Energy Source For Animals Research Articles

Toxicological safety assessment of ZeolFat energy feed additive

Development of inexpensive and environmentally friendly feed additives based on waste from the food industry and expired products as energy sources for animals is of current relevance and high demand. The study aimed to test the toxicological safety of ZeolFat energy feed additive (EFA) on laboratory animals. The tests on white rats showed that ZeolFat EFA is a low-toxic feed product with no cumulative properties revealed. The animals exhibited satisfactory physical state and a good appetite during experimental feeding. They were active, and their response to external stimuli remained similar to that before EFA introduction. ZeolFat EFA had a stimulating effect on carbohydrate and lipid, and mineral metabolism in rats, thereby ensuring a high increase in their live weight.

Use of Dissolved Glucose on Cultured Media on the Survival Rate, Growth Rate and Stress Resistance of Saline Tilapia Larvae (Oreochromis niloticus)

Saline tilapia fish is a result of technology engineering technique that is tolerant with brackish waters and sea with salinity ≥ 20 ppt. The main problem in the development of saline tilapia is the availability of seeds because the resulting synthesis is still low. One effort to overcome the problem of low tilapia salinity this is by providing dissolved organic material such as glucose. Glucose plays an important role as a source of energy for animals including tilapia. The aim of this research is to determine the optimum dose of dissolved glucose to the survival and growth of salt tilapia larvae (Oreochromis niloticus). The research was conducted from March to May 2017 at Brackish Water Aquaculture (BPBAP) Takalar, South Sulawesi. The research container using 25 L plastic volume basin amounted to 15 pieces. The test animals used were 7-day saline tilapia larvae of 0.03 gram sized for 20 days. The glucose used is pure glucose in powder form. The study was designed using a complete randomized design consisting of 5 treatments and each having 3 replications. The five treatments are 0, 50, 100, 150, 200 ppm per day added to the once-daily research container that is the morning. The result of variance analysis showed that soluble glucose administration had significant effect (p <0.01) on the synthesis and growth rate of saline tilapia fish. The highest survival rates and growth rates were achieved at 100 ppm doses of 94.44% and 14.93% / day respectively, while the lowest at doses of 0 ppm were 74.81% and 11.85% / day respectively.Keywords: glucose, salin tilapia, survival, growth rate

Comparative study of the chemical composition and mineral element content of Artocarpus heterophyllus and Treculia africana seeds and seed oils

A comparative study of Artocarpus heterophyllus and Treculia africana seeds, both of Moraceae family, was carried out to establish their chemical compositions and evaluate their mineral element content in order to investigate the possibility of using them for human and or animal consumption and also to examine if there is a relationship between the properties of these seeds. A. heterophyllus and T. africana are rich in protein; their protein contents are higher than those from high protein animal sources such as beef and marine fishes. Both seeds have high carbohydrate content and could act as source of energy for animals if included in their diets. The oil contents of the seeds are 11.39% and 18.54% for A. heterophyllus and T. africana, respectively. The oils are consistently liquid at room temperature. The results of the physicochemical properties of the two seeds are comparable to those of conventional oilseeds such as groundnut and palm kernel oils and could be useful for nutritional and industrial purposes. The seeds were found to be good sources of mineral elements. The result revealed potassium to be the prevalent mineral elements which are 2470.00 ppm and 1680.00 ppm for A. heterophyllus and T. africana, respectively followed by sodium, magnesium and then calcium. They also contain reasonable quantity of iron, in particular A. heterophyllus 148.50 ppm.

DGAT1 Is Not Essential for Intestinal Triacylglycerol Absorption or Chylomicron Synthesis

Dietary triacylglycerols are a major source of energy for animals. The absorption of dietary triacylglycerols involves their hydrolysis to free fatty acids and monoacylglycerols in the intestinal lumen, the uptake of these products into enterocytes, the resynthesis of triacylgylcerols, and the incorporation of newly synthesized triacylglycerols into nascent chylomicrons for secretion. In enterocytes, the final step in triacylglycerol synthesis is believed to be catalyzed primarily through the actions of acyl-CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) enzymes. In this study, we analyzed intestinal triacylglycerol absorption and chylomicron synthesis and secretion in DGAT1-deficient (Dgat1(-/-)) mice. Surprisingly, DGAT1 was not essential for quantitative dietary triacylglycerol absorption, even in mice fed a high fat diet, or for the synthesis of chylomicrons. However, Dgat1(-/-) mice had reduced postabsorptive chylomicronemia (1 h after a high fat challenge) and accumulated neutral-lipid droplets in the cytoplasm of enterocytes when chronically fed a high fat diet. These results suggest a reduced rate of triacylglycerol absorption in Dgat1(-/-) mice. Analysis of intestine from Dgat1(-/-) mice revealed activity for two other enzymes, DGAT2 and diacylglycerol transacylase, that catalyze triacylglycerol synthesis and apparently help to compensate for the absence of DGAT1. Our findings indicate that multiple mechanisms for triacylglycerol synthesis in the intestine facilitate triacylglycerol absorption.

Near-Infrared Spectroscopy As Applied to Starch Analysis of Digestive Contents

The digestibility of starch, which is an important and common source of energy for animals and humans, is widely studied in nutrition research. Starch content is determined either in intestinal or in fecal samples. However, the biochemical methods used to quantify starch in digesta are time consuming and destructive. A rapid and nondestructive method, based on near-infrared spectroscopy, was developed to measure the level of starch in the jejunal digesta of cannulated pigs. Samples were chemically analyzed to assess a prediction equation by applying a principal component regression. The equation was proved to be reliable and allowed the quantification of native and pregelatinized starch in the digestive residues. Near-infrared spectroscopy appears to be a simple and promising technique for nutritional studies, capable of providing a range of information of nutritional value. Keywords: Near-infrared spectroscopy; starch; nutrition