The fiber level and composition have an important effect on nutrient digestibility of swine diets. Little information is known about the effects of fiber level and composition from alfalfa meal on nutrient digestibili...The fiber level and composition have an important effect on nutrient digestibility of swine diets. Little information is known about the effects of fiber level and composition from alfalfa meal on nutrient digestibility of fattening pigs fed a corn-soybean meal-based diet. The objective of this experiment was to determine the effects of alfalfa fiber on the growth performance, intestinal nutrient flow and apparent total tract digestibility（ATTD） of nutrients in fattening pigs. 24 barrows（Duroc×（Large White×Landrace）, body weight=（60.6±0.7） kg） were randomly allotted to 4 treatments with 6 replicates of 1 pig per replicate. The pigs were provided a control diet or a diet containing 5, 10 or 20% of alfalfa meal during a 14-d experiment period. Average daily gain（ADG） and the ATTD of dry matter（DM）, organic matter（OM）, crude protein（CP）, neutral detergent fiber（NDF）, acid detergent fiber（ADF） and gross energy（GE） reduced linearly as the level of alfalfa meal in the diet increased（P〈0.01）. The total tract flow of DM, OM, CP, NDF, ADF, and GE increased with the increase in dietary alfalfa（linear, P〈0.05）. Growth performance and nutrient digestion were not affected by inclusion of 5% alfalfa meal in the diet（P〉0.05）. A multiple linear regression analysis, taking into account both soluble and insoluble fiber intake, explained approximately 70% of the variation in the ATTD of DM, OM, NDF, and GE（P〈0.01）. In conclusion, alfalfa meal should be limited to less than 5% of the diet in fattening pigs to maximize growth performance and nutrient digestion. Soluble and insoluble fiber from alfalfa meal has the differential roles in nutrient digestion, which may help explain the main variation observed in nutrient digestibility. These findings suggest that knowledge of specific fiber components is necessary to accurately predict the effects of dietary fiber on nutrient digestibility.展开更多
Alginate oligosaccharides(AOS), belonging to the class of functional marine oligosaccharides, are low-molecular polymers linked by β-1,4-mannuronic acid(M) and α-1,4-guluronic acid(G), which could be classically obt...Alginate oligosaccharides(AOS), belonging to the class of functional marine oligosaccharides, are low-molecular polymers linked by β-1,4-mannuronic acid(M) and α-1,4-guluronic acid(G), which could be classically obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis of alginate. With low viscosity and good water solubility, as well as anti-oxidant, immune regulation, anti-bacterial and antiinflammatory activities, AOS have been widely used in medical science and functional food, green agriculture and other fields. As new bio-feed additives, AOS have broad potential applications in animal husbandry. In this review, the sources of alginate, chemical structure and preparation methods of AOS, and their biological activities and application in livestock and poultry are summarized. We expect this review could contribute to lay a foundation of application and further research for AOS in livestock and poultry.展开更多
Farm animals are sources of meat, milk and eggs for the humans, and animal health ensures the quality and security of these agricultural and sideline products. The animal raising conditions in livestock stations and p...Farm animals are sources of meat, milk and eggs for the humans, and animal health ensures the quality and security of these agricultural and sideline products. The animal raising conditions in livestock stations and poultry houses play vital roles in both animal health and production. One of the major factors affecting raising conditions, relative humidity, has not received much attention even though it is important for animal husbandry. In this review, we summarize the impacts of relative humidity on animal health and welfare to draw attention for its importance in the improvement of animal raising conditions in the future.展开更多
Here, we investigated the effect of dietary arginine（Arg） supplementation on innate immunity and the antioxidant ability of broiler chickens. The experiment was designed as a single-factorial arrangement（n=8 cages/...Here, we investigated the effect of dietary arginine（Arg） supplementation on innate immunity and the antioxidant ability of broiler chickens. The experiment was designed as a single-factorial arrangement（n=8 cages/treatment, six birds/cage）, and we used four dietary Arg concentrations（10.0, 15.0, 20.0 or 25.0 g kg–1）. On day 21, the birds were killed to obtain spleen, cecal tonsil and liver samples to determine the gene expression and antioxidant characteristics. Increasing the Arg concentration linearly decreased（P0.05） the m RNA expression of splenic interleukin-18（IL-18） and tumor necrosis factor-α（TNF-α）. Dietary Arg supplementation quadratically decreased（P0.05） the expression of interleukin-1b（IL-1b） and interferon-γ（IFN-γ） m RNA in the spleen. Increasing Arg concentrations linearly and quadratically reduced the expression of IL-18 m RNA in the spleen. Meanwhile, increasing dietary Arg supplementation linearly and quadratically increased the lymphotactin m RNA（P0.05） expression, and linearly increased the macrophage inflammatory protein-1β（MIP-1β） and toll-like receptor 15（TLR15） m RNA expression in the cecal tonsils. Dietary Arg supplementation linearly（P0.05） increased the glutathione peroxidase（GSH-Px）, catalase（CAT）, and lysozyme（LZM） activities in the liver. However, the malondialdehyde（MDA） activity in the liver was not influenced by the dietary Arg concentration（P0.05）. No significant（P0.05） effect was found on the activity of superoxide dismutase（SOD） in the liver. Thus high levels of Arg supplementation（20.0 g kg^（–1）） may potentially suppress the innate immunity of broiler chickens, and dietary Arg supplementation enhances the antioxidant activity in broiler chickens.展开更多
Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of fiber level from alfalfa meal and sampling time on the apparent ileal digestibility（AID） and standardized ileal digestibility（SID） of amino acids（AA） in...Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of fiber level from alfalfa meal and sampling time on the apparent ileal digestibility（AID） and standardized ileal digestibility（SID） of amino acids（AA） in growing pigs. A total of 24 ileal-cannulated pigs（Duroc×（Large White×Landrace） with body weight（21.4±1.5） kg） were randomly allotted to 4 treatments. The pigs were provided a corn-soybean meal diet or a diet containing 5, 10 or 20% of alfalfa meal during two 10-d experimental periods. The AID of AA was measured. Six ileal-cannulated pigs were fed a protein-free diet in order to estimate the endogenous protein losses and SID of AA. Ileal AA digestibility was not affected by inclusion of 5 or 10% alfalfa meal in the diet（P〉0.05）. The AID of His, Lys, Met, Phe, Thr, Val, Ala, Asp, Cys, Gly, Pro, Ser and Tyr reduced by 2.0–6.8% with the addition level of alfalfa meal（linear, P〈0.05）. The SID of His, Lys, Ser, Thr and Tyr decreased by 2.2–4.3% as the level of alfalfa meal in the diet increased（linear, P〈0.05）. The AID and SID of AA were not affected by the sampling time（P〉0.05）. A multiple linear regression analysis, taking into account both the soluble and insoluble fiber content in the diets, explained more than 36% of variation in SID of Ser and Thr（P〈0.05）. In conclusion, the corn-soybean meal diet containing 10% of alfalfa meal did not affect ileal AA digestion. The AID and SID of AA were similar between two sampling times. Increasing the concentration of total dietary fiber from 12.3 to 21.4% by adding graded levels of alfalfa meal（0–20%） to a corn-soybean meal control diet induced a linear reduction in AID and SID of most AA. Soluble and insoluble fibers from alfalfa meal have differential roles in the AA digestion, which may help explain the variation observed in the SID of partial AA. These findings would provide important information for dietary fiber level and composition related to AA digestion.展开更多
基金the Project of State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Ministry of Science and Technology, China (2004DA125184G1104)the Special Fund for Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest, Ministry of Agriculture, China (200903006)the National Key Technology R&D Program of China (2012BAD39B01)
文摘The fiber level and composition have an important effect on nutrient digestibility of swine diets. Little information is known about the effects of fiber level and composition from alfalfa meal on nutrient digestibility of fattening pigs fed a corn-soybean meal-based diet. The objective of this experiment was to determine the effects of alfalfa fiber on the growth performance, intestinal nutrient flow and apparent total tract digestibility（ATTD） of nutrients in fattening pigs. 24 barrows（Duroc×（Large White×Landrace）, body weight=（60.6±0.7） kg） were randomly allotted to 4 treatments with 6 replicates of 1 pig per replicate. The pigs were provided a control diet or a diet containing 5, 10 or 20% of alfalfa meal during a 14-d experiment period. Average daily gain（ADG） and the ATTD of dry matter（DM）, organic matter（OM）, crude protein（CP）, neutral detergent fiber（NDF）, acid detergent fiber（ADF） and gross energy（GE） reduced linearly as the level of alfalfa meal in the diet increased（P〈0.01）. The total tract flow of DM, OM, CP, NDF, ADF, and GE increased with the increase in dietary alfalfa（linear, P〈0.05）. Growth performance and nutrient digestion were not affected by inclusion of 5% alfalfa meal in the diet（P〉0.05）. A multiple linear regression analysis, taking into account both soluble and insoluble fiber intake, explained approximately 70% of the variation in the ATTD of DM, OM, NDF, and GE（P〈0.01）. In conclusion, alfalfa meal should be limited to less than 5% of the diet in fattening pigs to maximize growth performance and nutrient digestion. Soluble and insoluble fiber from alfalfa meal has the differential roles in nutrient digestion, which may help explain the main variation observed in nutrient digestibility. These findings suggest that knowledge of specific fiber components is necessary to accurately predict the effects of dietary fiber on nutrient digestibility.
基金the National Key R&D Program of China (2016YFD0500501)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31772641)the Basic Science and Research Funding of Institute of Animal Sciences of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China (2018-YWF-YB-11)。
文摘Alginate oligosaccharides(AOS), belonging to the class of functional marine oligosaccharides, are low-molecular polymers linked by β-1,4-mannuronic acid(M) and α-1,4-guluronic acid(G), which could be classically obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis of alginate. With low viscosity and good water solubility, as well as anti-oxidant, immune regulation, anti-bacterial and antiinflammatory activities, AOS have been widely used in medical science and functional food, green agriculture and other fields. As new bio-feed additives, AOS have broad potential applications in animal husbandry. In this review, the sources of alginate, chemical structure and preparation methods of AOS, and their biological activities and application in livestock and poultry are summarized. We expect this review could contribute to lay a foundation of application and further research for AOS in livestock and poultry.
基金provided by the National Key R&D Program of China(2016YFD0500501)the National Science and Technology Support Program of China(2012BAD39B02)the Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program,China(ASTIP-IAS07)
文摘Farm animals are sources of meat, milk and eggs for the humans, and animal health ensures the quality and security of these agricultural and sideline products. The animal raising conditions in livestock stations and poultry houses play vital roles in both animal health and production. One of the major factors affecting raising conditions, relative humidity, has not received much attention even though it is important for animal husbandry. In this review, we summarize the impacts of relative humidity on animal health and welfare to draw attention for its importance in the improvement of animal raising conditions in the future.
基金supported by the Laboratory of Animal Nutrition,Institute of Animal Sciences,Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences(CAAS)supported by the National Key Technology R&D Program of China(2012BAD39B01)the Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program of CAAS(ASTIP-IAS07)in China
文摘Here, we investigated the effect of dietary arginine（Arg） supplementation on innate immunity and the antioxidant ability of broiler chickens. The experiment was designed as a single-factorial arrangement（n=8 cages/treatment, six birds/cage）, and we used four dietary Arg concentrations（10.0, 15.0, 20.0 or 25.0 g kg–1）. On day 21, the birds were killed to obtain spleen, cecal tonsil and liver samples to determine the gene expression and antioxidant characteristics. Increasing the Arg concentration linearly decreased（P0.05） the m RNA expression of splenic interleukin-18（IL-18） and tumor necrosis factor-α（TNF-α）. Dietary Arg supplementation quadratically decreased（P0.05） the expression of interleukin-1b（IL-1b） and interferon-γ（IFN-γ） m RNA in the spleen. Increasing Arg concentrations linearly and quadratically reduced the expression of IL-18 m RNA in the spleen. Meanwhile, increasing dietary Arg supplementation linearly and quadratically increased the lymphotactin m RNA（P0.05） expression, and linearly increased the macrophage inflammatory protein-1β（MIP-1β） and toll-like receptor 15（TLR15） m RNA expression in the cecal tonsils. Dietary Arg supplementation linearly（P0.05） increased the glutathione peroxidase（GSH-Px）, catalase（CAT）, and lysozyme（LZM） activities in the liver. However, the malondialdehyde（MDA） activity in the liver was not influenced by the dietary Arg concentration（P0.05）. No significant（P0.05） effect was found on the activity of superoxide dismutase（SOD） in the liver. Thus high levels of Arg supplementation（20.0 g kg^（–1）） may potentially suppress the innate immunity of broiler chickens, and dietary Arg supplementation enhances the antioxidant activity in broiler chickens.
基金financially supported by the Project of State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition,Ministry of Science and Technology,China(2004DA125184G1104)the Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program,Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences,China(ASTIP-IAS07)
文摘Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of fiber level from alfalfa meal and sampling time on the apparent ileal digestibility（AID） and standardized ileal digestibility（SID） of amino acids（AA） in growing pigs. A total of 24 ileal-cannulated pigs（Duroc×（Large White×Landrace） with body weight（21.4±1.5） kg） were randomly allotted to 4 treatments. The pigs were provided a corn-soybean meal diet or a diet containing 5, 10 or 20% of alfalfa meal during two 10-d experimental periods. The AID of AA was measured. Six ileal-cannulated pigs were fed a protein-free diet in order to estimate the endogenous protein losses and SID of AA. Ileal AA digestibility was not affected by inclusion of 5 or 10% alfalfa meal in the diet（P〉0.05）. The AID of His, Lys, Met, Phe, Thr, Val, Ala, Asp, Cys, Gly, Pro, Ser and Tyr reduced by 2.0–6.8% with the addition level of alfalfa meal（linear, P〈0.05）. The SID of His, Lys, Ser, Thr and Tyr decreased by 2.2–4.3% as the level of alfalfa meal in the diet increased（linear, P〈0.05）. The AID and SID of AA were not affected by the sampling time（P〉0.05）. A multiple linear regression analysis, taking into account both the soluble and insoluble fiber content in the diets, explained more than 36% of variation in SID of Ser and Thr（P〈0.05）. In conclusion, the corn-soybean meal diet containing 10% of alfalfa meal did not affect ileal AA digestion. The AID and SID of AA were similar between two sampling times. Increasing the concentration of total dietary fiber from 12.3 to 21.4% by adding graded levels of alfalfa meal（0–20%） to a corn-soybean meal control diet induced a linear reduction in AID and SID of most AA. Soluble and insoluble fibers from alfalfa meal have differential roles in the AA digestion, which may help explain the variation observed in the SID of partial AA. These findings would provide important information for dietary fiber level and composition related to AA digestion.
