Greater Percentage Of Protein Research Articles

Effects of replacing inorganic salts of trace minerals with organic trace minerals in pre- and postpartum diets on feeding behavior, rumen fermentation, and performance of dairy cows

Our objectives were to evaluate the effects of complete replacement of supplementary inorganic salts of trace minerals (STM) by organic trace minerals (OTM) in both pre- and postpartum diets on feeding behavior, ruminal fermentation, rumination activity, energy metabolism, and lactation performance in dairy cows. Pregnant cows and heifers (n = 273) were blocked by parity and body condition score and randomly assigned to either STM or OTM diets at 45 ± 3 d before their expected calving date. Both groups received the same diet, except for the source of trace minerals (TM). The STM group was supplemented with Co, Cu, Mn, and Zn sulfates and Na selenite, whereas the OTM group was supplemented with Co, Cu, Mn, and Zn proteinates and selenized yeast. Treatments continued until 156 days in milk and pre- and postpartum diets were formulated to meet 100% of recommended levels of each TM in both treatments, taking into consideration both basal and supplemental levels. Automatic feed bins were used to assign treatments to individual cows and to measure feed intake and feeding behavior. Rumination activity was monitored by sensors attached to a collar from wk -3 to 3 relative to calving. Blood metabolites were evaluated on d -21, -10, -3, 0, 3, 7, 10, 14, 23, and 65 relative to calving. Ruminal fluid samples were collected using an ororuminal sampling device on d -21, 23, and 65 relative to calving, for measurement of ruminal pH and concentration of volatile fatty acids. Cows were milked twice a day and milk components were measured monthly. Cows supplemented with OTM tended to have longer daily feeding time (188 vs. 197 min/d), and greater dry matter intake (DMI; 12.9 vs. 13.3 kg), and had a more positive energy balance (3.6 vs. 4.2 Mcal/d) and shorter rumination time per kg of dry matter (DM; 40.1 vs. 37.5 min/kg of DM) than cows supplemented with STM during the prepartum period. In the postpartum period, OTM increased DMI in multiparous cows (24.1 vs. 24.7 kg/d) but not in primiparous cows (19.1 vs. 18.7 kg/d). The difference in DMI of multiparous cows was more evident in the first 5 wk of lactation, when it averaged 1 kg/d. Milk yield was not affected by treatment in multiparous cows (44.1 vs. 44.2 kg/d); however, primiparous cows supplemented with OTM had lesser yields than primiparous cows supplemented with STM (31.9 vs. 29.8 kg/d). Cows supplemented with OTM had a greater percentage of protein in milk (3.11 vs. 3.17%), reduced concentration of nonesterified fatty acids in serum (0.45 vs. 0.40 mmol/L), and rumination activity (30.1 vs. 27.8 min/kg of DM) than cows supplemented with STM. At the end of the transition period, cows supplemented with OTM had reduced molar proportion of acetate, reduced pH, and tended to have a greater concentration of total volatile fatty acids in ruminal fluid. In conclusion, complete replacement of STM by OTM caused modest changes in rumen fermentation, feeding behavior, energy metabolism, and performance of dairy cows, improving postpartum DMI in multiparous cows and reducing circulating levels of nonesterified fatty acids. The pre-absorptive effects of TM source and the parity specific responses on performance warrant further research.

Effects of a Megasphaera elsdenii oral drench on reticulorumen pH dynamics in lactating dairy cows under subacute ruminal acidosis challenge

Subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA) is an important disorder in dairy cattle with economic and animal welfare implications. A preventive strategy for SARA control is oral drenching of probiotics, such as Megasphaera elsdenii. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a M. elsdenii oral drench on reticulorumen pH, milk yield and components, and feeding behavior of lactating cows under a SARA challenge. This study consisted of two crossover trials with 8 cows each to determine the efficacy of drenching live culture of M. elsdenii NCIMB 41125. Experimental period of each trial lasted 8 d with a 4 wk washout interval between periods. The first 3 d of each period were considered baseline days. On day 4 of the period, feed delivered was reduced by half, based upon individual mean dry matter intake (DMI) during the baseline period. On day 5 of the period, all cows received a challenge diet rich in highly fermentable carbohydrates offered to the cows for 2 h to induce SARA. Orts were weighed and replaced with regular diet offered ad libitum. The last 3 d of each experimental period were considered recovery days. The difference between each trial was the administration time of M. elsdenii drench, where in Trial 1 it was delivered 4 d before (PRO-4) and in Trial 2 it was delivered the day before (PRO-1) the SARA challenge. Cows were randomly assigned to either a treatment (PRO-4 or PRO-1) or control (CON-4 or CON-1) drench, and reversed on the subsequent period. During Trial 1, PRO-4 cows produced more milk (P < 0.01), with greater protein percentage (P = 0.03) and lesser fat to protein ratio (P = 0.01) compared with control cows. PRO-4 cows also had greater overall reticulorumen pH and experienced shorter and less intense acidosis (P < 0.05) and greater DMI (P = 0.04) compared with control cows. Feeding behavior was not affected by treatment in Trial 1 (P > 0.10). In Trial 2, only feeding time was affected by the treatment, with PRO-1 cows spending more minutes per day feeding (P < 0.01) compared to control cows. The results indicate potential benefits of a M. elsdenii drench on rumen pH dynamics, acidosis resilience, and possibly milk production and feed intake. However, it appears that the time of drench administration might influence M. elsdenii establishment and drench efficacy.

Effect of different gonadorelin (GnRH) products used for the first or resynchronized timed artificial insemination on pregnancy rates in postpartum dairy cows

Different GnRH products are used for timed artificial insemination (AI) in postpartum dairy cows. Previous studies reported greater LH release and increased ovulation percentage for gonadorelin diacetate tetrahydrate compared with gonadorelin hydrochloride but pregnancies per AI (P/AI) were not evaluated. The objective, therefore, was to compare P/AI for cows treated with either gonadorelin hydrochloride or gonadorelin diacetate tetrahydrate before the first timed AI or resynchronized timed AI. Holstein cows (n = 3938) in a confinement dairy in northeast Missouri were assigned to weekly cohorts (n = 22) on the basis of calving date. Cows were treated with “Presynch Ovsynch” (PGF2α, 14 days; PGF2α, 14 days; GnRH, 7 days; PGF2α, 56 hours; GnRH, 16 hours; timed AI) so that the first timed AI was 70 to 76 days postpartum. The PGF2α was Lutalyse (5 mL; 25 mg; Zoetis). The GnRH product was either gonadorelin hydrochloride (2 mL; 100 μg; n = 1945) or gonadorelin diacetate tetrahydrate (2 mL; 100 μg; n = 1993) and alternated weekly for cows assigned to cohorts. There were first timed AI (n = 1790) and resynchronized timed AI (n = 2148) cows within each cohort. The resynchronization began 32 days after timed AI (GnRH, 6 days; ultrasound pregnancy diagnosis, 1 day; and then for nonpregnant cows: PGF2α, 56 hours; GnRH, 16 hours; timed AI). The trial was conducted from January to February 2012 (n = 1203) and July to October 2012 (n = 2735). Cows were fed a total mixed ration, milked thrice daily, and milk tested monthly for volume, somatic cell count (SCC), fat percentage, protein percentage, and milk urea nitrogen. Data were analyzed by fitting the binary response data to a generalized linear mixed model for repeated measures. There was no effect of the GnRH product (treatment) on P/AI (38.4 ± 1.2 vs. 35.7 ± 1.3; gonadorelin diacetate tetrahydrate vs. gonadorelin hydrochloride). Treatment interactions with parity, month of breeding, or insemination number were not significant. The first-service P/AI (38.8 ± 1.4%) was greater (P < 0.05) than the resynchronized P/AI (35.3 ± 1.3%). Cows inseminated in the summer had lesser P/AI (effect of month; P < 0.001) compared with cows inseminated in the winter. There was a decrease (P < 0.002) in timed AI conception for cows with a greater milk SCC and an increase (P < 0.003) in P/AI for cows with a greater milk protein percentage. In conclusion, the GnRH product did not affect P/AI for the first or resynchronized timed AI in an Ovsynch-based program. Other factors affected P/AI including service number (lesser for the second service or greater), month (lesser in summer months), SCC (lesser for cows with greater SCC), and milk protein percentage (greater for cows with greater protein percentage).

Animal performance and meat quality of crossbred young bulls

This work was carried out to evaluate animal performance and carcass characteristics of 45 young bulls of three genetic groups: Nellore, 1/2 Nellore × 1/2 European and 1/4 Nellore × 3/4 European finished in feedlot. At the beginning of feedlot, the average bull was 20 (± 2) months old, and average weight body was 356.0 (± 7.9) kg. The 1/2 Nellore × 1/2 European young bulls had greater ( P < 0.05) initial weight (381.7 kg), final weight (531.6 kg) and hot carcass weight (279.2 kg) than 1/4 Nellore × 3/4 European animals (334.6; 498.3 and 256.8 kg, respectively) and Nellore bulls (336.4; 446.4 and 234.3 kg, respectively). The crossbred bulls had greater daily weight gain (1.5 kg) as compared to the Nellore group (1.1 kg). However, carcass dressing was similar (52.3%) among groups. The superiority of crossbred animals over Nellore was observed when considering carcass conformation (good vs. regular), carcass length (136.6 vs. 130.1 cm), cushion thickness (26.6 vs. 25.0 cm), fat thickness (3.38 vs. 1.92 mm) and marbling (light vs. trace). The Nellore group had greater leg length (77.9 vs. 72.9 cm), better meat color (red vs. slightly dark red) and greater bone percentage (16.6 vs. 15.6%) than crossbred specimens. The 1/2 Nellore × 1/2 European groups had greater Longissimus muscle area (68.8 cm 2) and greater fat percentage (23.9%) than 1/4 Nellore × 3/4 European and Nellore animals. There was no difference in regards to texture (fine) and muscle percentage (62.9%). There was no difference among crossbreds for moisture (73.2%), ash (1.03%) and fat (1.81%) levels. Nellore animals had greater percentage of protein (25.3 vs. 23.8%), total cholesterol (27.5 vs. 23.0 mg/100 g muscle), stearic acid (25.0 vs. 21.6%), transvaccenic acid (1.6 vs. 1.3%) and γ-linolenic acid (0.2 vs. 0.1%) than crossbred specimens. Total saturated fatty acids (49.9%), monounsaturated fatty acids (38.1%), polyunsaturated fatty acids (12.1%), n-6 (10.0%), n-3 (1.7%), PUFA/SFA ratio (0.2) and n-6/ n-3 ratio (6.27) in the Longissimus muscle were similar among genetics groups.

Rapid detection of bovine milk in yak milk using a polymerase chain reaction technique

Yak milk contains a greater percentage of protein and has better quality than bovine milk. There has been an increasing focus on yak milk and milk products during the last few years. In the present study, a PCR-based assay was developed for the specific identification of bovine milk in yak milk by designing 3 primers targeting the mitochondrial ND1 gene. The use of 3 primers in a single PCR reaction set yielded 2 amplification fragments of 293 and 190 bp from bovine milk DNA, whereas only 1 amplification fragment of 293 bp was obtained in yak milk DNA. The technique was applied to raw and heat-treated binary mixtures of yak and bovine milks and enabled the specific detection of bovine milk with a detection limit of 0.1%. The assay developed is sensitive, fast, and straightforward, and it might be useful in the quality control of yak milk and milk products.

Maternal effects in Wood Ducks: incubation temperature influences incubation period and neonate phenotype

SummaryMaternal effects often explain a significant amount of variation in offspring phenotype, and can be important in the evolution of life histories. Incubation of eggs is an important maternal effect, and optimal growth and development of avian embryos takes place within a narrow range of incubation temperatures, but the effect of incubation microclimate on neonate phenotype remains relatively unexplored in birds.In this study of Wood Ducks (Aix sponsaLinnaeus) we examined effects of incubation temperature on the length of incubation period and neonate quality. We monitored nest temperatures and incubation periods of naturally incubated Wood Duck nests and found a strong inverse relationship between incubation period and average nest temperature.Next, we collected three unincubated eggs from each of 48 nests, and randomly assigned eggs from each nest to one of three incubation temperatures (34·6, 36·0 and 37·4 °C). Experimental incubation temperatures overlapped average nest temperatures of naturally incubated Wood Duck nests.Hatching success varied with incubation temperature and was lowest for eggs incubated at the lowest temperature. Incubation period of experimental eggs decreased with increasing temperature but was not affected by fresh egg mass.Wood Duck embryos catabolized an estimated 34–38% of egg lipids and 25–33% of egg protein during incubation. Percentage change of lipids increased with decreasing incubation temperature, but not significantly. Embryos incubated at lower temperatures used a greater percentage of protein than embryos incubated at higher temperatures.In analyses using fresh egg mass as the covariate, we found that wet and dry mass of ducklings increased with increasing incubation temperature. Decreases in lipid content of Wood Duck neonates with decreasing incubation temperature were not significant, but eggs incubated at low temperatures produced ducklings that had reduced protein mass and that were structurally larger than ducklings from eggs incubated at high temperatures.Our study illustrates the importance of incubation temperature on the development of Wood Duck embryos. Decisions made by incubating parents that influence egg temperature can modify incubation period and offspring phenotype. Investigations of incubation as a reproductive cost should consider how parental decisions influence both parents and offspring.

Responses to sucrose and glutamine by soybean embryos grown in vitro

Immature soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr. cv. Ransom) embryos were grown in vitro in the presence of different concentrations of sucrose and glutamine to examine how availability of carbohydrate and nitrogen affects dry matter accumulation and embryo composition. Embryos were transferred to fresh medium every 4 days to maintain sucrose and glutamine concentrations of the culture medium. In all experiments, accumulation of dry matter and protein content increased when the sucrose concentration of the culture medium was increased from 1.5 to 150 mM: however, a relatively greater enhancement of dry matter than of protein accumulation resulted in a lower protein concentration at 150 than at 1.5 mM sucrose. Both content and concentration of protein were increased by the increases in glutamine supply to concentrations exceeding 68% protein at 120 mM glutamine. In combination with 150 mM sucrose, however, oil increased as glutamine supply was increased from 0.6 to 6 mM and then decreased as glutamine supply was increased from 6 lo 120 mM. Varying the concentration of sucrose available during seed development also affected embryo composition. Decreased availability of sucrose during either the early or late portion of the culture period resulted in lower accumulation of dry mailer as well as oil. Protein concentration was actually higher for embryos transferred from 150 to 1.5 nM sucrose than for those remaining in 150 mM throughout the culture period: however, the greater percentage of protein was due lo a decrease in accumulation of dry weight. In addition, embryo composition was affected by altering the availability of glutamine during culture, indicating that variation in the level of nitrogen assimilate delivered during seed development can change embryo composition. Decreasing the glutamine concentration of the medium lowered both protein and oil content. In contrast, increasing the glutamine concentration of the medium from 0.6 to 6 mM 8 days after initiation of culture increased the protein content and concentration of the embryo while oil content was not affected.

Dietary selenium intakes and plasma selenium concentrations of formula-fed and cow’s milk-fed infants

The plasma selenium concentrations of 57 infants 8 to 12 months of age were assessed using flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The infants ingested either cow's milk or whey-predominant milk-based infant formula as their primary beverage as part of a mixed diet for at least 3 months. The calculated mean +/- standard deviation (SD) daily dietary selenium intake of 26 infants fed cow's milk (34 +/- 13 micrograms), assessed by a 3-day diet record and/or a 24-hour diet recall, was significantly (p less than or equal to .001) greater than that of 31 formula-fed infants (22 +/- 11 micrograms). The mean +/- SD plasma selenium concentration of infants fed cow's milk (39 +/- 11 micrograms/L) was also significantly (p less than or equal to .05) greater than that of infants fed formula (31 +/- 12 micrograms/L). Both groups of infants ingested similar amounts of total energy; however, the infants fed cow's milk received more total protein and selenium and a greater percentage of protein and selenium from their primary beverage than did the infants receiving formula. Both groups of infants were consuming a mixed diet with similar sources of selenium. To examine the selenium status of infants as well as other individuals better, further analysis of foods is clearly needed to provide more information on dietary selenium sources. The influence of variables such as body size and ethnicity, intake, sources and forms of dietary protein, and dietary forms of selenium on plasma selenium concentrations must also be investigated.

BROILER CARCASS COMPOSITION AS AFFECTED BY AMINO ACID SUPPLEMENTATION

A corn-soybean diet containing 20% protein and a similar diet with glycine supplementation, to give a diet with a 24% protein equivalent, were supplemented with lysine and methionine. Weight gain, feed intake and carcass composition of male broilers were compared to those of similar birds fed a 24% protein corn-soybean diet. Weight gain and feed:gain ratio for the amino-acid-supplemented 20% protein diet were not significantly different from the 24% protein diet. The addition of glycine, while having little effect on performance, resulted in a reduction (P &lt; 0.05) in carcass fat. In a second experiment, increasing the level of dietary protein to 22% from 16% or supplementing the 16% diet with additional lysine and methionine failed to alter weight gain or feed:gain ratio during the 4- to 7-wk finishing period. However, total carcass protein was increased and total carcass fat was reduced with the higher protein diet. Although the amount of total edible meat was similar for all diets, the 22% protein diet resulted in meat containing a greater percentage of protein than the other dietary treatments. An interesting observation was the decrease in protein and increase in fat contents of breast meat when additional methionine was added to a 16% protein diet. Key words: Amino acid supplementation, broiler carcass composition, meat yields

The nutritional chemistry of large and small shrimp ( Penaeus stylirostris stimpson) reared in an aquaculture/waste water system

1. 1. Penaeus stylirostris Stimpson were grown using high and low stocking densities, and receiving either prepared feeds, or a mixture of 90% sea-water and 10% treated waste water. 2. 2. Shrimp grown in cultures of lower densities were larger than those grown in high density cultures. 3. 3. Those grown with treated waste water had less fatty acid, 18:2, but more fatty acids 16:1 and 22:6, than the controls. 4. 4. Larger shrimp had a greater percentage of protein, total lipid and kcal/g values than small shrimp. The smaller organisms had more fatty acid, 20:5, and glycogen.

Removal of Residual Protein from Cheese Whey Permeates by Bentonite

Removal of residual protein from lactase-hydrolyzed cheese whey permeate by bentonite was affected by a variety of process components. Most efficient protein removal was by stirring presoaked bentonite with permeate (6.7% solids) at pH 4.5. At equivalent ash and pH, a greater percentage of protein was removed by bentonite from sweet whey permeate than from cottage cheese whey permeate.