly higher feed utilization efficiency (p = 0.021) and carcass yields (p = 0.038) than the CON and OA‐supplemented groups. The group fed the diet supplemented with the synbiotic showed lowered serum cholesterol (p = 0.049), triglycerides (p = 0.001) and very low density lipoprotein (p = 0.032) when compared with the CON group. Regarding the polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) of breast muscles, synbiotic‐supplemented birds had significantly lower n‐6:n‐3 ratio (p = 0.047), however, a greater hypocholesterolaemic to hypercholesterolaemic FA (H/H) ratio was reported when compared with the CON group (p = 0.002). Among the essential amino acids, the contents of leucine and methionine in the breast (p = 0.032 and 0.007 respectively) and thigh (p = 0.023 and 0.003 respectively) muscles were greater in the synbiotic‐supplemented birds compared with the CON group. In conclusion, the synbiotic‐supplemented diet improved the PUFA:SFA, n‐6:n‐3 and H/H ratios by altering the FA composition of broiler muscles, which are important with regards to human health.     

Responses of growing rabbits to supplementing diet with a mixture of black and red pepper oils as a natural growth promoter

The current study was explored to examine the impacts of dietary inclusion of mixture of black (BPO) and red pepper (RPO) oils as growth promoters on growth, carcass, blood haematology, serum chemistry, immunity and antioxidative status of New Zealand White rabbits (NZW). A number total of 100 5‐week‐old NZW growing weaned rabbits were randomly allocated into four treatment groups in a complete randomized experiment. The dietary treatment groups were as follows: control: basal diet; BRP0.5: basal diet + 0.25 g BPO + 0.25 g RPO/kg diet; BRP1.0: basal diet + 0.50 g BPO + 0.50 g RPO/kg diet; and BRP1.5: basal diet + 0.75 g BPO + 0.75 g RPO/kg diet. Rabbits fed the highest level of BRP mixture were the heaviest, while the control rabbits were the lightest. During 5–9 weeks of age, a gradual improvement in feed conversion ratio (FCR) was noticed with increasing BRP level. The control group excelled all BRP groups regarding the majority of blood haematological parameters. Liver function was better in rabbits fed BRP enriched diets than the control. A gradual depression (p < 0.05 or 0.01) in serum lipids regardless high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) were recorded with elevating BRP level in the diet. The supplementation of BRP mixture enhanced the immune function and serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities and depressed serum malondialdehyde (MDA) in comparison with control. It could be concluded that dietary BRP mixture can affect some of growth traits, improve the immunity and antioxidant parameters, lower lipid profile and lipid peroxidation. Based on the study results, the recommended level of BRP mixture is 1.5 g/kg diet.     

Genetic Relationship of Iranian Pear Genotypes with European and Asian Pears as Revealed by Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Markers

Genetic variation within specific fruit tree germplasms is an important tool in fruit tree breeding programs. In the present work, the genetic relationship of 31 European and Iranian (Pyrus communis L.) and Asian (Pyrus serotina Rehd) genotypes of pear were studied using 19 randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers. Fifteen out of the 19 primers used in this study amplified 3373 clear and reproducible bands associated with 150 loci and many of them were polymorphic. The dendrogram resulting from the unweighted pair-group method of arithmetic cluster analysis separated the cultivars into eight groups. The correlation coefficient between the cophenetic matrix and the similarity matrix was 0.82 (r = 0.82). There was a significant difference between populations and most studied genotypes clustered closely together based on their geographic origin and Iranian pears placed between two groups of pears. Results showed the suitability of RAPD analysis in genetic diversity study of pear.     

Lemon,Citrus aurantifolia,peel and Bacillus licheniformis protected common carp,Cyprinus carpio,from Aeromonas hydrophila infection by improving the humoral and skin mucosal immunity,and antioxidative responses

The role of dietary lemon peel (LM) and/or Bacillus licheniformis (BL) on the growth, immunity, and resistance against Aeromonas hydrophila in common carp, Cyprinus carpio was investigated in this study. LM and BL were included in diets at 0% (T0), 10⁸ CFU/g BL (T1), 1.5% LM and 10⁸ CFU/g BL (T2), and 3% LM and 10⁸ CFU/g BL (T3). Fish fed with T1, T2, or T3 had higher weight gain, specific growth rate, white blood cells count, and blood total protein with lower feed conversion ratio than T0 group (p < .05). The albumin increased significantly (p < .05) in fish fed both BL and LM (T3). The serum superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, lysozyme, and bactericidal activities were significantly increased in fish fed both BL and LM (T2 and T3), while serum glutathione peroxidase increased in fish fed BL (T2) (p < .05). Fish fed T1, T2, and T3 diets displayed higher SOD and lower malondialdehyde than fish fed T0 (p < .05). After the A. hydrophila challenge, the mortality rate was significantly lower in T1, T2, and T3 groups than the T0 group (p < .05). The obtained results revealed that LM and BL could be used to increase resistance against A. hydrophila infection in carp. However, further field studies should be performed to confirm the obtained results.     

Kisspeptin injection improved the semen characteristics and sperm rheotaxis in Ossimi ram

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of kisspeptin-10 (Kp10) injection on semen characteristics, testosterone (T) production and sperm rheotaxis using microfluidic devices in immature ram. Computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) with controlled flow velocity was used to explore the kinetic parameters of sperm and positive rheotaxis (PR %). PR % was defined as the number of PR sperms over the number of motile sperms. Healthy Ossimi rams were randomly divided into two groups; a saline-treated control group and Kp10-treated one (5 µg/kg body weight). Treatments were given by intramuscular injection once a week for 1 month. After 1 month, the semen was collected and evaluated weekly for 6 weeks, while the blood samples were collected every 2 weeks for the next 8 weeks. Semen properties were significantly affected by Kp10 injection (p < .01). The Kp10 increased the volume, sperm concentration and percentages of live sperm compared with those of control. Additionally, sperm trajectories and rheotaxis get improved by the injection of Kp10 with time. Furthermore, kisspeptin improved the secretion of testosterone levels throughout the period of study. In conclusion, injections of the Kp10 had a positive impact on semen characteristics as well as improved sperm rheotaxis of Ossimi rams in subtropics.