Search Results (9)

Peripheral blood has been always used as the mirror of physiological status in a minimally invasive manner. In homeothermic vertebrates, different blood parameters have been correlated to a variety of biochemical and physiological processes and the establishment of physiological values have rendered them valuable indicators for research, diagnosis, and welfare status. Despite the volume of research in fish physiology and teleost significance for food security, information about the physiological values of minimally invasive biomarkers is still fragmented while there is a great need for such biomarkers for monitoring fish health, welfare, and factors that can impact their homeostasis. For the first time, we have focused on determining the physiological ranges of cholesterol, triglycerides, and total proteins in the plasma of gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) and detecting how size, diet, environment, and genetic background may influence these levels. A large heterogeneous dataset of 5318 healthy individuals of two different size classes (1–100 g; 101–200 g), dietary status (10 feeds and feeding regimes), and different genetic background (125 families), in combination with different geographic locations (GxE), was produced over a period of three years and analyzed to ensure a comprehensive representation in establishing the physiological range for these biomarkers. Dietary status and GxE introduced significant variations in the range of the physiological values of all biomarkers in both size classes. Triglyceride, total protein and cholesterol values did differentiate with age/size. Interestingly, all parameters responded to diet in a size-specific way, revealing their potential as biomarkers of dietary status. Full article

The health benefits of grass-fed beef are well documented. However, the rumen microbiome features in beef steers raised in a grass-fed regimen have yet to be identified. This study examined the rumen microbiome profile in the feeding regimes. Our findings show that the rumen microbiome of the grass-fed cattle demonstrated greater species diversity and harbored significantly higher microbial alpha diversity, including multiple species richness and evenness indices, than the grain-fed cattle. Global network analysis unveiled that grass-fed cattle’s rumen microbial interaction networks had higher modularity, suggesting a more resilient and stable microbial community under this feeding regimen. Using the analysis of compositions of microbiomes with a bias correction (ANCOM-BC) algorithm, the abundance of multiple unclassified genera, such as those belonging to Planctomycetes, LD1-PB3, SR1, Lachnospira, and Sutterella, were significantly enriched in the rumen of grass-fed steers. Sutterella was also the critical genus able to distinguish the two feeding regimens by Random Forest. A rumen microbial predictor consisting of an unclassified genus in the candidate division SR1 (numerator) and an unclassified genus in the order Bacteroidales (denominator) accurately distinguished the two feeding schemes. Multiple microbial signatures or balances strongly correlated with various levels of SCFA in the rumen. For example, a balance represented by the log abundance ratio of Sutterella to Desulfovibrio was strongly associated with acetate-to-propionate proportions in the rumen (R² = 0.87), which could be developed as a valuable biomarker for optimizing milk fat yield and cattle growth. Therefore, our findings provided novel insights into microbial interactions in the rumen under different feed schemes and their ecophysiological implications. These findings will help to develop rumen manipulation strategies to improve feed conversion ratios and average daily weight gains for grass- or pasture-fed cattle production. Full article

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of two different feeding systems, a control or a flaxseed and lupin diet (experimental), for a sheep flock, on the microbiota and metabolome of Kefalograviera cheese samples produced by their milk. In particular, the microbiota present in Kefalograviera cheese samples was analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, while ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS) was applied to investigate the chemical profile of the cheeses, considering the different feeding systems applied. The metagenomic profile was found to be altered by the experimental feeding system and significantly correlated to specific cheese metabolites, with Streptococcaceae and Lactobacillaceae establishing positive and negative correlations with the discriminant metabolites. Overall, more than 120 features were annotated and identified with high confidence level across the samples while most of them belonged to specific chemical classes. Characteristic analytes detected in different concentrations in the experimental cheese samples including arabinose, dulcitol, hypoxanthine, itaconic acid, L-arginine, L-glutamine and succinic acid. Therefore, taken together, our results provide an extensive foodomics approach for Kefalograviera cheese samples from different feeding regimes, investigating the metabolomic and metagenomic biomarkers that could be used to foresee, improve, and control cheese ripening outcomes, demonstrating the quality of the experimental Kefalograviera cheese. Full article

Sulla is a tanniferous legume species largely used as fresh or preserved forage in the ruminants’ diets. Due to its content in polyphenols with antioxidant activity, especially condensed tannins (CT), fresh sulla forage (FSF), when eaten by ruminants, is able to enrich animal products with antioxidant molecules and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) that are beneficial for consumers’ health. Dehydration represents a valid alternative to haymaking to preserve these properties also in periods when FSF is unavailable. In this research, the effects of ewes’ diets based on sulla hay (SH), pelleted dehydrated sulla forage (DSF) or FSF were evaluated on cheese physico-chemical traits, including fatty acid (FA) profile, vitamins A and E, polyphenols, antioxidant capacity and oxidative stability. The individual daily milk from 10 first lambing (FL) and 10 third lambing (TL) Valle del Belìce ewes at about 60 days in milk, divided homogeneously into 5 groups fed different diets in a partial 5 × 2 Latin square design with 2 phases, and the bulk milk of farming ewes fed only on natural pasture, were used in 2 sessions of micro cheese-making to manufacture cheeses, sampled at 48 h of ripening. The experimental diets were: SHL = SH ad libitum; DSF2 = 2 kg/day DSF per head plus SH ad libitum; FSF2 = 2 kg/day FSF per head plus SH ad libitum; FSF4 = 4 kg/day FSF per head plus SH ad libitum; FSFL = FSF ad libitum. Concentrate was supplied at the amount of 0.8 or 1.2 kg/day per head for FL and TL, respectively. Cheese health properties greatly improved with FSFL diet, based on the exclusive use of fresh forage, that induced the increase in the content of molecules with antioxidant activity, as vitamin A, vitamin E and polyphenols, enhancing the oxidative stability, and the level of PUFA as rumenic acid (C18:2 c9t11) and α-linolenic acid (ALA, C18:3n-3). Cheeses from the DSF2 group showed levels of vitamin A, vitamin E and PUFA higher than SHL cheeses and comparable to those of FSF4 cheeses, whereas their ALA content was not different from that of FSFL cheeses. Evaluating those molecules affected by the level of fresh forage in the diet for their ability to trace the animals’ feeding regime, ALA and its ratio with linoleic acid (LA, C18:2n-6) (LA/ALA) exhibited an effective role as biomarker in discriminating cheese from animals fed fresh forage-based diets. The results showed how dehydrated sulla pellets, as an alternative to hay in periods of limited availability of fresh forage, can preserve the nutritional and health properties of dairy products with regards to their antioxidant capacity and FA profile. Full article

The production performance and disease resistance of laying hens decrease obviously with age. This study aimed to investigate the effects of supplementary Lactobacillus salivarius (L. salivarius) SNK-6 on laying performance, the immune-related gene expression in cecal tonsil, and the cecal microbial composition of laying hens. Here, 384 Xinyang black commercial hens (55 weeks old) were randomly allocated to three groups under the same husbandry and dietary regimes: basal diet (Con), the low L. salivarius SNK-6 group (T1: 1.0 × 10⁶ CFU/g), and the high L. salivarius SNK-6 group (T2: 1.0 × 10⁷ CFU/g). The results showed that the feed intake and broken-egg rate in the T1 group were significantly higher than the Con group (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, expressions of intestinal mucosal immune-related genes were significantly upregulated. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing indicated that supplementary L. salivarius SNK-6 had no significant difference in α -diversity and only displayed a trend difference in the β-diversity of cecal microbiota (p = 0.07). LEfSe and random forest were further used to identify bacteria family Enterobacteriaceae, order RF39, genera Ochrobactrum, and Eubacterium as biomarkers between the Con and T1 groups. Genera Ochrobactrum, which had high relative abundance and nodal degree in the T1 and T2 groups, showed a significant positive correlation with the expression of TLR-6, IL-10, MHC-II, and CD40 in cecal tonsils and might play a critical role in activating the host intestinal mucosal immune responses. Overall, dietary supplementary L. salivarius SNK-6 can display an immunomodulatory function, possibly by regulating cecal microbial composition. However, the changes in immune responses may be at the expenditure of corresponding production performance, which needs to be weighed up in practical application. Full article

Hay milk is a traditional dairy product recently launched on the market. It is protected as “traditional specialty guaranteed” (TSG) and subjected to strict regulations. One of the most important restrictions is that the cow’s feed ration must be free from silage. There is the need for analytical methods that can discriminate milk obtained from a feeding regime including silage. This study proposes two analytical approaches to assess the authenticity of hay milk. Hay milk and milk from cows fed either with maize or grass silage were analyzed by targeted GC-MS for cyclopropane fatty acid (dihydrosterculic acid, DHSA) detection, since this fatty acid is strictly related to the bacterial strains found in silage, and by HPLC-HRMS. The presence of DHSA was correlated to the presence of maize silage in the feed, whereas it was ambiguous with grass silage. HPLC-HRMS analysis resulted in the identification of 14 triacylglycerol biomarkers in milk. With the use of these biomarkers and multivariate statistical analysis, we were able to predict the use of maize and grass silage in the cow’s diet with 100% recognition. Our findings suggest that the use of analytical approaches based on HRMS is a viable authentication method for hay milk. Full article

The retinol and α-tocopherol concentrations were quantified (μg/mL) using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in both plasma and milk of goats from three management systems. The aim was to investigate if the compounds pass from feed to animals’ fluids and to evaluate their potential use as feeding regime biomarkers. A total of 45 Payoya dams were distributed in three groups according to management system during the first month of lactation: mountain grazing (MG), cultivated meadow (CM) and total mixed ration (TMR). TMR group had higher concentrations of retinol in both plasma (25.92 ± 3.61 at 30 days postpartum) and milk (8.26 ± 0.79 at 10 days postpartum), and they were also the unique animals whose milk contained detectable concentrations of α-tocopherol (3.15 ± 0.19 at parturition). However, MG and CM goats showed higher plasma concentrations of α-tocopherol (64.26 ± 14.56 and 44.65 ± 5.75 at 30 days postpartum, respectively). These results could imply differences in the bioavailability of supplemented vitamin A and natural β-carotene and between the natural/synthetic forms of α-tocopherol. An inverse relationship between the fluids (plasma/milk) in the contents of α-tocopherol and retinol was observed as lactation progressed. Since 80% of the animals were correctly classified using a discriminant analysis based on these vitamins, these compounds could be used as traceability biomarkers of feeding system, but further studies are necessary to know the possible passage to kid meat. Full article

Acipenser stellatus is a critically endangered species due to the anthropic influence. It has been intensively captured for decades because of its high economic value, its roe being used in the caviar industry. Therefore, Acipenser stellatus is intensively raised in fish farms for both conservation and economical purposes. Aquaculture aims to optimize the feeding regime of juveniles in order to improve its profitability. The purpose of this study was to investigate if Acipenser stellatus can adapt to a starvation/refeeding regime by assessing the effects of this regime on oxidative stress biomarkers and antioxidant defense mechanisms in juveniles raised under aquaculture conditions. The juveniles were subjected to two regimes: a 7-day starvation period followed by 21 days of refeeding, respectively a 14-day starvation period followed by 21 days of refeeding. The results showed that both starvation/refeeding regimes induced an enhancement of antioxidant enzymes activities in the intestine of the juveniles. The oxidative damage was counteracted at the protein level. However, lipid peroxidation was significantly induced in the intestine of the juveniles subjected to 14/21-day starvation/refeeding regime. The 7/21-day starvation/refeeding regime proved to be more suitable for Acipenser stellatus and therefore, it could be useful to optimize the feeding practice in aquaculture production. Full article

In order to reduce dietary nitrogen and achieve an efficient protein deposition as well as decrease N wastage, we challenged the nutrient utilization efficiency of two different producing types in front of a dietary crude protein (CP) restriction and studied the role of the microbiota in such an adaptation process. Therefore, 32 pure castrated male Duroc (DU) and 32 entire male hybrid (F2) piglets were raised in a three-phase feeding regime. At each phase, two iso caloric diets differing in CP content, also known as normal protein (NP) and low protein (LP), were fed to the animals. LP diets had a fixed restriction (2%) in CP content in regards to NP ones throughout the phases of the experiment. At the end of third phase, fecal samples were collected for microbiota analysis purposes and greenhouse gases emissions, together with ammonia, were tested. No changes were found in average daily feed intake (ADFI) of animals of two producing types (Duroc vs. F2) or those consumed different experimental diets (NP vs. LP) throughout the course of study. However, at the end of each experimental phase the average body weight (BW) of hybrid animals were higher compared to Duroc pigs, whereas a reverse trend was observed for average daily gain (ADG), where Duroc pigs showed greater values with respect to hybrid ones. Despite, greater CH₄ and ammonia emissions in Duroc pigs with respect to F2, no significant differences were found in contaminant gases emissions between diets. Moreover, LP diets did not alter the microbial community structure, in terms of diversity, although some genera were affected by the dietary challenge. Results suggest that the impact of reducing 2% of CP content was limited for reduction in contaminant gases emissions and highlight the hypothesis that moderate change in the dietary protein levels can be overcome by long-term adaptation of the gut microbiota. Overall, the influence of the producing type on performance and digestive microbiota composition was more pronounced than the dietary effect. However, both producing types responded differently to CP restriction. The use of fecal microbiota as biomarker for predicting feed efficiency has a great potential that should be completed with robust predictive models to achieve consistent and valid results. Full article