Energy and nutrient use of palm kernels, palm kernel meal and palm kernel oil in diets for growing pigs

A metabolism experiment was conducted with 13 gilts over four periods to investigate the effects of age or weight of pigs, level of inclusion and methods of estimation of apparent digestible (DE) and metabolizable (ME) energy and nutrient digestibility of full-fat palm kernels (FFPK), recombined palm kernel oil and meal (OPKM) and palm kernel oil (PKO). Each palm kernel product was evaluated at levels equivalent to added oil of 40, 80 and 120 g kg⁻¹ in a basal diet. Extracted palm kernel meal (PKM) was also evaluated in the basal diet at the same level as in OPKM. Thus, 13 treatments arranged in four blocks (time periods) constituted the experimental data analysed using a randomised complete block design. Digestible energy and ME contents and apparent digestibility of nitrogen (ADN), dry matter (ADD) and oil (AOD - employing two oil analytical methods) of palm kernel products were estimated by single level assay and by regression with the latter yielding DE values of 40.2, 19.5, 22.1 and 13.1 MJ/kg DM for PKO, FFPK, OPKM and PKM, respectively. The corresponding values for AOD were 1.08, 0.93, 1.03 and 0.88. While the level of inclusion and pig weight (over the range 40–76 kg) did not significantly affect dietary energy and nutrient digestibility of palm kernel products, the form of oil inclusion had considerable effect with OPKM being better utilized than FFPK. Digestibility of oil in the palm kernel products measured by the ether extract (EE) method was, in general, significantly higher than that estimated by the acid ether extract (AEE) procedure. The results suggest the necessity for digestibility coefficients of oils and fats in oil bearing ingredients to be re-evaluated in the light of the currently applied analytical method as figures obtained using the traditional ether extract method may not be applicable to the true nutritional value of feed ingredients and consequently may lead to imprecise diet formulation.     

Composting of palm press fibre

The effects of composting palm press fibre alone, palm press fibre supplemented with poultry layer deep-litter and urea, and palm press fibre supplemented with poultry broiler floor-litter and urea were studied. The initial C:N ratios of the three mixtures were 40:1, 33:1 and 26:1, respectively. After 8 weeks of composting the C:N ratios of the mixtures were 26:1, 17:1 and 16:1, respectively. The temperature in the heaps rose to 60–70°C in the first 3 weeks of composting but stabilized at between 30 and 40°C after 8 weeks. The ratio of thermophilic to mesophilic fungi increased during composting, and even after the compost had cooled the thermophilic fungal counts remained high. The mesophilic bacteria were not influenced by temperature fluctuation in the heaps and bacterial numbers remained high even during the peak heating phase. Decreases in cellulose and carbon corresponding with increases in nitrogen, lignin and ash were evident after composting. Preliminary studies indicate that the compost mixed in sand and loam may enhance crop production.     

Production of synthetic palm wine

Summary Palm wine was produced in the labora-tory by fermenting a solution containing 12.5% fructose, 5.0% glucose, 12.5% sucrose, 2.5% raffi-nose and 0.01% ammonium phosphate with washed palm wine dregs at 28°C for 24 h. A sec-ond sample was produced from the same solution but with added 0.1% yeast extract. The two prod-ucts were compared with natural palm wine. Syn-thetic palm wine without yeast extract was prefer-red by an organoleptic assessment panel (with 105 points) to natural palm wine (101 points) and syn-thetic palm wine with yeast extract (33 points). It is thus possible to produce palm wine without re-course to the palm tree.     

SSR mining in oil palm EST database: application in oil palm germplasm diversity studies

This study reports on the detection of additional expressed sequence tags (EST) derived simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers for the oil palm. A large collection of 19243 Elaeis guineensis ESTs were assembled to give 10258 unique sequences, of which 629 ESTs were found to contain 722 SSRs with a variety of motifs. Dinucleotide repeats formed the largest group (45.6%) consisting of 66.9% AG/CT, 21.9% AT/AT, 10.9% AC/GT and 0.3% CG/CG motifs. This was followed by trinucleotide repeats, which is the second most abundant repeat types (34.5%) consisting of AAG/CTT (23.3%), AGG/CCT (13.7%), CCG/CGG (11.2%), AAT/ATT (10.8%), AGC/GCT (10.0%), ACT/AGT (8.8%), ACG/CGT (7.6%), ACC/GGT (7.2%), AAC/GTT (3.6%) and AGT/ACT (3.6%) motifs. Primer pairs were designed for 405 unique EST-SSRs and 15 of these were used to genotype 105 E. guineensis and 30 E. oleifera accessions. Fourteen SSRs were polymorphic in at least one germplasm revealing a total of 101 alleles. The high percentage (78.0%) of alleles found to be specific for either E. guineensis or E. oleifera has increased the power for discriminating the two species. The estimates of genetic differentiation detected by EST-SSRs were compared to those reported previously. The transferability across palm taxa to two Cocos nucifera and six exotic palms is also presented. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products of three primer-pairs detected in E. guineensis, E. oleifera, C. nucifera and Jessinia bataua were cloned and sequenced. Sequence alignments showed mutations within the SSR site and the flanking regions. Phenetic analysis based on the sequence data revealed that C. nucifera is closer to oil palm compared to J. bataua; consistent with the taxanomic classification.     

Morphology and anatomy of palm seedlings

A historical survey of studies of seedling morphology and anatomy in the palm family is given. The traditional three germination types—adjacent ligular, remote ligular, and remote tubular—that have been commonly recognized are reevaluated. The study includes seedlings of 63 species, representing the six subfamilies of palms. Morphological characteristics of germination patterns and the anatomy of the eophyll are described. The results of this survey show that germination types determined by the length of the hyperphyll (cotyledonary petiole) are not completely valid. Instead, a combination of characters such as primary root orientation, coleoptile length, number of cataphylls, and eophyll plication correspond to the most recent classification of the family, and represent a better way of describing germination.     

Catalytic processes towards the production of biofuels in a palm oil and oil palm biomass-based biorefinery

In Malaysia, there has been interest in the utilization of palm oil and oil palm biomass for the production of environmental friendly biofuels. A biorefinery based on palm oil and oil palm biomass for the production of biofuels has been proposed. The catalytic technology plays major role in the different processing stages in a biorefinery for the production of liquid as well as gaseous biofuels. There are number of challenges to find suitable catalytic technology to be used in a typical biorefinery. These challenges include (1) economic barriers, (2) catalysts that facilitate highly selective conversion of substrate to desired products and (3) the issues related to design, operation and control of catalytic reactor. Therefore, the catalytic technology is one of the critical factors that control the successful operation of biorefinery. There are number of catalytic processes in a biorefinery which convert the renewable feedstocks into the desired biofuels. These include biodiesel production from palm oil, catalytic cracking of palm oil for the production of biofuels, the production of hydrogen as well as syngas from biomass gasification, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) for the conversion of syngas into liquid fuels and upgrading of liquid/gas fuels obtained from liquefaction/pyrolysis of biomass. The selection of catalysts for these processes is essential in determining the product distribution (olefins, paraffins and oxygenated products). The integration of catalytic technology with compatible separation processes is a key challenge for biorefinery operation from the economic point of view. This paper focuses on different types of catalysts and their role in the catalytic processes for the production of biofuels in a typical palm oil and oil palm biomass-based biorefinery.     

American palm ethnomedicine: A meta-analysis

Background

Animal-based remedies constitute an integral part of Brazilian Traditional Medicine. Due to its long history, zootherapy has in fact become an integral part of folk medicine both in rural and urban areas of the country. In this paper we summarize current knowledge on zootherapeutic practices in Northeast of Brazil, based on information compiled from ethnobiological scientific literature.

Methods

In order to examine the diversity of animals used in traditional medicine in Northeast of Brazil, all available references or reports of folk remedies based on animals sources were examined. 34 sources were analyzed. Only taxa that could be identified to species level were included in assessment of medicinal animal species. Scientific names provided in publications were updated.

Results

The review revealed that at least 250 animal species (178 vertebrates and 72 invertebrates) are used for medicinal purposes in Northeast of Brazil. The inventoried species comprise 10 taxonomic categories and belong to 141 Families. The groups with the greatest number of species were fishes (n = 58), mammals (n = 47) and reptiles (n = 37). The zootherapeutical products are used for the treatment of different illnesses. The most widely treated condition were asthma, rheumatism and sore throat, conditions, which had a wide variety of animals to treat them with. Many animals were used for the treatment of multiple ailments. Beyond the use for treating human diseases, zootherapeutical resources are also used in ethnoveterinary medicine

Conclusion

The number of medicinal species catalogued was quite expressive and demonstrate the importance of zootherapy as alternative therapeutic in Northeast of Brazil. Although widely diffused throughout Brazil, zootherapeutic practices remain virtually unstudied. There is an urgent need to examine the ecological, cultural, social, and public health implications associated with fauna usage, including a full inventory of the animal species used for medicinal purposes and the socio-cultural context associated with their consumption.     

Production of cellulolytic enzymes from fungi and use in the saccharification of palm cake and palm fibre

Aspergillus niger ATCC 6275 possesses the highest carboxymethyl-cellulase, xylanase and -glucosidase activities under liquid and solid cultivations compared withMyceliophthora thermophila IFO 31843 and an isolate, F11. Palm cake proved to be a better substrate for enzyme production and saccharification than palm fibre. Saccharification of these two substrates, using crude enzyme solutions from three fungi and commercial enzymes, was investigated.     

Climate change affecting oil palm agronomy,and oil palm cultivation increasing climate change,require amelioration

Palm oil is used in various valued commodities and is a large global industry worth over US$ 50 billion annually. Oil palms (OP) are grown commercially in Indonesia and Malaysia and other countries within Latin America and Africa. The large‐scale land‐use change has high ecological, economic, and social impacts. Tropical countries in particular are affected negatively by climate change (CC) which also has a detrimental impact on OP agronomy, whereas the cultivation of OP increases CC. Amelioration of both is required. The reduced ability to grow OP will reduce CC, which may allow more cultivation tending to increase CC, in a decreasing cycle. OP could be increasingly grown in more suitable regions occurring under CC. Enhancing the soil fauna may compensate for the effect of CC on OP agriculture to some extent. The effect of OP cultivation on CC may be reduced by employing reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation plans, for example, by avoiding illegal fire land clearing. Other ameliorating methods are reported herein. More research is required involving good management practices that can offset the increases in CC by OP plantations. Overall, OP‐growing countries should support the Paris convention on reducing CC as the most feasible scheme for reducing CC.     

Production of a biopesticide on host and Non-Host serine protease inhibitors for red palm weevil in palm trees

Serine proteases are essential metabolic enzymes in the midgut of many pests, including the red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Olivier, which has a significant impact economically, environmentally and socially worldwide especially in the middle east. Some methods have been used to manage this pest such as trapping of RPW with pheromones, chemicals, and X-rays. However, these methods are costly, not effective and negatively impact the human. The main objective of this study is to contribute to the discovery of an eco-friendly pesticide to eradicate this infection by using serine protease inhibitors (SPIs) extracted from different parts of plant resources. In this research, both in vitro and in vivo effects of SPIs activity against RPW were examined. The protease inhibitors (PIs) activity was recorded in the crude extract that was isolated from the date’s kernel (DKE), host and Calotropis latex (CLE), non-host. These PIs were partially purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation. The midgut tissue of RPW was extracted and analyzed for protases activity assay. PIs assays were consistent with the increased in the inhibitory activity against the midgut proteases after treatment with a DKE and CLE. The reduction of gut proteases by DKE solution and CLE was 39%, 18%, respectively. Partially purified DKE showed the most prominent inhibition pattern of protease activity of the gut extract. While, latex exhibited acute toxicity, imparting the least LC₅₀ (5.132 mg/mL) against RPW larvae. Taken together, these findings provide evidence for the hypothesis that SPIs activity may play an important role in enhancing the mortality of RPW and relieving the toxicity of insecticide in palm trees.     

Microsatellites in palm (Arecaceae) sequences

Microsatellites are the most promising co-dominant markers, widely distributed throughout the genome. Identification of these repeating genomic subsets is a tedious and iterative process making computational approaches highly useful for solving this biological problem. Here 38,083 microsatellites were localized in palm sequences. A total of 2, 97,023 sequences retrieved from public domains were used for this study. The sequences were unstained using the tool Seqclean and consequently clustered using CAP3. SSRs are located in the sequences using the microsatellite search tool, MISA. Repeats were detected in 33,309 sequences and more than one SSR had appeared in 3,943 sequences. In the present study, dinucleotide repeats (49%) were found to be more abundant followed by mononucleotide (30%) and trinucleotide (19%). Also among the dinucleotides, AG/GA/TC/CT motifs (55.8%) are predominantly repeating within the palm sequences. Thus in future this study will lead to the development of specific algorithm for mining SSRs exclusively for palms.     

Somatic embryogenesis in Canary Island date palm

Shoot regeneration was obtained from leaves of in vitro cultures of wild pear genotypes. The highest regeneration rates, ranging from 40% to 64%, depending on the genotype, were obtained using leaves wounded by three cuts transversely to the mid-rib, a Quoirin and Lepoivre macro-salt composition, 250 mg l^-1 cefotaxime and maintaining the explants in darkness for the first 30 days (induction phase), then transferring them to an auxin-free medium in light (expression phase). A concentration of 8.8 μM BA induced the highest number of explants to produce adventitious shoots. TDZ was less effective than BA and induced hyperhydricity in regenerated shoots. The histological studies revealed that the regenerated shoots originated mainly from callus formed by epidermal and sub-epidermal cells and by cells of the vascular tissue. The regenerated shoots were micropropagated, rooted and transplanted to the soil. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Somatic embryogenesis from peach palm zygotic embryos

The factors affecting the induction and development of somatic embryos and plantlet acclimatization of peach palm (Bactris gasipaes Kunth) were evaluated to establish an efficient regenerative protocol based on somatic embryogenesis. Mature zygotic embryos were cultured in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 0–40 μM of picloram (4-amino-3,5,6-trichloropicolinic acid) and 0 or 5 μM of 2-isopentyladenine (6-dimethylaminopurine) (2-iP). After 5 mo. in culture embryogenic callus arose from primary calli. Picloram (10 μM) was effective in inducing embryogenic calli in 9.8% of the explants. The use of 1 μM of AgNO₃ enhanced embryogenic competence. Embryogenic calli showed an organized structure, a globular aspect, and were white to yellowish in color. Histological analyses showed that cell proliferation arose from subepidermal cells adjacent to vascular bundles, resulting in primary callus formed by a meristematic zone from which somatic embryos arose. Protein profile analyses revealed two high molecular mass bands in these embryogenic calli, but not in other tissues. Embryogenic calli were transferred to a culture medium containing 40 μM of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, 10 μM of 2-iP, plus 1 g l⁻¹ of glutamine, hydrolyzed 0.5 g l⁻¹ casein, and activated 1.5 g l⁻¹ of charcoal. Morphogenetic responses achieved in this medium were the development of somatic embryos, rooting, and loss of embryogenic capacity. Somatic embryos were converted to plantlets on MS medium plus 24.6 μM of 2-iP and 0.44 μM of naphthalene acetic acid. Plantlets were maintained in MS medium with activated charcoal (1.5 g l⁻¹) until they were 6 cm tall, and then acclimatized. After 16 wk, 84.2 ± 6.4% survival was observed. M. P. Guerra and C. R. Clement are Fellows of the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Brasília, DF.