Search Results (5)

This study evaluated the synergistic effects of prebiotics containing galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) and/or mannan oligosaccharides (MOS), essential oil blend (EOB), and onion peel (OPE) on fermentation characteristics using the rumen simulation technique (RUSITEC) system. Three rumen-cannulated, non-lactating Holstein Friesian cows were the inoculum donors. The substrate used for the study was a total mixed ration (TMR), which consisted of corn silage, alfalfa hay, and concentrate at 6:2:2, respectively. Sixteen fermentation vessels were randomly allotted to four treatments with four replicates each over a 9-day period in a completely randomized design. The treatments assessed include: control [TMR only], GEO [TMR + GOS + EOB + OPE], MEO [TMR + MOS + EOB + OPE], and OLEO [TMR + OLG + EOB + OPE]. OLG comprises GOS and MOS in equal proportion. EOB was included at 3 µL/g, while OPE, GOS, MOS, and OLG were added at 30 mg/g TMR. Results showed that pH, gas volume, effluent volume, and ammonia-N were not affected (p > 0.05) by the different additives. Similarly, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and nutrient digestibility were not affected by the treatments. Compared to the control, total volatile fatty acids (VFA) were decreased (p < 0.05) by 14.8, 10.8, and 8.5% with GEO, MEO, and OLEO inclusion, respectively, while the molar proportion of acetate was increased (p = 0.011) by 3.3, 1.1, and 3.8% with GEO, MEO, and OLEO inclusion, respectively. MEO increased isobutyrate (p = 0.001) and branched chain VFA (p = 0.013) contents; however, GEO and OLEO inclusion reduced them. Overall, the interaction of EOB, OPE, GOS, and/or MOS did not affect nutrient digestibility or GHG emissions but reduced VFA production. Further research is recommended to assess the dose effect of the additives on GHG emissions and VFA production; and to determine the long-term effects of these interventions on the rumen microbiome and animal performance. Full article

(1) Exposure of intestinal epithelial cells to heat and hypoxia causes a (heat) stress response, resulting in the breakdown of epithelial integrity. There are indications that several categories of nutritional components have beneficial effects on maintaining the intestinal epithelial integrity under stress conditions. This study evaluated the effect of nine nutritional components, including non-digestible oligosaccharides (galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), chitosan oligosaccharides (COS)), antioxidants (α-lipoic acid (ALA), resveratrol (RES)), amino acids (l-glutamine (Glu), l-arginine (Arg)) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) (docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)), on heat/hypoxia-induced epithelial injury. (2) Two human colonic cell lines, Caco-2 and HT-29, were co-cultured and pre-treated with the nutritional components for 48 h. After pre-treatment, the cells were exposed to heat/hypoxia (42 °C, 5% O₂) for 2 h. Epithelial integrity was evaluated by measuring trans-epithelial electrical resistance (TEER), paracellular Lucifer Yellow (LY) permeability, and tight junction (TJ) protein expression. Heat stress and oxidative stress levels were evaluated by determining heat-shock protein-70 (HSP-70) expression and the concentration of the lipid peroxidation product malondialdehyde (MDA). (3) GOS, FOS, COS, ALA, RES, Arg, and EPA presented protective effects on epithelial damage in heat/hypoxia-exposed Caco-2/HT-29 cells by preventing the decrease in TEER, the increase in LY permeability, and/or decrease in TJ proteins zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) and claudin-3 expression. COS, RES, and EPA demonstrated anti-oxidative stress effects by suppressing the heat/hypoxia-induced MDA production, while Arg further elevated the heat/hypoxia-induced increase in HSP-70 expression. (4) This study indicates that various nutritional components have the potential to counteract heat/hypoxia-induced intestinal injury and might be interesting candidates for future in vivo studies and clinical trials in gastrointestinal disorders related to heat stress and hypoxia. Full article

This study aimed at determining how the degradation of cereal non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) by dietary enzymes during feed digestion can influence nutrient digestibility and NSP fermentability in broilers. Ninety-six one-day-old male broilers were assigned to 4 different treatments: control and enzyme-supplemented wheat-based (WC, WE) or maize-based (MC, ME) treatments. Enzyme supplementation with endo-xylanase and endo-glucanase occurred from day 20 onwards. On day 28, digesta samples were collected. Nutrient digestibility, NSP recovery, oligosaccharide profile, and short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) content were determined. Enzyme supplementation in WE resulted in a higher starch (3%; p = 0.004) and protein (5%; p = 0.002) digestion in the ileum compared to WC. Xylanase activity in WE led to in situ formations of arabinoxylan-oligosaccharides consisting of 5 to 26 pentose units in the ileum. This coincided with decreased arabinose (p = 0.059) and xylose (p = 0.036) amounts in the ceca and higher acetate (p = 0.014) and butyrate (p = 0.044) formation in WE compared to WC. Conversely, complete total tract recovery of arabinoxylan in MC and ME suggested poor maize NSP fermentability. Overall, enzyme action improved nutrient digestibility and arabinoxylan fermentability in the wheat-based diet. The lower response of the maize-based diet to enzyme treatment may be related to the recalcitrance of maize arabinoxylan as well as to the high nutritive value of maize. Full article

The present experiment was conducted to dissect the effects of different carbohydrate combinations on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and microbial communities in weaned pigs. The combination was optimized by constructing L₉(3⁴) orthogonal design. Three factors include starch (amylose to amylopectin (AM/AP) ratio 2:1, 1:1, 1:2), non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) (1%, 2%, 3%, a mixture of inulin with cellulose by 1:1), and mannan-oligosaccharide (MOS) (400, 800, 1200 mg/kg) were investigated and nine combinations were implemented under different levels of these factors. One hundred and sixty-two weaned pigs were randomly assigned to nine dietary treatments with six replicates per treatment and three pigs per replicate. Results exhibited that different combinations of starch, NSP, and MOS affected the gain to feed (G:F) (p < 0.05), diarrhea incidence (p < 0.10), nutrient digestibility (p < 0.05), microbial communities, and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentrations (p < 0.05). In the present study, taking into account three-way ANOVA, range, and direct analysis, we found that the optimal carbohydrate combination was starch AM/AP 1:1, NSP 3%, MOS 400 mg/kg for weaned pigs. Moreover, feeding this combination diet could promote the growth performance and nutrient digestibility, increase the butyrate-producing bacteria, and to some extent improve lipid metabolism. This study provided a novel way to evaluate the carbohydrate quality in swine production. Full article

Intestinal epithelial cells (IEC) release immunomodulatory galectins upon exposure to CpG DNA (mimicking bacterial triggers) and short-chain galacto- and long-chain fructo-oligosaccharides (GF). This study aims to investigate the immunomodulatory properties of 2′-fucosyllactose (2′-FL), a non-digestible oligosaccharide (NDO) abundantly present in human milk, using a co-culture model developed to study the crosstalk between IEC and innate and adaptive immune cells. IECs, co-cultured with αCD3/CD28-activated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), were apically exposed to NDOs and CpG, washed and co-cultured with immature monocyte-derived dendritic cells (moDC). Subsequently, moDC were co-cultured with naïve CD4+ T-cells. In the presence of CpG, both 2′-FL or GF-exposed IEC enhanced Th1-type IFNγ and regulatory IL-10 secretion of PBMCs, compared to CpG alone, while Th2-type IL-13 was reduced. Both NDOs increased IEC-derived galectin-3, -4, -9 and TGF-β1 of CpG-exposed IEC. Only galectin-9 correlated with all modified immune parameters and TGF-β1 secretion. MoDCs exposed to 2′-FL and CpG-conditioned IEC instructed IFNγ and IL-10 secretion by CD4+ T-cells, suggesting the development of a regulatory Th1 response. These results reveal that 2′-FL and GF could contribute to the mucosal immune development by supporting the effect of microbial CpG DNA associated with the modulation of epithelial galectin and TGF-β1 secretion. Full article