Role of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids,citrus pectin,and milk-derived exosomes on intestinal barrier integrity and immunity in animals

The gastrointestinal tract of livestock and poultry is prone to challenge by feedborne antigens,pathogens,and other stress factors in the farm environment.Excessive physiological inflammation and oxidative stress that arises firstly disrupts the intestinal epithelial barrier followed by other components of the gastrointestinal tract.In the present review,the interrelationship between intestinal barrier inflammation and oxidative stress that contributes to the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease was described.Further,the role of naturally existing immunomodulatory nutrients such as the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids,citrus pectin,and milk-derived exosomes in preventing intestinal barrier inflammation was discussed.Based on the existing evidence,the possible molecular mechanism of these bioactive nutrients in the intestinal barrier was outlined for application in animal diets.

Vitamin E Bioavailability: Past and Present Insights

Over the past decades several studies have investigated the importance of an adequate vitamin E status to sustain both animal health and production in dairy cows. Cow milk is considered as a remarkable source of bioactive components promoting human health, which has renewed interest in the effects of vitamin E supplementation on its nutritional value, sensory quality and shelf life. Thus, defining relative bioavailability, utilisation and transfer into milk of different vitamin E formulations is particularly important to assess the adequate levels of supplementation for animal health and milk quality. In nature vitamin E is present under one isomeric form, RRR α-tocopherol;when α-tocopherol is synthesized chemically, a racemic mixture of 8 possible isomers of α-tocopherol in equimolar concentrations is produced (all-rac α-tocopherol). The different stereoisomers have different biopotencies in humans and livestock;the conversion factor between RRR and all-rac vitamin E was estimated by early studies on the basis of the rat foetal resorption bioassay, and then extended to other species. Recent advances on the distribution of vitamin E stereoisomers in plasma and tissues have highlighted the need to formulate new conversion factors in dairy cows as well as in humans. On account of this, the present article aims to consider past and recent data related to vitamin E in dairy cow nutrition.

Tobacco Seeds By-Product as Protein Source for Piglets

Tobacco seed cake is a by-product with interesting characteristics for animal nutrition, due to its high protein content. The focus of this study is to evaluate if tobacco seed cake, administered in feed, can affect principal serum metabolic parameters of weaned piglets in order to establish if it can be used as both a delivery system of edible vaccines and an alternative protein source in piglets diet. A total of 48 weaned piglets were divided in two homogeneous groups for weight, control (CG) and treatment (TG);TG and CG were fed ad libitum with two isoenergetic and isoproteic experimental diets (CP: 17.68% CG and 17.64% TG) differentiated for the inclusion of 4% of tobacco seed cake in the TG diet in replacement of wheat bran and soybean meal. Growth performances were evaluated and feed intake was measured weekly. Blood samples were collected on days 0, 20 and 43 to evaluate hematocrit and principal metabolic parameters, in order to assess the health status of the animals. The administration of tobacco did not impaire health status and growth performance of piglets. The use of bioenergy co-products from non-food crops may represent a good approach creating an integration between biofuel and food production, with consequent benefits for food security and environmental impact.

Experimental Induction of <i>Escherichia coli</i>Diarrhoea in Weaned Piglets

Escherichia coli diarrhoea is a multifactorial condition which usually occurs during the post-weaning and is responsible for economic losses in pig production. One approach, to evaluate if substitute of antibiotic in vivo is effective in controlling postweaning diarrhea in the gastrointestinal tract ecosystem, is to use an appropriate disease model. However, there are still many criticisms related to the incidence and the severity of the diarrhoea in the experimental conditions. The aim of the study was to set up an Escherichia coli challenge model in order to induce a significant percentage of diarrhoea in weaned piglets for the evaluation of innovative compounds in vivo. A total of 35 piglets, weaned at 33±2 days were randomized into 3 groups: control (CG), infected 1 (IG1) and infected 2 (IG2). One day after arrival piglets of IG1 and IG2 were orally inoculated with 3.7 × 108 CFU of Escherichia coli O149. All piglets were fed a high protein ration for 3 days. Daily health status and faeces were recorded by a point scale individually. Challenge strains in faecal samples were evaluated by polymerase chain reaction, serotyping and biochemical identification. Diarrhoea was observed in 96.67% (58.6% severe;41.4% mild) of all infected piglets and occurred on average 1.3 days after the challenge. The CG group presented one piglet with a transient mild diarrhoea. The E. coli challenge significantly affected the consistency and color of faeces (P E. coli O149, mainly hemolytic (88%), was isolated in 56% of faecal samples and the 70% of piglets with severe diarrhoea shed E. coli O149 in the faeces. Zootechnical parameters did not show significant differences. The experimental conditions described in this study allowed to effectively induce diarrhoea in weaned piglets. In conclusion a multifactorial approach (infectious, nutritional and management) is necessary to reproduce in vivo diarrhea in piglets.