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Background African swine fever (ASF) is an important disease affecting swine and has a significant economic loss in both the developed and developing world. Aim In this study, we evaluated the potential effects of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) in individual and synergistic forms to prevent and/or reduce ASF virus (ASFV) infection using in vitro feed model. Methods The cytotoxicity of MCFAs on porcine alveolar macrophages cells was evaluated by using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. The potential effects of MCFAs, including C8 (caprylic acid), C8-C6-C10 (caprylic acid-caproic acid-capric acid; 1:1:1 ratio) and C8-C10-C12 (caprylic acid-capric acid-lauric acid; 1:1:1 ratio) against a field ASFV strain isolated in the capital Hanoi of Vietnam, were further examined by real-time PCR and haemadsorption assays in in vitro feed model. Results Our results indicated that all tested products do not induce cytotoxicity at the dose of 100 μg/ml and are suitable for further in vitro examination. These products have shown a strong antiviral effect against ASFV infectivity at doses of 0.375% and 0.5%. Interestingly, the synergistic MCFAs have shown clearly their potential activities against ASFV in which at a lower dose of 0.25%, pre-treatment with product two and three induced significant increases at the level of Cq value when compared to positive control and/or product 1 (p < 0.05). However, the viral titre was not changed after 24 hours post-inoculation when compared to positive control. Our findings suggested that all tested products, both individual and synergistic forms of MCFAs, have possessed a strong anti-ASFV effect, and this effect is dose-dependence in in vitro feed model. Additionally, synergistic effects of MCFAs are more effective against ASFV when compared to individual forms. Conclusion Together, the findings in this study indicate that MCFAs, both individual and synergistic forms, inhibit against a field ASFV strain in the feed model, which may support minimizing the risk of ASF transmission in the pig population. Further studies focusing on in vivo anti-ASFV effects of MCFAs are important to bring new insight into the mode of ASFV-reduced action by these compounds in swine feed.

The inclusion of fibre-rich ingredients in diets is one possible strategy to enhance intestinal fermentation and positively impact gut ecology, barrier and immunity. Nowadays, inulin-type fructans are used as prebiotics in the feed of piglets to manipulate gut ecology for health purposes. Likewise, some by-products could be considered as sustainable and inexpensive ingredients to reduce gut disorders at weaning. In the present study, chicory root and pulp, citrus pulp, rye bran and soya hulls were tested in a three-stepin vitromodel of the piglet’s gastro-intestinal tract combining a pepsin-pancreatin hydrolysis (digestion), a dialysis step using cellulose membranes (absorption) and a colonic batch fermentation (fermentation). The fermentation kinetics, SCFA and microbiota profiles in the fermentation broth were assessed as indicators of prebiotic activity and compared with the ones of inulin. The immunomodulatory effects of fermentation supernatant (FS) were investigated in cultured intestinal porcine epithelial cells (IPEC-J2) by high-throughput quantitative PCR. Chicory root displayed a rapid and extensive fermentation and induced the second highest butyrate ratio after inulin. Citrus pulp demonstrated high acetate ratios and induced elevatedClostridiumclusters IV and XIVa levels. Chicory root and pulp FS promoted the intestinal barrier integrity with up-regulated tight and adherens junction gene expressions in comparison with inulin FS. Chicory pulp FS exerted anti-inflammatory effects in cultured IPEC-J2. The novel approach combining anin vitrofermentation model with IPEC-J2 cells highlighted that both chicory root and pulp appear to be promising ingredients and should be considered to promote intestinal health at weaning.

Background Dietary strategies such as the inclusion of prebiotics have been suggested for modulating intestinal microbiota. In piglets, this strategy could result in a reduction of post-weaning-associated disorders and the use of antibiotics. To date, mainly purified fractions have been tested for their prebiotic effects at weaning while trials of potential health-promoting effects of products and corresponding by-products remain rare. In this study, fructan- and pectin-based ingredients have been tested in a two-step in vitro model for their fermentation kinetics as well as for their short-chain fatty acid production and microbiota profiles in fermentation broth as indicators for their prebiotic activity. Results Chicory root, in contrast to chicory pulp, exhibited an extensive and rapid fermentation similar to inulin and oligofructose, although butyrate levels of root and pulp did not reach those of the purified fractions. Chicory pulp showed higher relative levels of Lactobacillus spp., Bifidobacterium spp., Clostridium cluster IV and butyryl-CoA:acetate-CoA transferase gene abundance compared to chicory root. Sugar beet pulp, orange and citrus by-products displayed extensive gas fermentation patterns, equivalent to those of purified pectin, and revealed an elevated butyrate production compared to purified pectin. Moreover, several orange and citrus by-products displayed significantly higher relative levels of Bifidobacterium spp. in comparison to purified pectin. Conclusions Chicory root and pulp as well as orange and citrus by-products appear to be promising ingredients for piglet diets for modulating intestinal fermentation for health purposes. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

The nitrogen fraction of 39 food waste streams was characterized by Kjeldahl analysis, amino acid analysis, protein analysis and racemization degree, for assessing their potential for further valorization. For every waste streams the specific nitrogen-to-protein conversion factor was calculated, allowing to assess the accurate protein content. The results indicated which streams are most rich in relevant proteins (all wastes of dairy origin, beer yeast, malted barley germs, brewing cake, rapeseed press cake, sea buckthorn spent pulp, leek leaves, parsley waste, pumpkin kernel cake, and mushroom waste), which ones have valuable proteins, but in too little amount, and also which ones are rich in proteins, but of low nutritional value. Specific data also indicated, for every waste stream, its possible use for supplementing specific amino acids. To date, this represents the most complete characterization with homogeneous methodologies of the nitrogen fraction in food waste streams ever reported in the literature and outlines in unprecedented molecular details the potentialities and the limitations of many waste streams to be used as source of proteins.

Background African swine fever (ASF) is an important disease affecting swine and has a significant economic loss on both the developed and developing world but due to the lack of vaccines, drug, and effective control measures, ASF virus remains a serious threat to global pork production. The activities of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) against viral pathogens have been reported previously. However, the effects of this family on ASFV have been not yet investigated. In this study, we evaluated the potential effects of MCFAs in individual and synergistic forms, to prevent and/or reduce ASFV infection using in vitro feed and water models. Results The potential effects of MCFAs, including C8, C6-C8-C10 (1:1:1 ratio) and C8-C10-C12 (1:1:1 ratio) against a field ASFV strain isolated in Red River Delta region of Vietnam were further examined by real-time PCR in in vitro feed and water models. All tested products have shown a strong antiviral effect against ASFV infectivity at doses of 0.375% and 0.5% in both feed and water assays. Interestingly, the synergistic MCFAs have shown clearly their potential activities against ASFV in which at lower dose of 0.25%, pre-treatment with product 2 and 3 induced significant increases at the level of Cq value when compared to positive control and/or product 1 (P in vitro examination of the anti-ASFV activities of the MCFAs. Our findings suggested that all tested products, both individual and synergistic forms of MCFAs, have possessed a strong anti-ASFV effect and this effect is dose- dependence in in vitro feed and water models. Additionally, synergistic effects of MCFAs are more effective against ASFV when compared to individual form. The further studies focusing on in vivo anti-ASFV effects of MCFAs are very important to bring new insight into the mode of ASFV-reduced action by these compounds in swine feed and water consumption.

Prebiotics can modulate gut fermentation and improve intestinal barrier function in mammals. First, inulin fermentation profile was tested in a three-step in vitro model of the piglet’s gastro-intestinal tract combining a hydrolysis – dialysis step to a batch fermentation. Then, the differential effects of digested inulin (after the hydrolysis – dialysis steps) or fermented inulin (after the fermentation step) on the expression of gut barrier and immune-related genes of IPEC-J2 cells were investigated by high-throughput qPCR. Inulin was associated with elevated short-chain fatty acids and butyrate levels. Upregulated expressions of tight and adherens junction genes were observed in IPEC-J2 cells supplemented with inulin fermentation supernatant compared to control IPEC-J2 cells and digested inulin. Therefore, metabolites arising from the fermentation process, including butyrate, could be responsible for the reinforcement of the barrier function.

Nutritional management is a promising strategy to alleviate intestinal disorders around weaning in pig production. By-products from the agro-industrial sector are major sources of dietary fibres suitable for livestock feeding and could represent potential prebiotic candidates to modulate beneficial microbiota populations and especially butyrate-producing bacteria. In the present study, chicory root and pulp, citrus pulp, rye bran and soybean hulls were tested in an in vitro batch fermentation model for their microbiota-modulating capacities in comparison to inulin, considered as positive prebiotic control. The microbiota composition in the broths after 6, 12 and 24 h of fermentation was analysed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. After 24 h, the fermentation of chicory root led to a rise in Firmicutes relative abundance, similar to inulin. Enriched Eubacterium spp. and Ruminococcus spp. levels were found for chicory root and inulin at each of the three time-points in comparison to the other ingredients. These two genera were positively correlated to butyrate production after 12 and 24 h. The tested by-products showed increased levels of Bacteroidetes after 6 h compared to inulin. At each time-point, higher relative proportions of Bacteroides spp. were found with the by-products in comparison to inulin. We can therefore suppose that inulin and chicory root supplementations promoted the Firmicutes phylum by stimulating butyrate-producing bacteria in vitro. Chicory root and inulin could therefore be considered as prebiotic ingredients to modulate butyrate production in vivo, with beneficial effects on intestinal health.

Supplementation of post-weaning diets with exogenous enzymes has been suggested to control post-weaning syndrome, by compensating for the under-developed endogenous enzyme secretory capacity and increasing nutrient digestibility in newly weaned pigs. The effect of in-feed enzymes in improving gut maturation, growth and/or health in weaned piglets is not always consistent. A systematic review and a meta-analysis were therefore conducted to determine which exogenous enzymes are most consistent in improving piglet growth and digestibility when supplemented to post-weaning diets. The mean difference effect of enzyme supplementation on growth and digestibility of dry matter (DM), gross energy (GE), crude protein (CP), and P digestibility was calculated for each study and this was used as the effect size estimate in the meta-analysis. The impact of feed enzyme supplementation on intestinal health and bone mineralization was also discussed where information was available in the literature. From a total of 90 studies included in the meta-analysis, gain to feed ratio (G:F) was improved in 55, remained un-changed in 28 and deteriorated in 7, in response to enzyme supplementation. Average daily gain, average daily feed intake and G:F was improved when phytase was supplemented in the diet. Phosphorous digestibility was increased with phytase supplementation while GE digestibility was reduced. Dietary phytase supplementation increased bone mineralization in pigs fed diets with a reduced P content. Supplementation with multi-enzyme complexes increased DM and CP digestibility. In conclusion, the most consistent improvements in piglet growth, P digestibility and bone mineralization were found due to exogenous phytase supplementation. Supplementation with xylanase alone or in combination with β-glucanase had inconsistent effects on piglet growth and nutrient digestibility. The most consistent improvements in growth and nutrient digestibility due to supplementation with multi-enzyme complexes were found when mannanase and/or protease were included in the complex.

Oat beta-Glucans were studied for their immunological impact before and after enzymatic digestion in order to enhance the efficacy of oat beta-Glucans for application in functional foods. Oat beta-Glucan is reported to have minimal impact compared to its fungal counterpart in vitro. Digestion with endo-glucanase enhanced its efficacy towards stimulating MCP-1, RANTES, IL-8, and IL-4 production in human dendritic cells as compared to the nondigested beta-Glucan. This effect resulted from an enhanced activation of the Dectin-1 receptor. Our data suggest that the immune-stimulation was dependent on the beta-(1-3) linkages and the reduced particle size of digested beta-Glucans. Thus, we show that enzymatic pre-digestion of dietary fibres such as oat beta-Glucan enhances its impact on specific immune receptors. We also demonstrate that particle size and/or molecular weight of oat beta-Glucans and exposure of specific binding sites for the receptors might be important tools for designing efficacious functional feed and food additives. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Consumption of non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) is associated with reduced risk of obesity. This study aimed to compare the effects of cereals (oats) and legumes (soybean), rich in different classes of NSP, on appetite regulation and fat accumulation in rats. Soy pectin fermented more efficient than cereal arabinoxylan in rats. Soy pectin and oat β-glucan were utilized mainly in the caecum of rats. Only small amount of maltodextrin, cello-oligosaccharides and xylo-oligosaccharides were detected in the digesta. Caecal fermentation of soy pectin produced significantly higher concentration of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) compared to the control. Retroperitoneal (RP) fat-pad weight was significantly lower for rats fed with soybean meal enriched diet than for controls. An inverse correlation between rat RP fat-pad weight and concentration (and proportion) of butyrate was observed. Consumption of soy pectin and oat β-glucan enriched foods to produce targeted SCFAs in vivo could be a potential strategy to lower fat mass accumulation and a potential tool to manage obesity.

Foodborne illness continues as a considerable threat to public health. Despite improved hygiene management systems and increased regulation, pathogenic bacteria still contaminate food, causing sporadic cases of illness and disease outbreaks worldwide. For many centuries, microbial antagonism has been used in food processing to improve food safety. An understanding of the mode of action of this microbial antagonism has been gained in recent years and potential applications in food and feed safety are now being explored. This review focuses on the potential opportunities presented, and the limitations, of using microbial antagonism as a biocontrol mechanism to reduce contamination along the food chain; including animal feed as its first link. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

This invention relates generally to compositions and methods for combating inflammatory disease and particularly to the use of food and/or feed compositions for preventing, reducing and/or treating inflammatory disorders, diseases, or discomforts, wherein the compositions comprising at least one specific pectin.

This invention relates generally to compositions and methods for combating inflammatory disease and particularly to the use of food and/or feed compositions for preventing, reducing and/or treating inflammatory disorders, diseases, or discomforts, wherein the compositions comprising at least one specific pectin.

Scope: We aimed to investigate the effects of three different soluble pectins on the digestion of other consumed carbohydrates, and the consequent alterations of microbiota composition and SCFA levels in the intestine of pigs.Methods and results: Piglets were fed a low-methyl esterified pectin enriched diet (LMP), a high-methyl esterified pectin enriched diet (HMP), a hydrothermal treated soybean meal enriched diet (aSBM) or a control diet (CONT). LMP significantly decreased the ileal digestibility of starch resulting in more starch fermentation in the proximal colon. In the ileum, low-methyl esterified pectin present was more efficiently fermented by the microbiota than high-methyl esterified pectin present which was mainly fermented by the microbiota in the proximal colon. Treated soybean meal was mainly fermented in the proximal colon and shifted the fermentation of cereal dietary fiber to more distal parts, resulting in high SCFA levels in the mid colon. LMP, HMP, and aSBM decreased the relative abundance of the genus Lactobacillus and increased that of Prevotella in the colon.Conclusion: The LMP, HMP, and aSBM, differently affected the digestion processes compared to the control diet and shaped the colonic microbiota from a Lactobacillus-dominating flora to a Prevotella-dominating community, with potential health-promoting effects.

The DNA extraction efficiency from milk, whey, soy, corn gluten meal, wheat powders and heat-treated corn grain that were spiked with Bacillus anthracis and Bacillus thuringiensis spores was determined. Two steps were critical: lysis of the spores and binding of the free DNA to the DNA binding magnetic beads in the presence of the interfering powders. For the guanidine-thiocyanate based Nuclisens lysis buffer from Biomerieux we found that between 15 and 30% of the spores survived the lysis step. As most lysis buffers in DNA/RNA extraction kits are guanidine based it is likely that other lysis buffers will show a similar partial lysis of the Bacillus spores. Our results show that soybean flour and wheat flour inhibited the DNA extraction process strongest, leading to unreliable DNA extractions when using too much of the matrix. For corn gluten meal, heat-treated corn grain and milk powders, DNA extraction efficiencies in the presence of 100mg and 10mg of powder resulted in 70%-95% reduced DNA recoveries. The inhibition was, however, reliable and intermediate compared to the inhibition by soy and wheat. Whey powder had the lowest inhibitory effect on DNA-extraction efficiency and recoveries of 70-100% could be reached when using 10mg of powder. The results show that reducing the amount of matrix leads to better DNA-extraction efficiencies, particularly for strongly inhibiting powders such as soy and wheat. Based on these results, a standard protocol to directly isolate DNA from micro-organisms present in complex matrixes such as food and feed powders was designed.

More than 15 bacteriocins of Lactobacillus plantarum have been described. However, little information has been published on the fermentation optimization of these peptides. Plantaricin 423, produced by L. plantarum 423, is produced during exponential growth and reaches a maximum activity [6000 activity units (AU)/ml] at the beginning of stationary growth (i.e. after 15 h). This activity level is maintained for 3 h, but declines to 2600 AU/ml towards the end of fermentation (i.e. after 31 h). The increase in plantaricin 423 activity coincided with a decrease in pH from 5.8 to 4.0 during the first 15 h of fermentation. However, when the number of cells are taken into account (ODmax-value), a higher concentration of plantaricin 423 is produced in medium with an initial pH of 4.90 (2961 AU/ml/ODmax) than at pH 5.80 (2368 AU/ml/ODmax). A much lower activity of plantaricin 423 was obtained during the same fermentation period (15 h) when cells were grown in MRS broth (Merck) with an initial pH of 6.9. The production of plantaricin 423 increased from 6000 AU/ml in MRS broth (Merck) to 9600, 12,800 and 19,200 AU/ml when the medium was supplemented with 1.9% (w/v) meat extract (Oxoid), 3.4% (w/v) casaminoacids (Oxoid) or 1.9% (w/v) tryptone (Oxoid), and 1.7% (w/v) bacteriological peptone (Oxoid), respectively. The activity of plantaricin 423 was even further increased with the addition of 1% (w/v) tween 80 to MRS broth (Merck). Low concentrations of MnSO4·H2O (0.014%, w/v) stimulated the growth of strain 423 and increased the activity of plantaricin 423. Although the addition of MgSO4·7H2O had the same stimulating effect on the growth of strain 423, the activity of plantaricin 423 was not increased.

Foodborne illness continues as a considerable threat to public health. Despite improved hygiene management systems and increased regulation, pathogenic bacteria still contaminate food, causing sporadic cases of illness and disease outbreaks worldwide. For many centuries, microbial antagonism has been used in food processing to improve food safety. An understanding of the mode of action of this microbial antagonism has been gained in recent years and potential applications in food and feed safety are now being explored. This review focuses on the potential opportunities presented, and the limitations, of using microbial antagonism as a biocontrol mechanism to reduce contamination along the food chain; including animal feed as its first link. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

Infected breeder pigs and contaminated feed represent potential sources of Salmonella introduction to fattening pig herds and may thereby cause human infections acquired via consumption of contaminated pork. Modelling approaches such as quantitative microbial risk assessment could improve the design of strategies for control and tracing of Salmonella in the feed chain. However, the construction of such models requires a thorough understanding of the dynamics of the feed chain, including production processes, microbial processes and transport logistics. The present article illustrates a conceptual model of Salmonella in the pig feed chain and explores the possibilities for quantitative modelling including identifying major gaps in data. Information was collected from peer-reviewed scientific journals, official documents and reports and by means of interviews with experts from authorities and the feed industry. Data on prevalence of Salmonella in different parts of the feed chain are difficult to compare as observed prevalence may be biased by variations in sampling procedures as well as limitations of the detection methods. There are almost no data on numbers of Salmonella in commodities of the feed chain, which often makes it difficult to evaluate risks, intervention strategies and sampling plans in a quantitative manner. Tracing the source of Salmonella contamination is hampered by the risk of cross-contamination as well as various mixing and partitioning events along the supply chain, which sometimes makes it impossible to trace the origin of a lot back to a batch or producer. Available information points to contaminated feed materials, animal vectors and persistent contamination of production environments as important sources of Salmonella in feed production. Technological procedures such as hydrothermal or acid treatment can be used to control Salmonella in feed production. However, a large fraction of pig feed is produced without decontamination procedures. Prevention of recontamination and control of moisture throughout the chain are thus critical factors for controlling Salmonella in feed production. To verify successful control it is necessary to have monitoring strategies able to detect low levels of Salmonella heterogeneously distributed in large volumes of feed and feed material in bulk. Experience from monitoring programs and research investigations indicates that sampling of dust and sweepings from control points along the production line is an efficient strategy to gain an indication of Salmonella contamination.

Pediocin PD-1, produced by Pediococcus damnosus NCFB 1832, is inhibitory to several food spoilage bacteria and food-borne pathogens. However, pediocin PD-1 is not active against other Pediococcus spp. and differs in this respect to other pediocins produced by Pediococcus acidilactici and Pediococcus pentosaceus. Production of pediocin PD-1 starts during early growth and reaches-a plateau at the end of exponential growth. Pediocin PD-1 was partially purified and its size was determined by tricine-SDS-PAGE as approximately 3.5 kDa. The isoelectric point (pI) of pediocin PD-1 is approximately 3.5, as determined with the Rotofor electrofocusing cell (BioRad). Pediocin PD-1 is heat-resistant (10 min at 121 degrees C) and remains active after 30 min of incubation at pH 2-10. Pediocin PD-1 is resistant to treatment with pepsin, papain, alpha-chemotrypsin and trypsin, but not Proteinase K. Pediocin PD-1 is bactericidal against sensitive cells of Oenococcus oeni (previously Leuconostoc oenos).

The present invention relates to an exopolysaccharide degrading enzyme, to enzymatic compositions capable of degrading exopolysaccharides and in particular to the reduction or removal of biofilm on surfaces and to the prevention of biofilm formation on such surfaces. More particularly, the present invention relates to the use of the enzyme and/or the enzymatic composition, comprising at least one exopolysaccharide degrading enzyme, for the reduction, removal and/or prevention of biofilm on surfaces of aqueous systems (water-bearing systems, fluid systems). The present invention further relates to a bacterial strain producing an exopolysaccharide degrading enzyme, and to the exopolysaccharide degrading enzyme prepared from a newly isolated strain of Streptomyces. Specifically, the exopolysaccharide degrading enzyme of the present invention is a colanic acid degrading enzyme.

In the present paper, 26 food waste streams were selected according to their exploitation potential and investigated in terms of pectin content. The isolated pectin, subdivided into calcium bound and alkaline extractable pectin, was fully characterized in terms of uronic acid and other sugar composition, methylation and acetylation degree. It was shown that many waste streams can be a valuable source of pectin, but also that pectin structures present a huge structural diversity, resulting in a broad range of pectin structures. These can have different physicochemical and biological properties, which are useful in a wide range of applications. Even if the data could not cover all the possible batch by batch and country variabilities, to date this represents the most complete pectin characterization from food waste streams ever reported in the literature with a homogeneous methodology.

This invention relates generally to compositions and methods for managing the body mass index, the body fat percentage and/or and/or the distribution of fat storage sites of humans and particularly to the use of food compositions for managing the body mass index, the body fat percentage and/or and/or the distribution of fat storage sites.

The current invention relates to a composition comprising a carbohydrate, whereby said carbohydrate is pectin with an esterification degree less than 65%, a feed comprising such composition and use of said composition or feed for improving the feed intake pattern in animals and humans.