No abstract

The aim of this trial was to evaluate the effects of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) supplementation in different-stages atopic dogs fed on a controlled diet. Twenty-two non-seasonal atopic dogs of different breeds and ages were included in the 2-month trial. All the patients were given an essential fatty acid (EFA) supplementation [17 mg/kg eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) + 5 mg/kg docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) + 35 mg/kg gammalinolenic acid (GLA)], the global (diet + supplementation) omega-6 to omega-3 ratio was 5.5-1. Two groups of dogs were considered: group A 'pre-immunotherapy' (15 cases) included dogs with early stages atopy, which had not been submitted to any treatment yet; group B 'post-immunotherapy' (seven cases) included dogs with chronic atopy immunotherapy non-responsive. Clinical evaluations were performed at the beginning, on day 30 and at the end of the trial. Blood serum fatty acids profile was determined at the beginning and at the end of the study. Better clinical results were obtained in group A, a great difference was found between the two groups on pruritus score. Serum arachidonic acid (AA) was significantly lower at the end of the trial in group A while GLA was significantly higher in group B. We hypothesized that different-stages atopic dogs could have different response to EFA supplementation, maybe because of a different fatty acids metabolism. Early stages cases seem to be more responsive to EFA supplementation.

In dogs, faeces quality and nutrients digestibility were affected by different types of cellulose (Wichert et al., 2002). In this study, it was investigated whether there are comparable effects of cellulose type in cats. Seven adult, healthy cats were fed a moist commercial complete cat food with three different cellulose type added at a level of 4% for a 1 week period. Faeces quality was between 1 and 3 on the scale used from 1 to 5. The addition of long fibre cellulose resulted in significantly firmer faeces. Addition of cellulose decreased the digestibility of dry matter and energy, whereas the impact on protein and fat digestibility was not significant. The type of cellulose affected faecal bulk and faecal water excretion. Faecal excretion of sodium and potassium was exponentially correlated to faecal water, faecal bulk and to a lesser extent to faecal dry matter excretion. Faecal calcium, magnesium and phosphorus excretion showed an exponential correlation to faecal dry matter excretion. A weaker correlation existed in all three elements to faecal bulk, whereas the effect of faecal water excretion was small. Results suggest a remarkable likeness between cats and dogs with regard to the digestive physiology of major minerals.

Three groups of pigs were fed three different diets, namely a diet rich in saturated fatty acids (palm oil-based, PO), a polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)-rich diet (corn oil-based, CO), and a PUFA-rich diet (corn oil-based) supplemented with red wine solids (RWS), which was added to the diet (CO+RWS) in order to assess the protective effect on the oxidative status of the pork meat. The addition of corn oil favourably modulates the FAs profile of the backfat, and to a lesser extent of the intramuscular fat of semimembranosus muscle, without causing adverse effects on the meat quality or on its oxidative stability. Moreover, these parameters were not affected by the addition of the RWS in the CO+RWS diet.Keywords: pig; meat quality; red wine solids; fatty acids. Practical Application:The red wine solids supplementation in feed should provide a good protection of the meat from oxidation.

Individual identification in pigs is a key point for management, traceability and trade control. The aim of this experiment was to study retention rate and functionality of electronic identification systems in pigs, injected in different sites, to evaluate traceability of animals and highlight histopathological alterations of tissues in different inoculation sites. A total of 60 crossbred piglets were used to compare different transponder inoculation sites. One group (15 piglets) was identified only by plastic ear tags; and three groups were identified by passive injectable transponders (PIT) with different inoculation sites. Pigs were slaughtered in two different moments, in order to evaluate injection sites, macroscopically and histologically, either 50 days after injection or at a normal slaughtering weight. In general, no apparent animal health problems were observed the day after the injection or during the control readings performed during the experiment. Intraperitoneal localization gave excellent results in term of readability until the slaughter time. Transponders at the slaughter line were always recovered in the viscera tray because they were found loose in the peritoneal cavity. In some cases, they were found on the carcasses, attached to the peritoneum. In those cases a sample of peritoneal tissue was collected for histological examination. A reparative chronic reaction with moderate and multifocal fibrosis and neoformed vessels associated to multifocal and mild lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate were detected. In one case (6.7%) the transponder was found on the visceral side of the liver and the histological examination highlighted a localized superficial hepatic atrophy by compression. Retroauricolar site of injection gave lower readability results because 2 transponders (13.3%) were no more readable during the first month after injection. No lesions were found with this inoculation site. PIT injected in the perineal region were operative until slaughter time. Recovery procedures at the slaughter house were simple for animals slaughtered at a low weight, but much more difficult in the case of heavy pigs. Moreover, in three cases (20%), PITs were no more in the subcutaneous tissue but they had an intramuscular localization. The histological examination of the muscles revealed a chronic reparative process. In our experiment, injectable transponders in the intraperitoneal position provided the best identification system for pigs. Histopathological examination revealed only local reparative processes in the tissues interested by PIT contact, and no other pathological changes