Creatine Content Research Articles

Heterocyclic aromatic amine contents and quality characteristics of bacon as influenced by NaCl concentration of brine.

Bacon usually have a high salt content. Excessive intake of salt could cause a harm to human health. Heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) are carcinogenic and mutagenic heterocyclic compounds formed by the reactions of precursor substances at high temperature. This study investigated the influence of different levels of NaCl on the HAA contents and quality characteristics of bacon. Moisture, aw , L* value, b* value, thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance (TBARS), and carbonyl content increased significantly with a decrease in the NaCl concentration of the brine (p<0.05). There were no significant differences between treatments for a* value, pH, creatine content, sensory redness, bitterness, or off-odor (p>0.05). Sensory evaluation showed that saltiness in bacon increased significantly with increased NaCl concentrations in brine. The increased NaCl concentrations decreased the total HAAs in fried bacon (p<0.05). Moreover, the nonpolar HAA contents in bacon were higher than the polar HAA contents; salt concentration mainly affected the nonpolar HAA content. In summary, salt content had a significant influence on the HAA content and the quality characteristic of bacon.

Role of creatine supplementation on the myofiber characteristics and muscle protein synthesis of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus).

To assess the role of dietary creatine on myofiber characteristics and protein synthesis in muscle, we fed grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus, initial body weight: 88.47 ± 1.44 g) creatine-supplemented diets (1.84, 5.91, 8.48, and 15.44 g/kg diet) for 8 weeks. Creatine supplementation did not affect growth performance, but significantly increased creatine contents in muscle and liver. At 8.48 g/kg, creatine decreased the activities of alanine transaminase and aspartate aminotransferase in serum, and improved hardness and chewiness of muscle due to shorter myofiber mean diameter, higher myofiber density and the frequencies of the diameters of class I and III and collagen content, longer sarcomere length, and upregulated mRNA levels of slow myosin heavy chains. Creatine supplementation upregulated the mRNA expressions of myogenic regulatory factors. The 8.48 g/kg creatine-supplemented diet significantly increased the contents of protein, total amino acids (AAs), essential AAs, and free flavor AAs in muscle, the protein levels of insulin-like growth factor I, myogenic differentiation antigen, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactlvator-1α in muscle, and stimulated the phosphorylation of target of rapamycin (TOR) pathway in muscle. In summary, 8.48 mg/kg creatine improved fish health and skeletal muscle growth, and increased hardness and protein synthesis in muscle of grass carp by affecting myofiber characteristics and the TOR signaling pathway. A second-order regression model revealed that the optimal dietary creatine supplementation of grass carp ranges between 8.48 and 12.04 g/kg.

Pharmacokinetic Evaluation of a Single 5-Gram Bolus of Creatine Monohydrate Versus Two Other Creatine-Containing Investigational Products.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relative pharmacokinetics of creatine monohydrate delivered as a formula or as a pure powder (all mixed in solution). A single 5 g bolus of creatine monohydrate was ingested as CreaBev 1, CreaBev 2, or creatine monohydrate. Participants we assigned a test product and monitored in a supervised laboratory setting for ingestion and all blood draws starting 30 min post-ingestion to the 6-h mark. Standard pharmacokinetic analysis was undertaken to determine relative maximum concentration (Cmax), time to maximum concentration (Tmax), and area under the curve (AUC) for the products. Cmax data indicate that CreaBev 1 10.55±4.10, CreaBev 2 15.45±5.48, and creatine monohydrate 12.77±4.0 nmol/h/μL. The Tmax analysis demonstrated CreaBev 1 1.20±1.01, CreaBev 2 1.23±0.65, and creatine monohydrate 0.91±0.2 h. The AUC data indicate that CreaBev 1 22.90±9.17, CreaBev 2 33.92±9.52, and creatine monohydrate 29.58±11.93 nmol/h/μL. When examining the data for pharmacokinetics, the AUC and Cmax pharmacokinetics were greatest for CreaBev 2 (p<0.021 and 0.020). Within the confines of this study, CreaBev 2 produced the highest blood concentrations of creatine as compared to creatine monohydrate and CreaBev 1.

Exercise and Creatine Supplementation to Augment the Adaptation of Exercise Training Among Breast Cancer Survivors Completing Chemotherapy: Protocol for an Open-label Randomized Controlled Trial (the THRIVE Study).

BackgroundIn breast cancer survivors, chemotherapy-induced muscle loss has been shown to be attenuated with structured resistance exercise. Creatine supplementation can increase bioenergetics in skeletal muscle, which helps to improve overall strength and endurance and reduce muscular fatigue. Therefore, we hypothesize that adding creatinine supplementation to exercise training will accelerate improvements in strength, endurance, and bioenergetics in breast cancer survivors.ObjectiveThe primary objective is to determine the effects of combining creatine supplementation with exercise on modulating strength and physical function in breast cancer survivors by comparing these effects to those of exercise alone. The secondary objectives are to determine if creatine supplementation and exercise can increase the intramuscular storage of creatine and improve body composition by comparing this intervention to exercise alone.MethodsWe aim to test our hypothesis by conducting an open-label randomized controlled trial of 30 breast cancer survivors who have completed chemotherapy within 6 months of enrollment. Eligible participants will be equally randomized (1:1) to either a creatine and exercise group or an exercise-only group for this 12-week intervention. Individuals who are randomized to receive creatine will be initially dosed at 20 g per day for 7 days to boost the availability of creatine systemically. Thereafter, the dose will be reduced to 5 g per day for maintenance throughout the duration of the 12-week protocol. All participants will engage in 3 center-based exercise sessions, which will involve completing 3 sets of 8 to 12 repetitions on chest press, leg press, seated row, shoulder press, leg extension, and leg curl machines. The primary outcomes will include changes in strength, body composition, and physical function in breast cancer survivors. The secondary outcomes will be intramuscular concentrations of creatine and adenosine triphosphate in the vastus lateralis, midthigh cross-sectional area, and quality of life.ResultsAs of October 2021, a total of 9 patients have been enrolled into the study. No unexpected adverse events have been reported.ConclusionsCreatine is being studied as a potential agent for improving strength, endurance, and bioenergetics in breast cancer survivors following chemotherapy. The findings from our trial may have future implications for supporting breast cancer survivors in reversing the muscle loss experienced during chemotherapy and improving their physical function and quality of life.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04207359; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04207359International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)PRR1-10.2196/26827

Investigation of BPA Toxicity in Male New Zealand White Rabbits

The current study investigated bisphenol A (BPA) toxicity in rabbits. After the adaptation period of 2 weeks, 24 male New Zealand rabbits were equally assigned to 4 treatment groups. Corn oil was given to the rabbits in the control group, whereas 10, 20, or 100 mg/kg daily BPA in corn oil was administered to the rabbits in the remaining groups orally for 9 weeks. Throughout the experiment, BPA did not cause any clinical symptoms, and serum BPA levels of the rabbits treated with BPA were elevated in a dose-dependent manner. Although no effects of BPA were apparent on feed intake, body weights, or organ weights, BPA altered MDA, CAT, SOD, and GPx levels in all organs examined. Furthermore, BPA treatments negatively affected red blood cell counts, hemoglobin, and serum ALP, AST, ALT, CRP, amylase, creatine, and urea concentrations. The present study concluded that the LOAEL dose of BPA for the hematological and biochemical parameters was 20 mg/kg/day.

Dietary Creatine Reduces Lipid Accumulation by Improving Lipid Catabolism in the Herbivorous Grass Carp, Ctenopharyngodon idella

Herein, our goal was to explore the creatine role in the fat suppression of grass carp (GC). In vivo, four semipurified diets containing 5% lipid (normal diet, ND), 8% lipid (high-fat diet, HFD),8%lipid+1%creatine(HFD+CR1), and8%lipid+2%creatine(HFD+CR2) were designed and formulated, which were fed to juvenile GC (18.51±0.04 g) for 56 days. HFD significantly increased the intraperitoneal fat index as well as the serum and hepatic triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) levels compared to ND; these effects were all attenuated following the addition of creatine in HFD (p&lt;0.05). Relative to HFD,HFD+CR2markedly enhanced lipid catabolic gene expressions in the hepatopancreas. This included peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α, adipose TG lipase (atgl), hormone-sensitive lipase, and carnitine palmitoyltransferase (cpt-1). The protein concentrations of mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes I/II/III/IV/V in the hepatopancreas were upregulated in fish fedHFD+CR1andHFD+CR2diets, relative to the HFD-fed fish diet (p&lt;0.05). In vitro, hepatocytes (L8824) preincubated with oleic acid for 24 h were exposed to varying concentrations of creatine (0, 10, 50, 100, 200, and 400 μM) for another 24 h. The number of lipid droplets in each cell remarkably decreased as the concentration of creatine increased in the medium (p&lt;0.05). Creatine also markedly enhanced the relative transcript levels of genes related to lipolysis (such as agtl), β-oxidation (such as cpt-1 and acyl-CoA dehydrogenase very long chain), and the mitochondrial respiratory chain (such as succinate dehydrogenase complex subunit A and cytochrome c-1). Collectively, the study demonstrates that dietary creatine can suppress lipid accumulation and increase lipid catabolic capacity in GC.

Can Color Doppler Ultrasound Challenge the Paradigm in Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy?

Objectives: Compare color Doppler (Color) ultrasound-guided puncture with common type-B (Type-B) ultrasound-guided puncture in reducing the incidence of hemorrhagic complications of percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL). Materials and Methods: A total of 348 patients who received PCNL from September 2017 to December 2018 were divided into Color (231 cases) and Type-B groups (117 cases). The avascular area of the target fornix was pinpointed in the Color group, whereas the middle of the target fornix was the default puncture point in the Type-B group. Tract bleeding, nephrostomy tract creation time, operation time, postoperative hemoglobin (Hb) values and serum creatine (Scr) concentrations, and stone-free rates were analyzed. Results: Color Doppler imaging revealed that 35.1% of the cases in the Color group (81/231) had variable artery positioning in the target fornix. Tract bleeding and postoperative Hb reduction in the Color group were significantly lower than the Type-B group (10.8% vs 24.8%, p = 0.0007, and 4.87 ± 8.58 g/L vs 7.70 ± 8.90 g/L, p = 0.0044, respectively). The postoperative hospitalization of the Color group was also shortened (8.3 ± 5.9 days vs 9.7 ± 3.0 days, p < 0.0001). Although working channel creation took longer in this group (4.2 ± 0.3 minutes vs 3.6 ± 0.2 minutes, p < 0.0001), there were no significant differences in the total operation time between the two groups (39.2 ± 15.2 minutes vs 36.4 ± 16.5 minutes, p = 0.1097) or postoperative Scr and stone-free rates. Conclusion: Vascular variation of the fornix is very common. Consistent puncture of the avascular area of the target fornix significantly lowered tract bleeding and postoperative Hb decrease compared with traditional procedures. Color Doppler ultrasound-guided puncture is, thus, useful to reduce the incidence of severe hemorrhagic complications of PCNL.

The Frequency of Diabetic Macular Edema and its Systemic Risk Factors: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: The goal of this research was to use optical coherence tomography to assess the prevalence of diabetic macular edoema and to determine the impact of systemic results and risk factors on the progression of DME. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional research was carried out at the Department of Ophthalmology, Chandka Medical College &amp; Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University Larkana. Patients were asked to fill out questionnaires about their health and lifestyle habits like smoking and alcohol consumption as well as their hemoglobin A1C and lipid profiles, as well as the duration of their diabetes, and the type of diabetes they had. There was an investigation into the link between systemic findings and DME Results: A total of 150 cases met the study's eligibility requirements. Males comprised 84 (56%) of the 150 participants, while females comprised 66 (44%). Sixty-five patients (43.33%) tested positive for DME, while 85 patients (56.66%) tested positive for DR. DME participants had HbA1c levels of 9.39 ± 1.67percent, whereas participants without DME had levels of 7.02 ± 3.23 percent and p=0.326; but no connection was found between the two measurements. There was a statistically significant difference between the mean serum creatine concentrations in cases with and without DME (p=0.011). For DME, a statistically significant difference (P-value = 0.001) was found between normal-albuminuric, microalbuminuric, and macroalbuminuric patients. Using the DME frequency in phakic and pseudophakic eyes as a guide, figure 2 below illustrates the results. Conclusions: Diabetic macular edema was seen in 43.33% of cases in the current study. An OCT-based study revealed that DME is common in Larkana Sindh. Regulating DME risk factors can help prevent or limit the development of DME, and treatment response may be improved. Keywords: Systemic risk factors, Diabetic macular edema, Optical coherence tomography,

Integration of transcriptomics and metabolomics provides metabolic and functional insights into reduced insulin secretion in MIN6 β-cells exposed to deficient and excessive arginine.

Previous work demonstrated that arginine is one of the strongest insulin secretagogues. However, knowledge of the mechanisms linking chronic arginine metabolism with β-cell function and insulin secretion is relatively limited. After preliminary selection of concentration according to the cell proliferation, the MIN6 pancreatic β-cells were randomly assigned to culture in 0.04mM (low-arginine, LA), 0.4mM (standard-arginine, SA), or 8mM arginine (high-arginine, HA) for 24h. Following the treatment, a combination of transcriptomics and metabolomics, together with a series of molecular biological tests were performed to investigate the responses of β-cells to varied arginine availability. Our results showed that HA treatment reduced the chronic insulin releases, and LA and HA treatments decreased the glucose-stimulated insulin secretions (GSIS) of β-cells relative to the SA group (p<.05). Transcriptomics analysis indicated that LA administration significantly inhibited oxidative phosphorylation and ATP metabolic process but promoted DNA repair and mRNA processing in β-cells, while HA administration affected ammonium ion metabolic process and mRNA export (p<.05). Both LA and HA regulated the expressions of genes involved in DNA replication, cell-cycle phase transition, and response to oxidative stress (p<.05). Protein-protein interaction and transcription factor analyses suggested that Trp53 and Nr4a2genes may play key roles during arginine stimulation. On the contrary, metabolomics analysis demonstrated that the differentially expressed metabolites (DEM) of MIN6 β-cells induced by LA were mainly enriched in glycerophospholipid metabolism, linoleic acid metabolism, and purine metabolism, while most DEMs between LA vs. SA comparison belonged to amino acid metabolism. When combined the three groups, co-expression analysis suggested that insulin secretions had strong associations with L-pyroglutamic acid, L-glutamate, and creatine concentrations, while intracellular insulin contents were mainly correlated to L-arginine, argininosuccinic acid, and phosphorylcholine. At last, integrated analysis of transcriptomics and metabolomics showed that glycerophospholipid metabolism, biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, and amino acid metabolism were the most relevant pathways in β-cells exposed to abnormal arginine supply. This descriptive bioinformatics analysis suggested that the disturbed carbohydrate, lipid, and amino acid metabolisms, as well as the increased apoptosis and elevated oxidative stress, contributed to the reduced insulin secretion and lower GSIS in β-cells induced by LA or HA treatments, while some underlying mechanisms need to be further explored.

Effects of Creatine Supplementation on Brain Function and Health.

While the vast majority of research involving creatine supplementation has focused on skeletal muscle, there is a small body of accumulating research that has focused on creatine and the brain. Preliminary studies indicate that creatine supplementation (and guanidinoacetic acid; GAA) has the ability to increase brain creatine content in humans. Furthermore, creatine has shown some promise for attenuating symptoms of concussion, mild traumatic brain injury and depression but its effect on neurodegenerative diseases appears to be lacking. The purpose of this narrative review is to summarize the current body of research pertaining to creatine supplementation on total creatine and phophorylcreatine (PCr) content, explore GAA as an alternative or adjunct to creatine supplementation on brain creatine uptake, assess the impact of creatine on cognition with a focus on sleep deprivation, discuss the effects of creatine supplementation on a variety of neurological and mental health conditions, and outline recent advances on creatine supplementation as a neuroprotective supplement following traumatic brain injury or concussion.

COVID-19 mortality prediction in the intensive care unit with deep learning based on longitudinal chest X-rays and clinical data.

ObjectivesWe aimed to develop deep learning models using longitudinal chest X-rays (CXRs) and clinical data to predict in-hospital mortality of COVID-19 patients in the intensive care unit (ICU).MethodsSix hundred fifty-four patients (212 deceased, 442 alive, 5645 total CXRs) were identified across two institutions. Imaging and clinical data from one institution were used to train five longitudinal transformer-based networks applying five-fold cross-validation. The models were tested on data from the other institution, and pairwise comparisons were used to determine the best-performing models.ResultsA higher proportion of deceased patients had elevated white blood cell count, decreased absolute lymphocyte count, elevated creatine concentration, and incidence of cardiovascular and chronic kidney disease. A model based on pre-ICU CXRs achieved an AUC of 0.632 and an accuracy of 0.593, and a model based on ICU CXRs achieved an AUC of 0.697 and an accuracy of 0.657. A model based on all longitudinal CXRs (both pre-ICU and ICU) achieved an AUC of 0.702 and an accuracy of 0.694. A model based on clinical data alone achieved an AUC of 0.653 and an accuracy of 0.657. The addition of longitudinal imaging to clinical data in a combined model significantly improved performance, reaching an AUC of 0.727 (p = 0.039) and an accuracy of 0.732.ConclusionsThe addition of longitudinal CXRs to clinical data significantly improves mortality prediction with deep learning for COVID-19 patients in the ICU.Key Points• Deep learning was used to predict mortality in COVID-19 ICU patients.• Serial radiographs and clinical data were used.• The models could inform clinical decision-making and resource allocation.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00330-022-08588-8.

Differentiation between sepsis survivors and sepsis non-survivors through blood serum metabolomics: A proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) study

Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. Septic shock is a subset of sepsis with underlying circulatory cellular and metabolic abnormalities associated with higher mortality rates. However, a detailed understanding of sepsis is still limited. The present study reports the differences in the metabolic profile of serum samples of patients with sepsis compared to healthy controls using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The study also compares the NMR metabolomics on day zero of admission among sepsis survivors (those who survived till day seven) and sepsis non-survivors (those who succumbed on day zero). Furthermore, the different metabolites in serum were analysed by univariate and multivariate analysis, ROC analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) methods. Metabolites with VIP score (>1·0) were considered as potential biomarker/s to discriminate sepsis survivors from non- survivors at day zero. Data showed that phenylalanine was significantly higher in sepsis patients compared to healthy controls, whereas isoleucine, valine and histidine were significantly lower in sepsis patients compared to healthy controls. Also, non-survivors had higher serum levels of creatine, phosphocreatine, choline, betaine, tyrosine, histidine and phenylalanine concentrations than survivors. These findings suggest that the metabolic alterations at day zero may predict the survival of patients with sepsis. The significant differences seen in metabolites concentration of amino acids, phospholipids and creatine may be used as early prognostic markers to discriminate non-survivors from survivors of sepsis patients at day zero. Our findings indicate that the metabolite alterations are associated with the progression of the disease.

1H NMR-based metabolomics of skin squamous cell carcinoma and peri-tumoral region tissues

Squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) are the most frequent forms of skin malignancy. Knowledge of the metabolic changes occur in SCC and peri-tumoral region tissues is still limited. To investigate the metabolic changes in skin SCC and peri-tumoral regions, twenty-four patients with histopathology diagnosis of SCC were included in the study. Tissue samples were obtained from the SCCs, peri-tumoral regions (within 5 mm adjacent to the tumor margin) and distance normal tissues for control (> 5 mm adjacent to the tumor margin) from each patient. The metabolic changes of the three regions were investigated using 1H nuclear magnetic resonance-based metabolomics. Key metabolites in SCC were identified and validated by comparing with the other two regions. Eight metabolites were identified and validated between the SCCs and the controls, the concentrations of lactate, alanine, valine, creatine, aspartate, tyrosine, and glutamine significantly increased in SCC, while that of glucose decreased. The metabolomics analysis showed that lactate and valine were the key metabolites in SCCs and prei-tumoral regions. Pathways analysis showed that valine, leucine, and isoleucine biosynthesis, and pyruvate metabolism were the key abnormal metabolic pathways in SCC. Metabolomics analysis of key metabolites and pathways revealed that glycolysis, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and amino acids metabolism played a central role in the metabolic of SCCs and peri-tumoral regions.

Supplemental Creatine, Not Dietary Creatine, Appears to Improve Exercise Performance in Individuals Following Omnivorous or Meat-Free diets: A Narrative Review

AbstractEating a high-quality diet and engaging in regular physical activity are fundamental components of lifestyle medicine that can reduce the risk of morbidity and mortality. Increased interest in plant-based eating may lead to questions about whether meat-free diets lack certain nutrients, such as creatine, which support vigorous exercise. Creatine supplementation has been consistently shown to improve exercise performance, especially during high-intensity efforts, in individuals following omnivorous and meat-free (vegetarian and vegan) eating patterns. Only foods of animal origin contain dietary creatine, however, leading some to speculate that people eating omnivorous diets may gain a performance advantage relative to their meat-free counterparts. Research revealing dis-crepancies in creatine storage between those eating omnivorous and meat-free diets has not found lower lean body mass, type I or II muscle fiber area, 1-repetition maximum, power output, VO2max, or time to exhaustion. Creatine supplementation augments exercise performance for individuals of all dietary patterns studied but improvements resulting from supplementation have not been consistently greater in subjects who follow meat-free versus omnivorous diets, indicating that their lower baseline creatine stores are unlikely ergolytic. Additional research finds no performance disadvantage for individuals who follow unsupplemented meat-free diets compared to those following unsupplemented omnivorous diets despite their differing creatine stores. These findingsindicate that the discrepant creatine contents of omnivorous and meat-free diets are not associated with differences in lean body mass and exercise performance.

The Effects of In Utero Fetal Hypoxia and Creatine Treatment on Mitochondrial Function in the Late Gestation Fetal Sheep Brain.

Near-term acute hypoxia in utero can result in significant fetal brain injury, with some brain regions more vulnerable than others. As mitochondrial dysfunction is an underlying feature of the injury cascade following hypoxia, this study is aimed at characterizing mitochondrial function at a region-specific level in the near-term fetal brain after a period of acute hypoxia. We hypothesized that regional differences in mitochondrial function would be evident, and that prophylactic creatine treatment would mitigate mitochondrial dysfunction following hypoxia; thereby reducing fetal brain injury. Pregnant Border-Leicester/Merino ewes with singleton fetuses were surgically instrumented at 118 days of gestation (dGa; term is ~145 dGA). A continuous infusion of either creatine (n = 15; 6 mg/kg/h) or isovolumetric saline (n = 16; 1.5 ml/kg/h) was administered to the fetuses from 121 dGa. After 10 days of infusion, a subset of fetuses (8 saline-, 7 creatine-treated) were subjected to 10 minutes of umbilical cord occlusion (UCO) to induce a mild global fetal hypoxia. At 72 hours after UCO, the fetal brain was collected for high-resolution mitochondrial respirometry and molecular and histological analyses. The results show that the transient UCO-induced acute hypoxia impaired mitochondrial function in the hippocampus and the periventricular white matter and increased the incidence of cell death in the hippocampus. Creatine treatment did not rectify the changes in mitochondrial respiration associated with hypoxia, but there was a negative relationship between cell death and creatine content following treatment. Irrespective of UCO, creatine increased the proportion of cytochrome c bound to the inner mitochondrial membrane, upregulated the mRNA expression of the antiapoptotic gene Bcl2, and of PCG1-α, a driver of mitogenesis, in the hippocampus. We conclude that creatine treatment prior to brief, acute hypoxia does not fundamentally modify mitochondrial respiratory function, but may improve mitochondrial structural integrity and potentially increase mitogenesis and activity of antiapoptotic pathways.

INSECTICIDAL AND TOXICOLOGICAL STUDY OF Dennettia tripetala (G. Baker) FRUIT OIL EXTRACT USED AS COWPEA GRAINS PROTECTANT AGAINST Callosobruchus maculatus (Fab) (COLEOPTERA: CHRYSOMELIDAE) INFESTATION

Dennettia tripetala fruit ethanolic oil extract was investigated for its insecticidal property. Bioassay was conducted at 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0ml/20 g of susceptible cowpea. Results indicated that 1.0 ml dosage was the most effective as it evoked 100% beetle mortality within 24 h of application and its effect was significantly (p&lt;0.05) different from other treatments except the positive control that recorded up to 94% mortality of the beetles. All dosages displayed significant lethal effects on the insect as compared with the untreated check. Insect mortality was dosage dependent. Probit analysis showed that, fruit oil extract required 2.46 and 6.66ul to achieve 50 and 95% highest insect mortality within 24 hours. Treated seeds with highest dose of 1.0 ml D. tripetala extract prevented oviposition, adult emergence as well as ability of the insect to cause damage and weight loss, hence reduced infestation and subsequent damage of treated cowpea seeds. Thus, Dennettia tripetala extract could be a potential toxicant and of great importance in storage protection of stored cowpea against the bruchids. The bilirubin, GGT and Uric acid were high as the dosages increased. Positive control showed significantly higher concentration of Bilirubin - 69.11g/dl, GGT - 38.02g/dl Uric acid - 50.25g/dl while Total protein was at its least (0.06g/dl) when compared to other groups. The low values of AST (Aspartate Aminotransferase), ALP (Alkaline Phosphate), ALT (Alanine Aminotransferase) and Creatine concentrations recorded at 1.0ml of 2% concentration of D. tripetala oil extract has no hepatotoxic effect on animals.

Influence of Partial Replacements of NaCl by KCl on Quality Characteristics and the Heterocyclic Aromatic Amine Contents of Bacon.

The influence of partial replacements of NaCl by KCl (0, 10, 20, and 30%) on the heterocyclic aromatic amine (HAAs) contents and quality characteristics of bacon were investigated. The Na+ content, moisture, aw, pH, L* value, and sensory saltiness decreased and K+ content, a* value, and sensory bitterness increased significantly with increased substituting rates of NaCl by KCl (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences between the control and KCl substitution samples for the b* value, redness, and sensory off-odor (p > 0.05). The creatine content was not affected by the different KCl-substituting rates during the marinating process (p > 0.05), but it diminished in the smoking and frying processes (p < 0.05). The increase in the KCl-substituting rates increased the total heterocyclic aromatic amine (HAA) contents in fried bacon (p < 0.05). Moreover, the nonpolar HAA content in bacon was higher than the polar HAA content (p < 0.05). In summary, the partial replacement of NaCl by KCl increased the total HAA content and led to changes in bacon quality.

Laboratory Diagnosis of Cerebral Creatine Deficiency Syndromes by Determining Creatine and Guanidinoacetate in Plasma and Urine.

Cerebral creatine deficiency syndromes are caused by the dysfunctional creatine biosynthesis or transport and comprise three hereditary neurodevelopmental defects including arginine-glycine amidinotransferase (AGAT), guanidinoacetate methyltransferase (GAMT), and creatine transporter deficiencies. All conditions are characterized by seizures, intellectual disability, and behavioral abnormalities. Laboratory diagnosis of these disorders relies on the determination of creatine and guanidinoacetate concentrations in both plasma and urine. Here we describe a rapid quantitative UPLC/MS/MS method for the simultaneous determination of these analytes using a normal-phase HILIC column after analyte derivatization. The approach is suitable for neonatal screening follow-ups and monitoring of the treatment for creatine deficiency syndromes.

Guanidinoacetic acid as a partial replacement to arginine with or without betaine in broilers offered moderately low crude protein diets

Guanidinoacetic acid (GAA) is the direct precursor of creatine and can spare arginine (Arg) for creatine synthesis in low crude protein (CP) broiler diets. This study aimed to determine the extent GAA could spare Arg in broilers offered low CP diets and if supplemental betaine provides additional benefits. Seven hundred twenty-day-old Ross 308 male broilers were assigned into 9 dietary treatments with 8 replicates of 10 birds each. The treatments were; normal CP diet, a low CP (−15 g/kg) diet deficient in Arg, a low CP diet sufficient in Arg, and low CP diets with GAA, where 0.1% added L-Arg was spared by GAA at 50, 100, and 150% with and without 0.1% betaine. The treatments were offered during grower (d 10–24) and finisher (d 25–42) phases. The birds offered a low CP Arg deficient diet had 7.8% lower weight gain, 10 points higher FCR, 8.5% lower breast meat yield, 27.2% lower breast meat creatine concentration and 30.4% more abdominal fat pad compared to those offered a normal CP diet. When Arg was added back to the Arg deficient diet, growth performance, breast meat yield and creatine concentration loss were restored. When GAA spared Arg at 150%, feed intake, weight gain, FCR, breast and abdominal fat yields, breast meat moisture, drip loss, and breast meat creatine concentration became comparable to Arg sufficient low CP and normal CP treatments. When GAA spared Arg at 100 and 50%, FCR was 3 and 5 points lower than the normal CP treatment. Breast meat creatine concentration was positively correlated to feed efficiency (r = 0.70, P < 0.001) and breast meat moisture (r = 0.33, P < 0.01), and negatively correlated to relative weight of abdominal fat (r = −0.37, P < 0.01) and breast meat pH (r = −0.49, P < 0.001). There were no benefits of adding betaine with GAA on the parameters measured but the results with GAA were consistent in the presence or absence of betaine.

Changes in blood biochemical parameters in the first two months of lactation in primiparous goats of the saanen breed

The biochemical blood profile is one of the tools for monitoring the feeding and keeping of animals, and their state of health. However, it requires clarification for individuals reared both in different climatic conditions and operated under different housing systems. In this regard, the purpose of our study was to assess the temporal changes in the levels of circulating metabolites and the activity of enzymes in the first-flowing Saanen goats in the first two months of lactation, reared with intensive maintenance technology in the climatic conditions of the North-West region of Russia. Blood sampling from primiparous goats (n = 32) was carried out twice: on days 20- 30 and days 50-60 after lambing (MayJune). In the blood serum, the concentration of total protein, albumin, urea, creatinine, glucose, total cholesterol was determined, as well as the activity of enzymes: aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). It was found that by the end of the second month of lactation, the most significant changes occurred in lipid metabolism. Thus, the concentration of triglycerides and cholesterol in the blood increased by 71% and 11% (p˂ 0.001). The change in the parameters of protein metabolism was less dynamic: the content of total protein, creatine and albumin increased by 7.4%, 10.8% (p˂ 0.001) and 2% (p˂ 0.05), respectively. ALT activity increased by 19% (p˂ 0.001). Comparative analysis of blood biochemical parameters of the first and second months of lactation showed a positive dynamics of the process of adaptation of primiparous goats. The obtained values of blood biochemical parameters can be used to establish basic physiological values for 1-2 months of lactation in primiparous goats. This will facilitate a realistic assessment of the management, nutrition and health status of Saanen goats reared in large livestock facilities.