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This study was carried out to investigate the interaction between humic material complex (HMC) and probiotics mixture containing Bacillus subtilis (4 × 109 CFU/ gr) and Bacillus coagulans (2 × 1011 CFU/ gr) (PSC) on growth performance, morphology and microbial population of intestine in male broiler chicks. Treatments included: (1) basal diet (control diet), (2) basal diet plus 0.02% probiotics mixture (PSC), (3) basal diet with half mineral supplement plus 0.125% HMC (HMC1), (4) basal diet with half mineral supplement plus 0.125% HMC plus 0.02% PSC (HP1), (5) basal diet without inorganic supplement plus 0.25% HMC (HMC2) and (6) basal diet without inorganic supplement plus 0.25% HMC plus 0.02% PSC (HP2). Over the whole experimental period the HP1 performance was similar to the control group. The villus length and width in the chicks fed with HP1 and the villus length ratio to crypt depth in the treatment containing HMC1 were higher than that in other treatments (P

This survey aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation of different forms of savory essential oil (SEO) on growth performance, intestinal morphology and microbial population in broiler chickens. A total of 360 one-day-old male broilers were randomly allocated to 6 dietary treatment groups with 5 replicates per treatment and 12 birds per pen. The experiment consisted of a 2×3 factorial arrangement including two different forms [encapsulated SEO (ESEO) and nonencapsulated SEO (NSEO)] in three levels (0, 150, and 300 mg/kg diet) of SEO. Growth performance, jejunal morphology and intestine microbial population were examined. Our results revealed that feed intake was not influenced by the dietary treatments in different experimental periods. As well as, the experimental diets did not influence body weight gain (BWG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) during the starter period. However, at the grower, finisher, and also whole rearing periods, broilers which received 150 mg/kg SEO had significantly higher BWG and lower FCR compared to the birds fed the control diet. The final body weight (FBW) was also higher in chickens fed with diet supplemented with 150 mg/kg SEO in comparison to the others. The results also revealed that 150 mg/kg SEO, significantly increased the concentration of Lactobacillus and decreased the intensity of coliforms in the ileal digesta in comparison to the control diet. Furthermore, villus height was significantly lower in birds fed the control diet than in the birds that consumed different levels of SEO. Eventually, the findings of this experiment revealed that dietary supplementation of SEO, especially at 150 mg/kg level, was effective in raising the populations of beneficial microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract as well as improving intestinal morphology and growth performance of broilers.

Deferasirox pyridine solvate [(DFX)(py)] and its Cu(II) complex [Cu(DFX)(py)], (DFX= deferasirox, py=pyridine) were synthesized and characterized using several techniques such as elemental analysis, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), molar conductivity and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). In addition, the structure of both compounds was determined using single-crystal X-ray diffraction method. In the case of the Cu(II) complex, it was found that the Cu(II) central ion was surrounded by the ONO donor atoms of deferasirox and the nitrogen atom of pyridine. Antimicrobial activities of the synthesized compounds were investigated against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria. Likewise, the antibiofilm activity of these compounds was investigated against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa bacteria. It was observed that the [Cu(DFX)(py)] complex presented higher antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities compared with the other compounds. The antimicrobial property of these compounds was also evaluated using molecular docking with GlcN-6-P synthase. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of the compounds was evaluated using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging method. The [Cu(DFX)(py)] complex demonstrated a strong antioxidant activity with the IC50 of 1.1 mM.

The aim of this in vitro study was to assess hydro-distillated Mentha pulegium essential oil (MPE) by composition, antioxidant capacity, and antibacterial properties and compared these indexes with synthetic antibiotics and antioxidants. The essential oil active ingredients determined by GC mass procedure while antioxidant activity determined by DPPH technique. Furthermore, by applying four bacterial strains (Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus cereus), antibacterial properties of pennyroyal was distinguished by disk diffusion, MIC, and MBC methods in different concentrations. The results showed that pennyroyal essential oil has 29 constituents so that cis-pulegone oxide, (E)-p-mentha-2-en-1-ol, and 3,3′-dimenthol being the main components. In addition, strong antimicrobial activity against all four microorganisms tested, especially on Gram positive bacteria, was distinguished, even though it was more effective in higher doses. Besides, the essence was able to reduce the stable free radical DPPH with an IC50 of 1.027 mg/mL while BHT was 20.280 μg/mL. In conclusion, pennyroyal essential oil can be a good substitution for some synthetic antibiotics and antioxidants.

The current experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of Se-chitosan as organic Se, Na selenite, vitamin E, and their various combinations on growth performance, carcass traits, meat quality, and blood indices of broiler chickens. A total of 480 one-d-old broiler chickens were randomly assigned to the Se source (inorganic and organic), Se inclusion (0.15 and 0.30 mg/kg), and vitamin E (0 and 80 IU/kg) in a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments with 5 pens per treatment and 12 broiler chickens per pen. Broiler chickens fed 0.30 mg Se/kg had a greater body weight gain and a lower feed conversion ratio at 11 to 24 d (P

A total of 288-day-old male broilers were allocated to six dietary treatments to evaluate the effects of zinc source and Bacillus coagulans supplements and their interaction on growth, intestinal microbial population, carcass traits and meat quality in broiler chickens. Three levels of dietary supplemental Zn source (100 mg/kg of DM diet zinc oxide, 25 and 50 mg/kg of diet zinc oxide nanoparticles (Zn-nan)) and two levels of B. coagulans (0 and 100 mg/kg of diet) were combined as a completely randomised design with a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement. B. coagulans increased the body weight gain, body weight and feed conversion ratio. The lactic acid producing bactereia of ileal were increased by B. coagulans supplementation, and its coliform count was decreased by Zn-nan in a dose-dependent manner. The B. coagulans increased the relative weights of legs and proventriculus and reduced weights of livers, abdominal fat and meat thiobarbituric acid (TBA) value. Likewise, dietary B. coagulans increased pH, yellowness and lightness values of leg muscles. Birds fed Zn-nan50 had lower liver weight, TBA and cooking loss and higher yellowness values than chicks fed ZnO-100. In conclusion, the dietary supplementation with B. coagulans improved broiler performance, microbial population and meat quality. The Zn-nan in lower dose could be a good substitution in mineral premix instead of zinc oxide. In addition, the Zn-nan improved intestinal microbial population, carcass characteristics and oxidative stability of chicken meat; however, the combination of two levels of Zn-nan with B. coagulans did not vary the measured parameters.

An experiment was conducted to show the effects of different levels of pennyroyal, thyme and savory essential oils dietary supplementation on performance, organs weight, intestinal morphology, and serum lipids in quails. A total of 550 day-old Japanese quail chicks were allocated into 11 dietary treatments of 5 replications (10 birds in each cage) under a randomized experimental design. The treatments were a basal diet (Control), or 3 levels (200, 300, and 400 ppm) of thyme essential oil (TO), or 3 levels (200, 300, and 400 ppm) of savory essential oil (SO), or 3 levels (200, 300, and 400 ppm) of pennyroyal essential oil (PO) added separately to the basal diet, or also the basal diet supplemented with 100 ppm of flavophospholipol. Body weight gain (BWG), feed intake (FI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were measured weekly and calculated totally for 35 d. The organs weight and morphology of intestine parts of one bird from each cage were measured on 35 d. At the same day, blood samples were collected and cholesterol and triglyceride values were separately determined for male and female quails. Although the addition of different levels of essential oils in quail's diet did not affect BWG, a significant decline in FI was observed in the group supplemented with 400 ppm of TO. At the same time, FCR significantly improved (P < 0.05) in the same group as well as in the group supplemented with the antibiotic. However, the organs weight was not significantly affected by the experimental treatments. Nevertheless, villi height of duodenum, jejunum and ileum was significantly increased and crypt depth was significantly decreased in the quails fed diets supplemented with different levels of TO and SO. The values of serum triglycerides decreased in both sexes in the groups that received diets supplemented with different levels of essential oils whereas the values of cholesterol decreased only in males of the essential oils supplemented groups. From the present observations it can be concluded that thyme and savory essential oils can improve FCR by decreasing FI through boosting the absorption of nutrients in intestine. These plant essential oils can replace antibiotic growth parameters without having any adverse effect on quail's health with thyme essential oil exerting the most effective activity.

The effects of essential oil (EO) of oregano and chitosan on the microbial quality and growth inhibition of Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli O157:H7 in the Iranian traditional ready-to-barbecue chicken was evaluated. Thus, three groups of samples were prepared. One of them was considered to evaluate for aerobic plate count (APC), lactic acid bacteria (LAB), psychrophilic and enterobacteriacae counts and the other two groups were inoculated with E. coli O157:H7 and L. monocytogenes 4b to investigate the effect of oregano EO and chitosan on pathogenic bacteria. All groups were stored at 3, 8 and 20°C. Oregano showed antibacterial effects against APC, LAB, psychrophilics, enterobacteriacae and E. coli O157:H7, whereas, such an effect was not observed against L. monocytogenes. Chitosan individually did not show an inhibitory effect on the spoilage-inducing bacteria and E. coli, but was effective against L. monocytogenes. Using chitosan and oregano EO in combination can reduce the number of spoilage and safety indicators and also the two food-borne pathogens in ready-to-barbecue chicken meat.

The enzyme rhodanese (thiosulfate:cyanide sulfurtransferase) is an ubiquitous enzyme with activity in all living organisms, from bacteria to man. It has been suggested that this enzyme plays a central role in cyanide detoxification. The purpose of this investigation was to determine rhodanese activities in different tissues of human and compare them with those found in domestic animals. Normal human tissues were obtained from consenting patients who had undergone surgery after confirmation of nonneoplastic condition. Tissue extracts were prepared from liquid nitrogen-frozen samples and rhodanese specific activity and activity per gram tissue was measured by determination of enzymatically formed thiocyanate. The highest activity of rhodanese was found in kidney, followed by liver, brain, lung, muscle, and stomach. Other tissues studied did not show significant rhodanese activity. The results obtained in this study were compared with previously reported information on domestic animals. Human liver contains lower rhodanese activity compared with ruminants and nonruminants, except for dog which has comparable hepatic activity with human. Human kidney contains significant activity and the value is higher than those of camels, pigs, dogs, and chickens and is comparable with those of goats. The results of this study might indicate the involvement of rhodanese in cyanide detoxification in tissues which might be more exposed to cyanide due to higher blood supply to these tissues. On the other hand, rhodanese might perform other functions in human organs which are specific to these tissues.

Despite the known antihistaminic effects of PSAO, this enzyme remains unrecognized as an antihistamine additive in the food industry. The objective of this study was to ascertain the plausible histamine-degrading effects of a new food-grade additive (pea seedling extract) in tuna fish. PSAO was purified from cultured pea seedlings via ionexchange and size-exclusion chromatography. SDS-PAGE results indicated that the PSAO subunit has an apparent molecular weight of about 95 kDa. To evaluate the optimized conditions for antihistaminic activity of the enzyme, the reaction of PSAO and histamine was carried out in KPi buffer under conditions relevant to the fish processing industry. 1 unit mL-1 of PSAO significantly reduced the histamine content at pH 7.0 but not at pH 5.0. Accordingly, its antihistaminic activity was assessed in homogenized skipjack tuna fish (Katsuwonus pelamis) using an ion-paired HPLC method. The results showed that PSAO can reduce 87.14% of the histamine content of the tuna fish at pH 7.0, 37°C. This study indicates that PSAO - purified or even filtrate of pea seedling homogenate - can degrade histamine, which suggests practical application of this enzyme in fish processing industry.