RESUMO -Objetivou-se avaliar a produção, a composição e o rendimento (na fabricação de queijos) do leite de ovelhas Santa Inês tratadas ou não com ocitocina. Os animais foram mantidos em regime de confinamento e receberam uma dieta com 12% de PB e 65% de NDT. As ovelhas foram distribuídas em dois tratamentos: ordenha manual com injeção endovenosa de três UI de ocitocina e ordenha manual sem injeção de ocitocina (grupo controle). Realizou-se uma ordenha diária, de modo que, até a desmama, as ovelhas permaneceram diariamente com os cordeiros durante 14 horas. Os cordeiros foram desmamados aos 60 dias e as ovelhas continuaram sendo ordenhadas uma vez ao dia até o final da lactação. Foram coletadas amostras de leite para análise dos teores de gordura, de sólidos totais e de sólidos desengordurados. A duração média da lactação foi de 225±27,24 e 210±38,77 dias para as ovelhas controle e tratadas com ocitocina, respetivamente. Até os 133 dias de lactação, o tratamento com ocitocina (141,63±51,52 kg) foi superior ao controle (89,39±16,65 kg), entretanto, durante todo o período de lactação, não diferiu (169,64 ± 71,05) do controle (119,72±32,73). As porcentagens de gordura (5,84±0,44 e 4,96±0,47), sólidos totais (17,40±0,42 e 16,18±0,57) e sólidos desengordurados (11,57±0,15 e 11,22±0,25) no leite foram influenciadas pela aplicação de ocitocina. Os resultados revelaram diferença significativa para as ovelhas tratadas com ocitocina, as quais apresentaram maior produtividade e, inclusive, melhor composição química do leite. A aplicação de ocitocina é recomendada para animais não adaptados à rotina de ordenha. O leite das ovelhas Santa Inês apresentou rendimentos de 4,80; 8,29 e 5,99 L/kg para os queijos tipo azeitão, pecorino e roquefort, respectivamente.Palavras-chave: gordura, hormônio, lactação, ovino Effects of oxytocin on milk yield and composition of Santa Inês ewesABSTRACT -The objective of this trial was to investigate the effects of oxytocin on milk yield and composition and on cheese yield of Santa Inês sheep receiving a diet containing 12% CP and 65% TDN. Animals were maintained in pens and were assigned to one of the following two treatments: hand milking plus an intravenous injection of 3 IU of oxytocin or hand milking without oxytocin injection (control group). Ewes were milked daily and remained with their lambs for a daily period of 14 hours until weaning; lambs were weaned at 60 days of age and ewes still milked once a day until the end of lactation. Milk samples were collected for analysis of fat, total solids, and solids non-fat. Lactation length averaged 225±27.24 and 210±38.77 for control and oxytocin-treated ewes, respectively. Ewes receiving oxytocin yielded more milk (141.63±51.52 kg) than those on the control group (89.39±16.65 kg) until 133 days of lactation; however, total milk yield on the entire lactation did not differ significantly comparing oxyitocin-treated (169.64 ± 71.05) with control (119.72±32.73) animals. Milk contents of fat (5.84±0.44 and 4.96±0.47), total solids (17.40±0.42 and 16....

No abstract

RESUMOAvaliou-se o efeito da substituição do milho por glicerina bruta em dietas para suínos em terminação. Foram utilizados 80 suínos, machos castrados, híbrido comercial, com média de peso de 67kg, em um experimento em delineamento inteiramente ao acaso, com cinco tratamentos e oito repetições, com dois animais por unidade experimental. Os tratamentos foram: 0,0; 4,0; 8,0; 12,0 e 16,0% de glicerina bruta em substituição ao milho nas dietas. A substituição do milho por glicerina bruta não afetou as características de desempenho (P≥0,05). Observaram-se efeito linear crescente de tratamento (P≤0,05) sobre a espessura de toucinho na carcaça e efeito linear decrescente de tratamento (P≤0,05) sobre a perda de líquido no descongelamento e na força de cisalhamento. A glicerina bruta pode substituir em até 16,0% do milho da dieta para suínos em terminação, sem prejuízos do desempenho e rendimento de carcaça, com melhoras na qualidade da carne.

No abstract

The use of antibiotics as performance enhancers in animal feeding is declining, so Lippia gracilis Schauer essential oil (LGSEO) could be used as a potential substitute for the conventionally used growth promoters. The LGSEO contains components such as carvacrol and thymol, which kill and/or control pathogenic bacteria, increase population of beneficial organisms, act against oxidative processes and onto nutrient digestibility and absorption. The aim of this study was to investigate the action and the effects of LGSEO as a growth promoter in the diet of Japanese quail by examining their productive performance, intestinal microbiology, blood biochemical parameters, hepatic thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) content and intestinal gene expression. A total of 252 two-day-old quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) were assigned to 3 treatments in 7 replicates, using 12 birds per experimental unit. The treatments consisted of a basal diet, basal diet + LGSEO at 400 mg/kg of diet and basal diet + chemical antimicrobial (bacitracin methylene disalicylate) at 500 mg/kg of diet. The experimental period was 34 days. The highest feed intake (P < 0.01) was found in the group receiving the conventional antimicrobial, whereas the best feed conversion (P < 0.01) was shown by the animals receiving LGSEO. Escherichia coli growth was restricted in the quail receiving the growth promoters. Salmonella spp. growth was controlled by the treatment containing the conventional antimicrobial. There was no difference between the treatments (P > 0.05) for the concentration of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase enzymes in the blood or hepatic TBARS content. Birds receiving negative-control treatment exhibited a higher expression of sodium-glucose cotransporter (SGLT1), while those receiving the treatment with essential oil showed lower catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX7) expressions compared to the conventional antimicrobial and control groups, respectively. Lippia gracilis Schauer essential oil is a powerful performance enhancer for Japanese quail by virtue of its abilities to improve their intestinal environment, balance the microbial population and reduce energy expenditure for oxidative processes.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of levels of choline and digestible methionine + cystine in diets for quail in the laying phase. A total of 280 Japanese laying quail were assigned to one of eight treatments in a completely randomized design in a 4 × 2 factorial arrangement consisting of dietary supplementation with four levels of choline (0.0, 0.042, 0.084 and 0.126%) and two levels of digestible methionine + cystine (0.857 and 0.685%), with five replicates and seven birds per plot. The experimental period was 84 days, represented by four 21-day evaluation cycles in which quail performance and egg quality were evaluated. There was no interaction effect between the factors for any of the studied variables, except quail weight. The highest tested levels of methionine + cystine and choline supplementation improved egg weight, feed conversion egg mass?1 and yolk percentage. By contrast, albumen percentage decreased linearly as choline inclusion in the diet was elevated. The choline supplementation levels induced a quadratic response from eggshell percentage, whose optimum result was estimated at the choline level of 0.05% in the diet. Egg specific gravity decreased linearly as choline supplementation was increased. The indicated level of digestible methionine + cystine in the diet of Japanese quail in the laying phase is 0.857%, while choline should be supplemented at 0.126%.

The study aimed to evaluate the effects of citric acid supplementation on the performance and the gene expression in the duodenum of Japanese quail. Genes related to antioxidant activity: superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase 7 (GPX7); and genes related to nutrient uptake in the enterocytes' apical membrane: sodium-glucose cotransporter 1 (SGLT1, responsible for the glucose absorption), glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2) and B 0 AT1 (responsible for the absorption of neutral amino acids in brush board membrane) were evaluated. For this, 270 laying quails (Coturnix japonica) were fed a diet supplemented with 0%, 0.6% or 1.2% of citric acid. Gene expression was evaluated by the quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) at 35 days old (n = 5). The highest expression of the SGLT1 gene was observed in quails fed the 1.2% citric acid supplemented diet (0.120 AU). Birds fed diets with both levels of citric acid supplementation showed a higher B 0 AT1 gene expression than quails fed no citric acid. Quails fed the 1.2% of citric acid supplemented diet had the lowest SOD gene expression (0.3455 AU). The birds receiving the diets supplemented with citric acid showed a lower GPX7 gene expression than the quails fed the 0% citric acid diet. These results suggests that the effect of citric acid on gene expression in the digestive tract may have contributed to the greater weight gain and lower feed intake observed in birds fed diets supplemented with citric acid.

RESUMOVisando-se determinar se o plasma sangüíneo tem efeitos sobre o crescimento, o desenvolvimento bacteriano e a estrutura intestinal de leitões desmamados aos 28 dias de idade consumindo quantidades iguais de dietas, 24 leitões desmamados aos 28 dias de idade foram utilizados em um experimento com delineamento em blocos ao acaso com quatro tratamentos (dietas com 0,0; 2,5; 5,0 e 7,5% de plasma sangüíneo), seis repetições e um animal por unidade experimental. Foram constatadas diferenças significativas entre os tratamentos em relação aos ganhos de peso, às conversões alimentares e às quantidades de colônias de E. coli. Os animais que consumiram as dietas com plasma sangüíneo apresentaram maiores ganhos de peso, melhores conversões alimentares e menores quantidades de E. coli no intestino delgado do que os animais que receberam dietas sem plasma. Não se observou efeitos significativos das quantidades de plasma sangüíneo consumido sobre a estrutura intestinal dos leitões doze dias após o desmame. Concluiu-se que a inclusão de plasma sangüíneo na proporção mínima de 2,5% aumenta ganho de peso, melhora conversão alimentar e reduz a incidência de colônias de E. coli no intestino de leitões desmamados aos 28 dias de idade criados em condições de desafio, mas não afeta a estrutura intestinal.Palavras-chaves: desmame precoce, diarréias, Escherichia coli, idade ao desmame, enriquecimento nutricional SUMMARYIn order to evaluate the effects of spray-dried plasma on performance (weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion), growth, intestinal health (microflora colonization and intestinal wall morphology) of piglets fed equal amounts per day of feed, 24 piglets weaned at 28 days old were used in an experiment performed as a randomised block design with four treatments (diets with 0.0, 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5% inclusion of spray-dried plasma), six replicates and one animal per experimental unit. Significant differences were observed among treatments weight gain, feed conversion and numbers of E. coli colony forming-units (CFU). Pigletsfed diets with different levels of spray-dried plasma had higher weight gain, better feed conversion and lower amounts of E. coli CFU in the small intestine than animals fed diets without spraydried plasma in the diets. No significant effect of the treatments on the intestinal wall morphology at day twelve after weaning was observed. In conclusion, the inclusion of 2.5% spray-dried plasma in the diets in creases weight gain, improves feed conversion and reduces the incidence of E. coli CFU in the small intestine of piglets weaned at 28 days of age reared under challenging conditions, however, no beneficial effect on the intestinal wall morphology was observed with the inclusion of spray dried plasma in the diets.