Solid-State Hydrolysis (SSH) Improves the Nutritional Value of Plant Ingredients in the Diet of Mugil cephalus

The possibility of improving the nutritional quality of plant byproducts (brewers’ spent grain and rice bran) through an enzyme treatment was tested in a formulated feed for grey mullet (Mugil cephalus). The enzyme treatment was carried out by Solid-State Hydrolysis (SSH) using a commercial preparation including carbohydrases and phytase. A feed prepared without the treatment and a commercial feed for carp were used as controls. In a preliminary short-term trial carried out at laboratory facilities, fish receiving the enzyme-treated feed showed significant improvement in both FCR and SGR when compared to those obtained with the untreated diet, although both experimental diets presented worse values than those obtained with the commercial feed. Different metabolic indicators including higher values of muscle glycogen and plasmatic triglycerides supported the positive effect of the enzyme treatment on the nutritional condition of the fish over those fed on the diet containing non-treated ingredients. Results of growth and feed efficiency that were obtained in a second long-term trial developed for 148 days under real production conditions evidenced the equivalence among the experimental and commercial diets and confirmed that enzyme pretreatment of plant ingredients by SSH may be a useful procedure to improve the nutritive value of high fiber plant byproducts when included in practical diets for this species and others with similar nutritional features.

Effect of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Vaccine on Pregnancy Failure in Beef Cows

This study evaluates whether the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccination increases pregnancy failures in Bos taurus beef cows. A total of 3,379 cows were assigned to two experimental groups to receive (n = 1,722) or not receive (n = 1,657) a FMD vaccine (commercial preparation containing FMD virus, O1 Campos and A24 Cruzeiro) at different gestational age. Pregnancy diagnosis was performed by ultrasonography at vaccination time (Day 0), and the cows were classified by days of pregnancy as follows: (a) <29 days after mating (presumed pregnant cows, n = 778), (b) between 30 and 44 days of pregnancy (n = 1,100), (c) 45 and 59 days of pregnancy (n = 553), and (d) between 60 and 90 days of pregnancy (n = 948). Pregnancy failure was determined 30 days after vaccination by a second ultrasound examination. Cows that were vaccinated within 29 days after mating had a 7.8% greater pregnancy failure rate than non-vaccinated cows (44.1%, 163/370 vs. 36.3%, 148/408, respectively; P <0.05). Cows vaccinated between 30 and 44 days of gestation had a pregnancy failure rate greater than non-vaccinated cows (4.9%, 28/576 vs. 2.5%, 13/524, respectively; P <0.05). When cows received the vaccine between days 45 and 90 of gestation no differences in pregnancy failure were observed (0.8%, 6/776 vs. 1.2%, 9/725, respectively; P = NS). Body temperature and local adverse reactions to vaccine inoculation were recorded in a subset of 152 multiparous cows. Hyperthermia (>39.5°C) was detected on Day 1 or 2 in 28.0% (21/75) of vaccinated vs. 7.8% (6/77) of non-vaccinated cows (P <0.01). Local adverse reaction to the FMD vaccine inoculation increased from 0.0% (0/75) on Day 0, to 15.7% (11/75) on Day 4, and 38.7% (29/75) on Day 10 (P <0.01). On Day 30 local reaction was detected in 10.5% (34/323) and fell to 2.2% on Day 60 (7/323) post vaccination (P <0.01). In conclusion, FMD vaccine increases pregnancy failure when it is administered before 45 days of gestation, an effect that was associated with hyperthermia and local adverse reaction. No effect on pregnancy failure was found when vaccination was performed after 45 days of gestation.

Comparison of Contaminant Profiles and Biochemical Properties for Commercial Preparations of Immune Globulin Intravenous (IGIV)

Immune globulin intravenous (IGIV) has grown steadily in the volume of use and numbers of clinical indications since the first modern commercial preparation was approved by FDA in 1981. All US-marketed IGIV products are approved by FDA to treat primary immune deficiency; seven are also approved for immune thrombocytopenia purpura. Currently, most IGIV infusions are for treating autoimmune diseases. IGIV has historically been isolated from pools of human plasma (at least 1,000 donors, but typically ranging from 10,000 donations in the US up to 60,000 donations in some EU nations) using Cohn-Oncley cold ethanol fractionation. Most firms now supplement this process with chromatographic steps to remove Factor XIa, other promoters of complement activation, and other Ig isotypes. Despite high purity, a range of adverse symptoms, varying widely by product, is associated with IGIV infusions. To date, a possible correlation between adverse event profiles and contaminant profiles for IGIV products has not been studied and remains poorly understood. FDA requires donor blood tests for absence of hepatitis, HIV and other viral diseases. Final container immunoglobulin products must show potency against measles, diphtheria and polio virus and contain no prekallikrein activator. However, no further characterization of contaminant proteins is currently required. We therefore undertook comparative component analyses of 5% and 10% solution IGIV products approved or in development for the US market. Component analysis was performed using high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) and very sensitive multiplexed ELISA (mELISA) surveys to identify and quantitate trace contaminants in individual products. Factor XIa antigen and activity tests as well as functional assays were performed to assess the thrombogenic potential of the products. Subgroup and Ig isotype distribution were assessed by ELISA, and size exclusion chromatography was used to determine the extent of molecular aggregation. HRMS and mELISA are complementary but fundamentally different survey methods. HRMS is less "biased" in that it will detect any molecular entity more abundant than the limit of detection, whereas mELISA detected primarily biomarkers included in lists of assays preset by the vendor. Among these were several tumor markers, a wide range of inflammatory modulators, and a number of metabolic hormones. For a complex biologic such as polyclonal IGIV, HRMS typically detects entities present at levels of 10 - 20 molar ppm, while the lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) of the mELISA is typically 3 - 5 orders of magnitude lower. Therefore, the mELISA survey of each IGIV product typically detects a substantially greater number of contaminant entities than the HRMS assay. If mELISA found a protein at ≥ 10 ppm for a product, it was generally also among the contaminants detected by HRMS. Thus, HRMS and mELISA results correlated satisfactorily. With both methods, detected levels of any given contaminant varied up to several orders of magnitude among the IGIV products tested. The most abundant contaminants in most preparations were IgA, IgD, β 2-glycoprotein-1, α 2-macroglobulin and albumin. Residual albumin and IgM were found in some but not all products. Inflammatory modulators were largely absent from the IGIV products surveyed. The interleukins IL6, IL-8 and IL-10 were detected in a few products, but in no case more than 4-fold above the mELISA LLOQ. The tumor markers carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), α-fetoprotein (αFP), CA-125, CA 19-9 and tumor necrosis factor-α were not found in any product. The results of these assays are discussed with respect to their potential relationship to the observed adverse event and safety profiles of the individual products. Disclosures Abramson: GC Mogam, Incorporated: Consultancy, Research Funding. Van Cott: GC Mogam, Incorporated: Research Funding.

Comparison of effectiveness of various bacterial proteases preparations in collagen hydrolysis

Гидролизаты коллагена широко используются в пищевой, фармацевтической и косметической промышленности. Для обработки коллагена используют различные протеолитические ферменты растительного, животного и микробного происхождения, из которых самыми перспективными являются бактериальные протеазы. Наиболее известные и часто используемые в пищевой отрасли коммерческие препараты бактериальных протеаз различаются по компонентному составу и могут содержать сериновые, металлопротеазы либо их смесь. С целью определения эффективности препаратов бактериальных протеаз с различным компонентным составом при получении гидролизатов коллагена мы провели ферментативную обработку говяжьего коллагена с использованием коммерческих препаратов Alcalase, Neutrase, Protamex и двух образцов ферментных препаратов, полученных в лабораторных условиях на основе новых отечественных штаммов Bacillus. Эффективность гидролиза оценивали по накоплению аминного азота, содержанию низкомолекулярного белка и по интенсивности белковых полос на электрофореграммах полученных продуктов. Все исследуемые препараты обеспечивали эффективный гидролиз коллагена. Наиболее интенсивно коллаген расщепляли препараты, содержащие только сериновые протеазы: Alcalase и ФП-145, полученный из культуральной жидкости штамма B. licheniformis-145. Высокую эффективность показали коммерческий препарат Protamex и ФП-96, полученный на основе мутантного варианта штамма B. subtilis-359 - продуцента субтилизина BPN’ и бациллолизина. Наименьший выход аминного азота и низкомолекулярных белков наблюдался в варианте с препаратом Neutrase, протеолитическая активность которого полностью представлена действием нейтральной протеазы бациллолизина. Лабораторные образцы ферментных препаратов, полученные на основе новых отечественных продуцентов, не уступали зарубежным коммерческим аналогам, а ФП-96 обеспечил более высокий выход аминного азота и низкомолекулярных белков в сравнении с широко используемым в пищевой промышленности препаратом Protamex. Collagen hydrolysates are widely used in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. For collagen hydrolysis, various proteolytic enzymes of plant, animal and microbial origin are used, of which the most promising are bacterial proteases. The most well-known and commonly used in the food industry commercial preparations of bacterial proteases differ in their component composition and may contain serine protease, metalloproteases, or their mixture. In order to determine the effectiveness of bacterial protease preparations with different component composition in obtaining collagen hydrolysates, we carried out hydrolysis of beef collagen using commercial preparations Alcalase, Neutrase, Protamex and two laboratory samples of enzyme preparations obtained from new domestic Bacillus strains. The efficiency of hydrolysis was assessed by amine nitrogen accumulation, low-molecular-weight protein content, and by the intensity of the protein bands on the electrophoregrams of the hydrolysates. All investigated preparations provided effective collagen hydrolysis. Collagen was hydrolyzed most intensively by preparations containing only serine proteases: Alcalase and FP-145, obtained from B. licheniformis-145 culture liquid. The commercial preparation Protamex and FP-96, obtained from a mutant variant of the B. subtilis-359 strain, a producer of subtilisin BPN' and bacillolysin, showed high efficiency. The lowest yield of amine nitrogen and low molecular weight proteins was observed when using Neutrase, which contains only the neutral protease bacillolysin. Laboratory samples of enzyme preparations obtained from the new domestic producers were not inferior to foreign commercial counterparts, and FP-96 provided a higher yield of amine nitrogen and low molecular weight proteins in comparison with Protamex, which is widely used in the food industry.

Co-administration of vitamin D3 and Lacticaseibacillus paracasei DG increase 25-hydroxyvitamin D serum levels in mice

Purpose Subclinical vitamin D (vitD) deficiency enhances the predisposition to a myriad of acute and chronic pathologies in many people worldwide. Due to the scarcity of vitD-rich foods, the consumption of supplements or fortified foods can be required to maintain healthy serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], and the major circulating form of vitD that is commonly measured in serum to determine the vitD status. Since the vitD absorption seems to resemble that of lipids, improved emulsification in the gut could favor vitD permeation through the enterocyte membrane. Contextually, we hypothesized that a microorganism with cholecalciferol (vitD3)-solubilization properties may potentially result in enhanced serum vitD levels. Methods and results Six probiotic strains were screened for their ability to create a stable suspension of vitD3 in water: Lacticaseibacillus paracasei DG, L. paracasei LPC-S01, L. paracasei Shirota, L. rhamnosus GG, Limosilactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938, and Lactobacillus acidophilus LA5. The DG strain displayed the strongest vitD3 solubilization ability and, consequently, were used in an in vivo trial where a commercial preparation of vitD3 in refined olive oil was administered by gavage to CD-1 mice with or without the concurrent administration of L. paracasei DG. ELISA measurements showed that the DG strain significantly increased the serum levels of 25(OH) D when administered once a day for 1 week in association with the vitD3 supplement. Conclusion This preliminary pre-clinical study suggests that the combined administration of L. paracasei DG with an oil-based cholecalciferol supplement could contribute to the maintenance of the adequate 25(OH) D serum levels in people at risk of vitD deficiency.

The past, present, prospects and problems of improving the specifi c prevention of brucellosis

Brucellosis remains the most widespread zoonotic infection in the world. Th e spread of the infection is controlled by animals vaccination because the high morbidity rate of the population is associated with the spread of infection among livestock. Th e research is ongoing on a commercial preparation of an eff ective and safe vaccine for immunization of humans and animals against brucellosis. Th e review is devoted to the prospects and problems of improving the specifi c prevention of brucellosis. Th e authors analyzed scientifi c publications from various databases of electronic libraries, such as PubMed, e-library, CyberLeninka, etc.

Characterization of preparation for fat separators

Fats, oils and greases in waste water frequently cause serious environmental problems. A commercial preparation was tested for its ability to degrade oil and grease in wastewater. As substrates, two fats (lard and beef fat) and four oils (rape seed oil, sunflower oil, palm oil and olive oil) were chosen. The degradation ability of commercial preparation for different substrates was investigated by the determination of lipid degradation at pH 7, temperature 25 °C, aerobic condition and agitation at 160 rev/min for 14 days in Erlenmeyer flasks. Simultaneously, the lipolytic activity was spectrophotometrically determined at 420 nm. All tested substrates were degraded by the different rate to basic units (fatty acids). Rape seed oil and lard were decomposed by bacterial lipase from commercial preparation.

Foliar Application of Entomopathogenic Nematodes against Cereal Leaf Beetle Oulema melanopus L. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) on Wheat

Cereal monocultures are very susceptible to many pests, especially to those living on leaves, which largely affects yield by decreasing its quality. The most dangerous of them is the cereal leaf beetle (Oulema melanopus L.). In cases of heavy infestation by its larvae, the surface of plants may be reduced by 50%, and sometimes even by 80%, with a main yield loss of 10–25%. The aim of the presented study was to assess the efficiency of a native isolate of Steinernema feltiae (Filipjev, 1934) and commercial preparation Larvanem (Heterorhabditis bacteriophora (Poinar, 1975)) in controlling the larvae of O. melanopus, and to reduce crops damage in the field. Nematodes were applied in a dosage of 2 million IJs/m2 as a suspension of 11 litres per square metre. A hand sprinkler with field lance and flat-stream nozzles was used for applications at the lowest working pressure of 3000 hPa. The effectiveness of both nematode species was moderate: 47.8% for S. feltiae isolate and 49.5% for H. bacteriophora. The biggest reduction in leaf damage was found in crops treated with the commercial preparation, where the index of leaf infection was 32%, being more than twofold smaller than that for the control.