Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition最新文献

This study investigated the nutritional potential of Zanthoxylum acanthopodium seed supplementation in enhancing growth, immunity, and disease resistance of Neolissochilus hexagonolepis (chocolate mahseer) against Saprolegnia parasitica infection. Juvenile fish (10.5 ± 0.3 g) were randomly distributed into 12 tanks representing four treatment groups in triplicate: control (basal diet) and three experimental groups fed diets supplemented with 0.5%, 1% or 2% Z. acanthopodium seed powder. The experiment comprised a 60-day feeding trial with sampling conducted at Days 0, 15, 30 and 60, followed by a 14-day pathogen challenge with sampling at Says 7 and 14 post-challenge. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA with Tukey's post hoc test and Kaplan–Meier survival analysis. Nutritional analysis revealed Z. acanthopodium seeds contained significant bioactive compounds including alkaloids (3.45 ± 0.28 mg/g), flavonoids (2.87 ± 0.19 mg/g), and terpenoids (4.12 ± 0.31 mg/g). The 1% supplementation level demonstrated optimal effects, significantly enhancing lysozyme activity (65.2% higher, p < 0.05), respiratory burst activity (84.2% higher, p < 0.05) and serum immunoglobulin levels (72.3% higher, p < 0.05) compared to control. Growth performance showed highest weight gain (241.0 ± 9.4%, p < 0.05) and specific growth rate (2.0 ± 0.1%/day, p < 0.05) in this group. Following S. parasitica challenge, the 1% group exhibited superior disease resistance with 86.67 ± 3.3% survival compared to 58.33 ± 4.4% in control (p < 0.05), while sham-challenged fish maintained 100% survival across all treatments. Molecular analysis confirmed significantly lower fungal loads in treated groups, with 1% treatment showing minimum fungal DNA copies (1.5 × 10⁶ copies/mg tissue) versus control (4.8 × 10⁶ copies/mg tissue, p < 0.05). These results establish Z. acanthopodium seed's efficacy as a sustainable nutritional supplement for improving fish health and productivity while reducing synthetic antimicrobial dependency in aquaculture.

Oxidative stress is known to affect the behaviour, performance and well-being of cattle. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of industrial hemp (IH) supplementation on rumination behaviour, stress biomarkers and antioxidant enzymes in Angus cattle. A total of 20 black Angus heifers were completely randomized into either control (CON) (receiving commercial concentrates) or IH (150 g of IH/kg of commercial concentrates) in a trial that lasted for 35 days with IH supplementation for 21 days and 14 days post-supplementation. Rumination behaviour (rumination time, ruminal pH, temperature and water intake) was recorded with smaXtec bolus, plasma antioxidants (total antioxidant activity [TAA], superoxide dismutase [SOD], glutathione peroxidase [Gpx], catalase [CAT], nitric oxide [NO], malondialdehyde [MDA]) and stress biomarkers (cortisol and heat shock proteins) were analyzed. Results showed that IH supplementation decreased water intake with an average consumption of 51.39 L/day in the IH group and 55.09 L/day in the CON. No significant (p = 0.67) difference was observed in the ruminal pH and rumination time (p = 0.58) of the animals. The TAA increased from 7.26 to 17.95 U/mL in the IH group during supplementation but decreased to 11.48 U/mL post-supplementation. GPx was significantly (p = 0.0023) higher in IH (46.47 mmol/L) than in CON (44.01 mmol/L) group. Similar results were observed with NO. MDA was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in the CON compared to the IH group. Cortisol was significantly (p = 0.03) lower in the IH group (97.54 ng/mL) than CON (122.23 ng/mL). No significant (p < 0.05) difference was observed for heat shock proteins 70 and 72. Conclusively, IH improved rumination behaviour in cattle by maintaining optimum rumen pH. Furthermore, IH increased the antioxidant status as well as the reduction of oxidative stress biomarkers, suggesting that IH supplementation could improve the health and welfare of Angus cattle.

The transition period in ewes, typically defined as the interval from ~3 weeks before lambing to 3 weeks after lambing, is marked by increased nutritional and metabolic demands. This study evaluates the effects of maternal supplementation with curcumin nano-micelles (CNM) on nutrient digestibility, ruminal fermentation, milk composition and metabolic health in ewes and their offspring. A total of 32 pregnant crossbred ewes were randomly assigned to receive either a control diet or a diet with 40 mg CNM daily, from Day 125 gestation to Day 21 postpartum. Parameters assessed included feed intake, nutrient digestibility, milk yield and composition, colostrum immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels, ruminal fermentation parameters, blood biochemistry and glucose tolerance. CNM supplementation improved live body weight (LBW) and dry matter intake (DMI) in both ewes and their lambs. In lambs, maternal CNM supplementation resulted in higher birth weight, greater average daily gain (ADG) and improved feed conversion ratio (FCR), while also showing reduced serum cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations. The CNM group also showed improved nutrient digestibility, with increased neutral detergent fibre (NDF) digestibility postpartum. Milk yield was increased by CNM supplementation, while its composition showed reductions in protein, fat and total solids. Colostrum IgG levels were higher in the CNM group, potentially enhancing lamb immunity. Ruminal fermentation improved with lower pH, ammonia nitrogen (NH₃–N) and protozoa counts, while total volatile fatty acids (TVFA) and acetate concentrations increased. Blood analysis revealed improved metabolic health with lower glucose, albumin and cholesterol levels and increased total protein levels. Glucose tolerance tests showed lower glucose and insulin levels, with reduced areas under the curve (AUC) for both glucose and insulin in CNM-supplemented ewes. These results suggest that maternal CNM supplementation enhances health and productivity during the transition period, benefiting both ewes and their offspring.

Rumen protective choline (RPC) has drawn much attention for its significant impact on dairy cow metabolism and performance. Yet, its high cost hinders large-scale application. Chromium propionate (CrPr) is a cost-effective micronutrient supplement that enhances energy metabolism. However, the combined effect of RPC and CrPr on transition cows remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effects of RPC and CrPr co-supplementation versus RPC alone on health and lactation performance in transition cows. 120 transition Holstein cows were randomly divided into four groups (n = 30): Control (basal diet), CrPr (20 g/cow/day CrPr), RPC (60 g/cow/day RPC), and CrPr + RPC groups (20 g/cow/day CrPr + 30 g/cow/day RPC). The feeding lasted from 30 days prepartum to 21 days postpartum. Blood parameters (immune and oxidative markers) were assessed at −30, −21, 1, 14, and 21 days relative to calving. Milk was collected on days 7, 14, and 21 postpartum for its nutritional composition analysis. The results showed that RPC alone or in combination with CrPr significantly increased dry matter intake, rumination time, milk yield, and milk quality in transition cows and both treatments improved immune function (IgG, IgM) and antioxidant status (T-AOC, SOD, MDA, CAT). Importantly, all supplemented groups showed reduced incidence of ketosis, ruminal acidosis, milk fever, and mastitis during the first 150 lactation days. These findings demonstrate that CrPr+RPC co-supplementation achieved comparable effects to RPC alone in enhancing transition cow performance and health. This combined strategy offers a cost-effective alternative to improve metabolic health and farm profitability.

This study investigated the effects of dietary supplementation with micelle silymarin (MS) on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, gas emissions, and blood profile of growing-finishing pigs. The objective was to evaluate whether different levels of MS in the diet could enhance overall pig performance and health outcomes. A total of 140 growing pigs, with an average body weight (BW) of 25.4 ± 4.34 kg, were randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups: CON (basal diet), TRT1 (basal diet + 0.025% MS), TRT2 (basal diet + 0.05% MS), and TRT3 (basal diet + 0.1% MS). Each group had seven replicates, with five pigs per replicate. The feeding trial lasted for 15 weeks. Growth performance, nutrient digestibility, gas emissions, fecal scores, and blood profiles were assessed. Dietary supplementation with MS resulted in linear improvements in BW at Weeks 5, 10 and 15, as well as average daily gain (ADG) throughout the experiment (p < 0.05). There was also a significant increase on average daily feed intake (ADFI) at Week 5 (p < 0.05). No significant effects on nutrient digestibility were observed (p > 0.05). However, there was a trend toward reduced ammonia gas emissions (p = 0.0945), and fecal scores remained unchanged (p > 0.05). A significant quadratic change in aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels was observed in the blood profile (p = 0.0430). MS supplementation, especially at higher doses, improved growth performance and showed a tendency to reduce ammonia gas emissions in growing-finishing pigs. These findings suggest that MS could be a valuable dietary additive in pig production, offering both performance benefits and potential environmental advantages.