• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.271-280
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• 2010

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of Aspergillus niger-derived multi-enzyme complex supplementation to feedrestricted lactating sows on performances, milk yield, blood profiles, and manure excretion as compared with ad libitum-fed sows without supplementation of enzyme. Fifty multiparous lactating Berkshire sows were allotted to 5 treatments of 10 sows per treatment during a 28-d lactation period and litter per sow was standardized to 9 suckling piglets. Treatments were ad libitum-fed sows without enzyme and feed-restricted sows supplemented with four increasing levels (0, 0.02, 0.04 and 0.08%) of multi-enzyme complex derived from Aspergillus niger. Blood samples from all sows were collected to determine serum metabolite concentrations before the morning feeding on d 27 of lactation. Litter body weight and a piglet weight at weaning, and litter weight gain significantly (P<0.05) increased with increasing levels of multi-enzyme complex, but there was no significant difference between ad libitum-fed sows without enzyme and feed-restricted sows supplemented with multi-enzyme complex. Body condition score and backfat depth at weaning significantly (P<0.05) increased as multi-enzyme complex level increased. Lactational backfat depth tended (P>0.05) to less decrease with increasing levels of enzyme complex. Serum inorganic phosphorus and non-esterified fatty acid concentrations significantly (P<0.05) increased with increasing levels of enzyme complex. Daily milk yield was not significantly different across treatments, but milk fat yield significantly (P<0.05) increased as multi-enzyme complex level increased. Manure output was significantly (P<0.01) higher for ad libitum-fed sows than for feed-restricted sows, but there was no significant difference among feed-restricted sows supplemented with increasing levels of multi-enzyme complex. Fecal phosphorus amount significantly (P<0.05) decreased with increasing levels of multi-enzyme complex. Feed costs of sows per litter weight gain were reduced by 1.25% to 9.67% with increasing levels of multi-enzyme complex as compared with ad libitum-fed sows without enzyme. The results indicated that multi-enzyme supplementation to feed-restricted lactating sows not only increased litter performances, but also was comparable to ad libitum-fed sows, resulting in reduced feed costs. Moreover, the reduction of fecal phosphorus amount with increasing levels of enzyme complex would contribute to the reduction of environmental pollution.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.897-905
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• 1998

Docosahexaenoic acid(DHA), a $\omega$3 series fatty acid and arachidonic acid(AA). a $\omega$6 series fatty acid were found in relatively high concentrations in the phospholipids(PLs) of cell membranes of nerve tissues, and they can be affected by various factors. The present study examined the effects of dietary $\omega$6 and $\omega$3 fatty acid composition on P/M/S and on $\omega$3/$\omega$6 fatty acid ratios in brain PLs of 2nd generation rats. The expeimental diets consisted of 10% fat(by wt), which were computer- searched mixed oil('M') with P/M/S ratio, 1 : 1.4 : 1 and $\omega$6/$\omega$3 ratio, 6 : 1 and safflower oil('S') poor in $\omega$3 fatty acids. The experimental diets were started 3-4 wks prior to conception. During the lactation period, the feeding mothers were switched 1 wk after birth and provided the pups for 2 wks with milk which had compositions different from that of their natural mother. The same diet as their mothers was provided from weaning to 9 wks of age. The 'M'and 'S' rats were again subdivided into MM, MS, SS, SM rats according to diet which their lactating mothers were fed from the begining of the experiment. The relative percentage of P/M/S fatty acids in brain PLs in all experimental groups converged to a very similar value at 9 wks of age, indicating the existence of a control mechanism for the degree of fatty acids, unsaturation. The $\omega$3/$\omega$6 fatty acid ratios of brain PLs converged to about 1.0 in MM & SM groups and to 0.7 in SS & MS groups, suggesting also the existence of some balance between $\omega$3 and $\omega$6 fatty acids in developing rat brain. The concentrations of $\omega$3 fatty acids, especially DHA, in the SM group were increased and became similar to those in MM group at 9 wks of age. The increase in DHA of brain PLs was counterbalanced b)r a decrease in 22 5$\omega$6. Therefore, the ratios of 22 : 6$\omega$6/22 : 5$\omega$6 were higher in both MM & SM groups than those of SS & MS groups at 9 wak of age. Although dietary $\omega$3 and $\omega$6 fatty acids affected 22 : 6$\omega$S and 22 : 5$\omega$6 contained in rat brain PLs reciprocally, the relative percentage of AA did not appear to be significantly influenced by the diet in all groups at 9 wks of age, suggesting that a mechanism for the maintenance of a certain level of AA in brain PLs exists. In conclusion, the $\omega$3/$\omega$6 fatty acid and 22 : 6$\omega$3/22 : 5$\omega$6 ratios, but not P/M/S ratio, of rat brain PLs were affected by the postnatal dietary changes. Futher studies are required to clarify the mechanism(S) of ensuring a certain level of DHA and of maintaining a similar level of AA in rat brain PLs after. weaning(9 wk) regardless of prenatal and postnatal dietary changes. (Korean J Nutrition 31(5) : 897-905, 1998)

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.565-572
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• 1999

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of conditioning (conventional vs expander) corn- and sorghum-based diets on production traits for lactating sows and finishing pigs. In Exp. 1, one hundred sixty-eight sows (parity 1-4, PIC line C15) were fed the corn or sorghum grain diets as a meal, standard (steam) conditioned pellets, or expanded pellets to give a $2{\times}3$ factorial arrangement of treatments. Pellet durability index (PDD was similar for the sorghum- vs corn-based diets, but increased when diets were expanded pellets for both corn- and sorghum-based diets. The corn-based meal diet supported 3.3% greater litter weight gain than the sorghum-based meal diet (44.0 kg vs 42.8 kg). However, the advantage for the corn-based diet disappeared with expander processing (ie., sows fed the sorghum-based diet responded more to diets processed with the alternative processing technology). Sow weight change during lactation was similar (p>0.15) among treatments, although average daily feed intake tended to be greater (p<0.09) for the sows fed sorghum. For Exp. 2, a total of 71 barrows (average initial weight of 58.0 kg) were used in a growth assay to determine the effects of feeding com- and sorghum-based diets, as meal or pellets, after processing with a conventional steam conditioner or an expander (high-shear) conditioner. PDI was not different for the sorghum- vs corn-based diets, but increased from 84 to 95% with expander conditioning compared to conventional steam conditioning. Rate and efficiency of gain, and carcass leanness were similar for pigs fed sorghum and corn (p>0.15). Efficiency of gain was greater (p<0.04) for pigs fed the pelleted (356 g/kg) diets compared to those given the meal (348 g/kg) diets. However, efficiencies of gain were similar (p>0.11) for pigs fed the conventional- and expander-conditioned diets. Pelleting increased (p<0.01) the incidence and severity of stomach lesions regardless of grain type. In conclusion, corn-based meal diet resulted in a greater litter weight gain than the sorghum-based meal diet. However, that advantage disappeared when the diets were expanded and pelleted. Finishing pigs fed pelleted diets were more efficient than those fed meal diets.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.62 no.4
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• pp.485-494
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• 2020

Limiting amino acids (AAs) for milk production in dairy cows fed on a concentrate diet of corn grain and soybean meal was evaluated in this study. Four lactating and multiparous Holstein cows (in third or fourth parities, with an average body weight of 633 ± 49.2 kg), 8 to 9 weeks into their lactation period, were used in a 4 × 4 Latin square design. The experiment comprised four dietary treatments: (1) no intravenous infusion (control); (2) control plus intravenous infusion of an AA mixture of 6 g/d methionine, 19.1 g/d lysine, 13.8 g/d isoleucine, and 15.4 g/d valine (4AA); (3) control plus intravenous infusion of the AA mixture without methionine (no-Met); and (4) control plus intravenous infusion of the AA mixture without lysine (no-Lys). All animals were fed on a controlled diet (1 kg/d alfalfa hay, 10 kg/d silage, 14 kg/d concentrate mixture, ad libitum timothy hay). The AA composition of the diet and blood were determined using an automatic AA analyzer. Milk composition (protein, fat, lactose, urea nitrogen, and somatic cell counts) was determined using a MilkoScan. The results showed that feed intake for milk production did not differ from that of intravenous infusion using a limiting AA mixture. The 4AA treatment numerically had the highest milk yield (32.4 kg/d), although there was no difference when compared with the control (31.2 kg/d), no-Met (31.3 kg/d), and no-Lys (31.7 kg/d) treatments. The concentration of AAs in blood plasma of cows in all treatments, mainly isoleucine and valine, increased significantly compared with that of control. The no-Met treatment increased (p < 0.05) the concentration of lysine in the blood relative to the control and no-Lys treatments, whereas the no-Lys treatment increased (p < 0.05) the concentration of methionine relative to the control and no-Met treatments. In conclusion, milk production increased when feeding 10 g/d methionine to the cows, together with their concentrate diet of corn grain and soybean meal.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.45-52
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• 2006

This study was carried out to explore the accuracy of Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS) fer the prediction of digestibility and energy value of corn silages. The spectral data were regressed against a range of digestibility and energy parameters using modified partial least squares(MPLS) multivariate analysis in conjunction with first and second order derivatization, with scatter correction procedure(SNV-Detrend) to reduce the effect of extraneous noise. Calibration models for NIRS measurements gave multivariate correlation coefficients of determination$(R^2)$ and standard errors of cross validation of 0.92(SECV 1.73), 0.91(SECV 1.13) and 0.93(SECV 1.74) for in vitro dry matter digestibility(IVDMD), in vitro true digestibility(IVTD), and cellulase dry matter digestibility(CDMD), respectively. The standard error of prediction(SEP) and the multiple correlation coefficient of validation$(R^2v)$ on the validation set(n=39) was used in comparing the prediction accuracy. The SEP value was 0.30(TDN), 0.01(NEL), and 0.01(ME). The relative ability of NIRS to predict digestibility and energy value was very good for CDMD, total digestible nutrients(TDN), net energy fer lactation(NEL) and metabolizable energy(ME). This paper shows the potential of NIRS to predict the digestibility and energy value of con silage as a routine method in feeding programmes and for giving advice to farmers.

• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.232-238
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• 2020

This study used adult wistar-based rats to observe the sexual cycle as a morphological characteristic of vaginal epithelial cells by vaginal smearing, and investigated the fetal number through mating with male rats of the same strain. The target animal was a 12 to 13-week-old Wistar-based mature unlighted rat (weight 220 g to 240 g), room temperature 23 ± 2℃, 14 hours artificial lighting (05:00 to 19:00 hours), 10 hours Adapted individuals were used for rearing for at least 2 weeks under the conditions of the darkroom (19:00 to 05:00). The feed was managed for free feeding of pellet feed for animals and water. The vaginal smearing method was used for the experiments by observing the sexual cycle every morning and confirming that the normal sexual cycle of 4 or 5 days was repeated at least 2 cycles or more. As a result, the proestrus was found to have few red blood cells, the cells and nuclei were rather large and round, and many nucleated cells were identified. In the case of the estrus, the cells were large and the nuclei were not stained, and most of the keratinocytes were found. In addition, in the metestrus and diestrus, there were many white blood cells, and it was confirmed that nucleated epithelial cells and keratinocytes were significantly reduced. The pregnancy period was 21 ± 1.8 days, and the number of live births per delivery was 11.9 on average. The number of fetuses on the 8th and 10th days of pregnancy were 15.2 ± 0.4 and 15.4 ± 0.3, respectively. On the contrary, the number of fetuses on the 12th day of pregnancy was 12.9 ± 0.6, which was significantly (p < 0.05) decreased compared to the 10th day of pregnancy, and the number of fetuses was similar until delivery. As a result of investigating the change of body weight according to the birth weight and growth stage after delivery, the birth weight of female and male was 9.2 ± 2.0 g and 9.8 ± 2.5 g, respectively. After that, until the 16th day, the female and the male showed similarly moderate weight gain, and then showed a rapid weight gain until the 21st day of lactation. With reference to the results of this study, it is expected to be used as basic data for determining the mating time of rodents and controlling pregnancy and fetal number.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.104-115
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• 2003

A series of experiments was carried out to determine the possibility for the non-ionic surfactant (NIS) as a feed additive for ruminant animals. The effect of the NIS on (1) the enzyme distribution in the rumen fluids of Hereford bulls, (2) the growth of pure culture of rumen bacteria and (3) rumen anaerobic fungi, (4) the ruminal fermentation characteristics of Korean native cattle (Hanwoo), and (5) the performances of Holstein dairy cows were investigated. When NIS was added to rumen fluid at the level of 0.05 and 0.1% (v/v), the total and specific activities of cell-free enzymes were significantly (p<0.01) increased, but those of cell-bound enzymes were slightly decreased, but not statistically significant. The growth rates of ruminal noncellulolytic species (Ruminobacter amylophilus, Megasphaera elsdenii, Prevotella ruminicola and Selenomonas ruminantium) were significantly (p<0.01) increased by the addition of NIS at both concentrations tested. However, the growth rate of ruminal cellulolytic bacteria (Fibrobacter succinogenes, Ruminococcus albus, Ruminococcus flavefaciens and Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens) were slightly increased or not affected by the NIS. In general, NIS appears to effect Gram-negative bacteria more than Gram-positive bacteria; and non-cellulolytic bacteria more than cellulolytic bacteria. The growth rates of ruminal monocentric fungi (Neocallimastix patriciarum and Piromyces communis) and polycentric fungi (Orpinomyces joyonii and Anaeromyces mucronatus) were also significantly (p<0.01) increased by the addition of NIS at all concentrations tested. When NIS was administrated to the rumen of Hanwoo, Total VFA and ammonia-N concentrations, the microbial cell growth rate, CMCase and xylanase activities in the rumen increased with statistical difference (p<0.01), but NIS administration did not affect at the time of 0 and 9 h post-feeding. Addition of NIS to TMR resulted in increased TMR intake and increased milk production by Holstein cows and decreased body condition scores. The NEFA and corticoid concentrations in the blood were lowered by the addition of NIS. These results indicated that the addition of NIS may greatly stimulate the release of some kinds of enzymes from microbial cells, and stimulate the growth rates of a range of anaerobic ruminal microorganisms, and also stimulate the rumen fermentation characteristics and animal performances. Our data indicates potential uses of the NIS as a feed additive for ruminant animals.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.543-548
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• 2002

Fresh elephant grass was replaced by urea treated rice straw (UTRS) to evaluate the effects on milk production of crossed lactating cows. A total of 16 crossbred F1 cows (Holstein Friesian ${\times}$ Vietnamese Local Yellow), with a body weight of about 400 kg and lactation number from three to five, were used in the experiment. The experimental cows were blocked according to the milk yield of the previous eight weeks and divided into 4 homogenous groups. The experiment was conducted with a Latin Square design with 4 treatments and 4 periods. Each period was 4 weeks, with 2 weeks of feed adaptation and 2 weeks for data collection. The ratio of concentrate to roughage in the ration was 50:50. All cows were given constant amounts of elephant grass dry matter (DM), with ratios of 100% grass without UTRS (control treatment 100G), and 75% grass (75G), 50% grass (50G) and 25% grass (25G) with ad libitum UTRS. Daily total DM intake on 100G, 75G, 50G and 25G was 12.04, 12.31, 12.32 and 11.85 kg, and the daily ME intake was 121.6, 121.5, 119.4 and 114.3 MJ, respectively. The daily CP intake was similar for all treatments (1.85-1.91 kg). There was a difference (p<0.05) in daily milk yield between the 25G and the 100G and 75G (11.7 vs. 12.6 and 12.5 kg, respectively). Milk protein concentration was similar for all treatments, while a tendency to increased milk fat concentration following the increase of UTRS ratio was observed. The cows gained 4-5 kg body weight per month and showed first oestrus 3-4 months after calving. The overall feed conversion for milk production was not affected by ratio of UTRS in the ration. It is concluded that replacement of green grass by UTRS with a ratio of 50:50 for crossbred lactating cows is as good as feeding 100% green grass in terms of milk yield, body weight gain and feed conversion. UTRS can preferably replace green grass in daily rations for crossbred dairy cows in winter to cope with the shortage of green grass, with the ratio 1:1.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.211-218
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• 2010

The mammalian ovary is innervated by sympathetic and sensory neurons which contribute to regulating several aspects of ovarian function, including blood flow, steroidogenesis and follicular development. The existence of a neural connection between central neurons and the ovary has been rarely reported, but the mechanism underlying integration of ovarian activity to broader neuroendocrine responses has not been reported. We have now used a viral transneuronal tracing technique combined with a conventional retrograde labeling procedure of CT-HRP to demonstrate that oxytocin-producing neurons of the hypothalamus are synaptically connected to the ovary. Since ovarian activity is suppressed but the activity of oxytocin neurons is increased during breast feeding. Our finding that the oxytocinergic neural connection is likely to provide a direct transsynaptic mechanism by which the central nervous system maintains the state of infertility that accompanies lactation in mammals.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.11
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• pp.1756-1765
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• 2018

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of body condition score (BCS) at calving on the metabolic status of female Murrah buffaloes in the transition period. Methods: Thirty-seven pregnant buffaloes (multiparous) were selected and monitored during the transition period based on their body condition score and on the estimated calving date. Two groups were formed: i) buffaloes with a BCS>3.5 (n = 17); this group was classified and named 'high BCS at calving' (HBCS); and ii) buffaloes with a $BCS{\leq}3.5$ (n = 20); this group was classified and named 'low BCS at calving' (LBCS). All animals were monitored during the last 30 days of pregnancy and the first 70 days post-calving and kept in the same environment and under the same feeding and management conditions. Mean values for BCS at calving were $2.98{\pm}0.9$ (mean${\pm}$standard error of the mean [SEM]) and $4.21{\pm}0.9$ (mean${\pm}$SEM) for the HBCS and LBCS groups, respectively. Results: The HBCS group showed higher milk fat content (p = 0.007) and milk fat yield (p = 0.027) and a higher concentration of milk urea nitrogen (p = 0.001) than LBCS buffaloes, which in turn had a lower urine pH value (p = 0.033) than HBCS buffaloes in the pre-calving period (7.86 for HBCS vs 7.76 for LBCS). The HBCS animals had a higher concentration of erythrocytes (p = 0.001) and hematocrit (p = 0.012) post-calving and a higher hemoglobin concentration (p = 0.004) pre-calving. Conclusion: Buffaloes during the transition period exhibited some variations in the oxidative stress related to their metabolic status. After calving, buffaloes with a high BCS at calving and greater lipid mobilization have a more marked alteration in oxidative status, but improved production performance.