Content and deposition of major mineral elements in different tissues and empty body of growing bulls of the german simmental breed

54 bulls of the German Simmental breed were fed either on a high energy level (maize silage ad libitum and 1.8 kg concentrate) or on a low energy level (maize silage restrictively and 1.0 kg concentrate). In dependence on feeding intensity a mean daily weight gain of 870 or 1210 g was obtained. Animals were slaughtered with a live mass of 200 kg, 350 kg, 500 kg, 575 kg and 650 kg. Empty body was divided into 13 cuts and afterwards separated into lean, bone and adipose tissues and tendons. Major mineral element content was determined in these tissues as well as in the noncarcass parts.

In the lean tissue the mean content (200 kg) of 0.3 g calcium, 10 g phosphorus, 1 g magnesium, 2.3 g sodium and 14.8 g potassium/kg dry matter decreased slightly with rising live mass (200–650 kg). The contents of major mineral elements were much higher in bone tissue. For the fattening period from 200 to 650 kg of live mass mean contents of 151.5 g calcium, 71.3 g phosphorus, 3.2 g magnesium, 5.1 g sodium and 1.1 g potassium per kg DM were analysed. Mineral element content of bone tissue increased with rising live mass as well as animals on low feeding intensity showed a higher mineral content than on high energy level. In all, major mineral element content in fat tissue was very low. In noncarcass parts head and legs calcium and phosphorus had analogous to bone tissue the highest concentration. Hide showed a high content of sodium, whereas organs and digestive tract had a high content of potassium and phosphorus. Total mass of major mineral elements in the different tissues increased above all in the fattening period of 200 to 350 kg. In carcass as well as in empty body, mass of calcium and phosphorus was much higher than magnesium, sodium and potassium. Also animals on low feeding intensity showed a higher mass of major mineral elements in carcass and empty body than animals on high energy feeding intensity. The intensively fed bulls had a mean deposition of 12.7 g calcium, 6.9 g phosphorus, 0.37 g magnesium, 1.2 g sodium and 2.1 potassium per 1000 g of empty body weight gain, whereas restrictively fed bulls deposited in average 15.0 g calcium, 7.8 g phosphorus, 0.4 g magnesium, 1.2 g sodium and 2.4 g potassium per 1000 g of empty body weight gain.     

The influence of 5% and 10% dietary apple pectin on parameters of fermentation in faeces and caecal digesta of weaning pigs

In order to determine the effect of pectin on fermentation parameters in the faeces and caecal digesta of weaned pigs 18 castrated male crossbred pigs with an average body weight of 8?kg were fitted with T-cannulas at the caecum. The animals were randomly distributed into three groups and fed with diets supplemented with 0, 5 and 10% pectin. Faeces were collected over a period of 3 days. Thereafter the diets were withdrawn for 24?h followed by ad libitum feeding to enhance the feed intake. Caecal chyme was collected 0, 8 and 24?h postprandial. In the faeces the addition of 5% pectin to the diet lowered the content of dry matter and lactic acid. The pH and the digestibility of pectins, the concentration of total SCFA, acetate, propionate, butyrate, bicarbonate and chloride increased. Dietary pectin of 10% increased the content of total SCFA and acetate further. When the diets were withdrawn and fed ad libitum 24?h later, a decline of the pH and an increased concentration of lactate in the caecal chyme could be observed in all groups up to 8?h after feeding. With an interval of 8 to 24?h after feeding, a further decline in pH and a rise of lactate only occurred when the diet was not supplemented with pectin. It was concluded that pectin might be beneficial for the development of fermentative processes in the large intestine.     

Digestibility of carbohydrates in growing pigs: a comparison between the t-cannula and the steered ileo-caecal valve cannula

We compared the determination of ileal and total tract digestibility of carbohydrates in five experimental diets using a double 5?×?5 Latin square design involving a total of 10 cannulated pigs; half of the pigs were equipped with a simple T-cannula and the other half with steered ileo-caecal valve (SICV)-cannula. The diets consisted of nitrogen-free mixture and soya bean meal, sunflower meal, peas or rape seed cake diluted to about 180?g/kg DM protein with the nitrogen-free mixture. There was no significant difference in the digestibility values using the two types of cannulas with regard to organic matter, sugars (sum of glucose, fructose and sucrose), α-galactosides (sum of raffinose, stachyose and verbascose), starch, cellulose, total non-cellulosic polysaccharides (NCP) and insoluble NCP constituents. The digestibility values for the NCP residues arabinose and galactose, however, were estimated higher but with a lower variability with the SICV-cannula compared with the T-cannula. The type of cannula did no influence the estimation of the total tract digestibility for any of the major dietary constituents, but the total tract digestibility was slightly more variable when the pigs were equipped with the SICV-cannula compared with the T-cannula. There was no difference in the ileal digestibility of sugars, α-galactosides, cellulose and the NCP arabinose and uronic acids residues among the experimental diets, while the ileal digestibility of starch and the remaining NCP sugar residues varied between diets. The total tract digestibility was complete for sugars, α-galactosides and starch, whereas the digestibility of the cell wall constituents varied in accordance with the polymeric composition of the cell walls. It was concluded that ileal digesta samples from SICV-cannula are more homogenous than those from the T-cannula. In cases where the precision of each determination is crucial, the SICV-cannula should be the option.     

Changes of Porcine Growth Hormone and Pituitary Nitrogen Monoxide Production as a Response to Cadmium Toxicity

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of various cadmium concentrations on porcine growth hormone (GH) secretion in serum and cultured pituitary cells and to explore the possible mechanisms of cadmium toxicity. In feeding trial, 192 barrows (Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire), with similar initial body weights, were randomly divided into four different treatment groups with three replicates for each treatment. The diets were supplemented for 83 days with 0, 0.5, 5.0, and 10.0 mg/kg cadmium (as CdCl₂). For the cell culture trial, dispersed pituitary cells were incubated with graded doses of cadmium (0, 5, 10, 15, or 20 μM) for 24 h. Pigs treated with 10 mg/kg cadmium had significantly decreased serum GH content. 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay showed that Cd toxicity was dose-dependent. Cell viability was reduced to 50% at 15 μM concentration. Administration of cadmium significantly reduced GH secretion, whereas cellular NO content and inducible nitric oxide synthase activity increased to a certain extent. These findings suggest that the decrease of GH might be related to NO production and to a change of NO signal pathway caused by cadmium.     

Effects of Dietary Copper (II) Sulfate and Copper Proteinate on Performance and Blood Indexes of Copper Status in Growing Pigs

160 crossbred (Duroc × Landrace ×Yorkshire) gilts averaged 21.25 kg body weight were used to study the effects of dietary copper (II) sulfate (CuSO₄) and copper proteinate (Cu-Pr) on growth performance, plasma Cu concentration, ceruloplasmin activity, and erythrocyte Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. All pigs were allotted to four treatments and fed with basal diets supplemented with 0 (control), 250 mg /kg Cu as CuSO₄, and 50 and 100 mg/kg Cu as Cu-Pr. Growth performance was determined based on two growth phase (phase 1: days 0 to 15, phase 2: days 15 to 30). After 30 days of the treatment, 16 pig blood samples (four per treatment) were collected for indexes of copper status determination. The experimental results showed that compared with control, pigs fed with 250 mg Cu/kg as CuSO₄ and 100 mg Cu/kg as Cu-Pr had higher average daily gain and average daily feed intake in the whole growth phase (d 0 to 30). In addition, 250 mg Cu/kg as CuSO₄ and 100 mg/kg Cu as Cu-Pr enhanced plasma ceruloplasmin activity (P < 0.05), and 100 mg/kg Cu as Cu-Pr increased erythrocyte Cu/Zn-SOD activity (P < 0.01) compared with the control. There was no obvious treatment response on plasma Cu concentration in the present study.     

The new system of shorter porcine oocyte in vitro maturation (18 hours) using ≥8 mm follicles derived from cumulus-oocyte complexes

Despite recent efforts to improve in vitro maturation (IVM) systems for porcine oocytes, developmental competence of in vitro-matured oocytes is still suboptimal compared with those matured in vivo. In this study, we compared oocytes obtained from large (≥8 mm; LF) and medium (3–7 mm; MF) sized follicles in terms of nuclear maturation, intracellular glutathione and reactive oxygen species levels, gene expression, and embryo developmental competence after IVM. In the control group, cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were aspirated from MF and matured for 22 hours with hormones and subsequently matured for 18 to 20 hours without hormones at 39 °C, 5% CO₂in vitro. In the LF group, COCs were obtained from follicles larger than 8 mm and were subjected to IVM for only 18 hours. The ovaries have LF were averagely obtained with 1.7% per day during 2012 and it was significantly higher in the winter season. The results of the nuclear stage assessment of the COCs from the LFs are as follows: before IVM (0 hours); germinal vesicle stage (15.2%), metaphase I (MI) stage (55.4%), anaphase and telophase I stages (15.8%), and metaphase II (MII) stage (13.6%). After 6 hours IVM; germinal vesicle (4.2%), MI (43.6%), anaphase and telophase I (9.4%), and MII (42.8%). After 18-hour IVM; MI (9.7%) and MII (90.3%). Oocytes from LF showed a significant (P < 0.001) increase in intracellular glutathione (1.41 vs. 1.00) and decrease in reactive oxygen species (0.8 vs. 1.0) levels compared with the control. The cumulus cells derived from LFs showed lower (P < 0.1) mRNA expression of COX-2 and TNFAIP6, and higher (P < 0.1) mRNA expression of PCNA and Nrf2 compared with the control group-derived cumulus cells. After parthenogenetic activation, in vitro fertilization and somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) using matured oocytes from LFs, the embryo development was significantly improved (greater blastocyst formation rates and total cell numbers in blastocysts) compared with the control group. In conclusion, oocytes from LFs require only 18 hours to complete oocyte maturation in vitro and their developmental competence is significantly greater than those obtained from MFs. Although their numbers are limited, oocytes from LFs might offer an alternative source for the efficient production of transgenic pigs using SCNT.     

Biochemical, ECF18R, and RYR1 Gene Polymorphisms and Their Associations with Osteochondral Diseases and Production Traits in Pigs

This study reports the association of five blood types, three enzymes, two proteins, Escherichia coli F18 receptor gene (ECF18R), and the Ryanodin receptor (RYR1) gene with six production traits, four meat quality traits, and two osteochondral diseases in Swiss pig populations. Data on on-farm traits (daily weight gain, percent premium cuts, and backfat) and on station-tested traits (daily weight gain, feed conversion ratio, meat quality, and osteochondral lesions) were available on 3,918 and 303 animals, respectively. A mixed linear model with allele substitution effects was used for each trait by marker analysis (144 analyses). Significant marker-trait associations and allele substitution effects are presented. In general, heritability estimates for production and meat quality traits were higher than those for osteochondral lesions. Blood types lack significant associations with many traits except H and S types. Enzymes (mainly, glucose phosphate isomerase) and protein polymorphisms show significant associations with daily weight gain, premium cuts, and backfat as well as osteochondral lesions. The RYR and ECF18R genes significantly affected all growth, production, and lean meat content traits and osteochondral lesions; RYR also affected pH values. This study reports many novel marker-trait associations, particularly between the incidence of osteochondral lesions and polymorphisms at glucose phosphate isomerase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, postalbumin 1A, RYR, and ECF18R loci. These results should be useful in selection and for further functional genomics and proteomics investigations.     

Effect of cadmium on lipid peroxidation and activities of antioxidant enzymes in growing pigs

Malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH) content, total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) levels, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and glutathione transferase (GST) activities were studied in serum, liver, and kidney of growing pigs after graded doses of cadmium administration in diets. One hundred ninety-two barrows (Duroc x Landrace x Yorkshire), with similar initial body weight 27.67±1.33 kg, were randomly allotted into 4 different treatments with 3 replications (16 pigs per replication). The treatments received the same basal diet added with 0, 0.5, 5.0, and 10.0 mg/kg cadmium (as CdCl₂), respectively. The results showed pigs treated with 10 mg/kg cadmium significantly decreased average daily gain (ADG) (p<0.05) and increased feed/gain ratio (F/G) (p<0.05) compared to the control. In this treatment, the contents of MDA increased significantly (p<0.05), GSH concentrations, T-AOC levels, and the activities of SOD, GSH-PX, and GST decreased significantly (p<0.05). The results indicate 10 mg/kg cadmium could decrease pig antioxidant capacity after extended exposure and cadmium-induced increase lipid peroxidation might not be only the result of the possibility of lower level of GSH but could also be as a result of direct action of cadmium on peroxidation reaction.