Occurrence of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in rheas (Rhea americana) and ostriches (Struthio camelus) from farms of different Brazilian regions
AbstractThis study aimed to verify the occurrence of antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii in rheas (Rhea americana) and ostriches (Struthio camelus) commercially breeding in Brazil. Blood samples from 20 rheas and 46 ostriches (young and adults) were serologically tested using a technique known as modified agglutination test (MAT) at an initial titration of 1:16 for ostriches and 1:25 for rheas. Antibodies against T. gondii were found in 50% (10/20) of the rheas, with titers ranging from 1:25 to 1:6,400. The incidence of antibodies against T. gondii in ostriches was 17.4% (8/46) with titers ranging from 1:16 to 1:256. Birds showing titers higher than 1:200 for T. gondii were mainly the young ones. Therefore, rheas and ostriches may be parasitized by T. gondii, showing high levels of antibodies against this parasite.
The objective of this study was to evaluate whether the addition of a blend based on α-monolaurin mono-, di-and triglycerides of butyric acid, and lysolecithin on the performance even on diets containing reduced inclusion of oil in the diet and without the use of growth-promoting antibiotics of broilers considering the effect on health, performance, and meat. Three treatments were defi ned: positive control (TP: with enramycin), negative control (TN: no enramycin), and blend (T-FRA: with monolaurin and glycerides of acid butyric minus 0.8% soybean oil). At 21 days, broilers treated with TP and T-FRA obtained the lower feed conversion ratio (FC); at 35 days, T-FRA broilers obtained lower FC than TN broilers. Cholesterol levels were higher in the blood of T-FRA broilers. On day 42, levels of ROS and TBARS were lower in the intestine, muscles, and liver of T-FRA broilers. Moreover, glutathione S-transferase and total non-enzymatic antioxidants were greater at the intestinal and muscular levels. The T-FRA broilers had a lower percentage of lipids in the meat. The MIC indicated that 111mg of the blend/ mL inhibited the growth of E. coli; however, the counts of total coliforms and E. coli in the feces and the broilers' litter did not differ between treatments. In conclusion, the addition of the blend T-FRA in broiler diets was able to improve the feed conversion and maintain the other performance parameters even considering a reduction of 0.8% in the inclusion of oil.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.