Search

This study aimed to elucidate the response of broiler chickens to the dietary nano-zinc supplementation in terms of immune response and antioxidant activity. Ninety-one-day-old chicks (Ross 308) were randomly assigned to one of three dietary treatments in three replicates, in a feeding trial that lasted for 5 weeks. Birds were fed a basal diet supplemented with inorganic zinc oxide at 40 mg/kg diet (control), zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) at 40 mg/kg diet (ZN1), or ZnONPs at 80 mg/kg diet (ZN2). Birds were injected with DNP-KLH at the 7th and 21st days from the beginning of the experiment, and blood samples were collected on days 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35 to determine the levels of immunoglobulin Y (IgY) and malondialdehyde as well as the antioxidant enzyme activities. Cellular immunity was assayed by estimation of phagocytic percentage and index of peripheral monocytes of blood and estimation of the T lymphocyte activity using a lymphocyte transformation test. The results showed that feeding broiler chickens a diet supplemented with ZnONPs increased (p

The present study was conducted to replace fish meal with alternative plant protein sources in aquafeeds. Therefore, soybean meal (SBM), corn gluten meal (CGM), and mix of SBM + CGM were used as alternatives to fish meal (FM) with or without betaine (B) in Nile tilapia diets. Positive control diet using FM and six other diets were formulated to contain SBM, SBM + B, CGM, CGM + B, SBM + CGM, or SBM + CGM + B. Dietary B improved fish growth and body protein content in comparison to the control and equal to fish fed FM-based diet. Reduced FCR and body fat content were observed in the case of fish fed FM, SBM + B, CGM + B, or SBM + CGM + B diets. The survival rate was significantly increased in the group of fish fed SBM + CGM + B when compared to fish fed CGM diet (P = 0.013) while no significant differences were reported among the other groups (P > 0.05). Markedly increased intestinal villi length and the number of goblet cells were found in FM, SBM+B, CGM+B, and SBM+CGM+B groups (P

The aim of current study was to determine the effect of dietary omega 3 fatty acids (FA) mainly eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) on inflammatory response of post calving cows during transition to lactation. Twenty Holstein lactating cows were assigned into two groups (10 each). The two groups fed on the basal diet while one of them was supplemented with 70 g of omega-3 FA per cow. The supplement was added to the diet from the 1 ST day of calving till the 60 th days of lactation. Blood samples were taken 3 times weekly from the 2 nd to the 4 th week post calving. The blood samples were analyzed for glucose, insulin, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), beta hydroxyl butyric acid (BHBA), C- reactive protein (CRP), haptoglobin, albumin and globulin. Feeding omega-3 FAs significantly increased (P

The present study investigated the influence of altering omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acids (FA) ratio on growth, hemato- biochemical parameters and absorptive capacity of Nile tilapia. One hundred and fifty fingerlings (25.1±0.3 g), were assigned into 3 groups (5 replicates each) and fed on iso-caloric and iso-nitrogenous diets. Diets were supplemented with fish and soy oil to create 3 different ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 FA, namely, 0.91, 2.85 and 9.3 parts of omega 6 to 1 part of omega 3 (R1, R3 and R9, respectively). Increasing the ratio from R1 to R9 significantly decreased average daily gain and increased feed conversion ratio. Also this alteration decreased ash content in the carcass on the expense of ether extract. Number of erythrocytes, packed cell volume, hemoglobin concentration were significantly increased in fish fed R1. Feeding R9 increased heterophils and decreased lymphocytes as compared with R1 and R3. Fish fed R1 significantly had high serum protein and serum antibacterial activity (47.6%) than R9 (43.5%) and R3 (44.9%). Feeding R1 significantly decreased serum triglycerides, cholesterol and creatinine. Feeding R3 and R1 enhanced absorptive capacity of jejunum villi more than the group fed R9. Increasing the ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 FA from R1 to R9 decreased growth performance through decreasing absorptive capacity of jejunum villi. However, Feeding R3 had a positive effect on growth performance and absorptive capacity of the intestine of Nile tilapia. Key words : fish oil; growth performance; intestinal villi; Nile tilapia; soybean oil

The current experiment was randomly designed in a 2A—2 factorial design. Two dietary protein sources were utilized; fish meal and soybean meal; with betaine incorporation to both of them. This study aimed to determine the impact of incorporation of betaine into soybean meal-based (SBM) diets through its effects on growth performance, intestinal healthiness and expression of some lipid metabolism- and growth-related genes. Fish (19.84±0.20 g) were stocked in 12 aquaria and allotted into triplicate four groups (10 fish per aquarium). Four test diets were formulated to contain fish meal (FM) as a positive control, FM with betaine (FM + Betaine), SBM diet and SBM with betaine (SBM + Betaine), respectively. After 60 days, dietary betaine improved the growth performance of fish fed FM or SBM as revealed by higher final body weight, body weight gain and average daily gain and lower feed conversion ratio. Monitoring the whole-body composition revealed that addition of betaine to diet relatively augmented flesh protein content and reduced its fat content. In addition, betaine incorporation in diets significantly ( P

The experiment designed to study the influences of nutritional eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) fatty acids (FA) on performance, egg yolk fat characteristics and FA profile in laying hens. From 30 to 36 weeks of age, 180 laying hens were allotted randomly to 2 dietary treatments, each of 6 replicates (15 birds for each replicate). The control diet was supplied with soy oil while the experimental diet was supplied with EPA and DHA to create 2 different ratio of n-6 to n-3 FA (18.8:1 and 5:1, respectively). The egg production % was recorded daily. The eggs were weighed to estimate egg mass. Also, feed consumption was recorded daily and the feed conversion ratio (FCR) was estimated. The FA profile of egg yolk was determined in the last week of the experiment. The dietary EPA and DHA resulted in significantly higher egg production (76.89 versus 67.23%), weightier egg mass (42.46 versus 37. 72 g) and lower FCR (2.49 versus 2.72) than the control. Also, supplying the dietary EPA and DHA was reflected in increasing of total polyunsaturated and n-3 FA in the eggs. Moreover, reducing the ratio of n-6 to n-3 FA to 5:1 decreased egg triglycerides, total cholesterol and cholesterol associated with low density lipoprotein and very low density lipoprotein. In conclusion, supplying EPA and DHA in the diet of laying hens positively influences performance, egg yolk FA profile and cholesterol. Practically, EPA and DHA could be used in laying hen diets to improve their performance and enhance public health of egg consumers.