• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.104-114
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• 2023

In this study, the distribution, bait preference, hosts, symbionts, habitat status, and cytochrome c oxidase subunit-I sequences of the ant Linepithema humile were analyzed. This species habitat comprised approximately 1.5 km along stone crevices, flower gardens, roadsides, and container yards in the vicinity of Busan station, Korea. Feeding activity of this species was confirmed in 9 species of 7 families of plants. Which was approximately 14% of total flora (63 species of 37 families) in the studied area. Particularly, it was observed that Dendranthema indicum and Camellia japonica were the most frequently visited. Further, we verified that they interacted with four species of aphids. We identified 22 species of ants (17 genera, 4 subfamilies) inhabiting the Busan station area, including L. humile, Tetramorium tsushimae, Nylanderia flavipes and the alien species Paratrechina longicornis. In areas where L. humile was the dominant species, the habitat of local native ants was reduced by approximately 30%. Bait preference was ranked in the following order: jelly, water with glucose (25%), and yogurt, with the highest preference for baits containing sugar and protein. The 630-bp cytochrome c oxidase subunit-I sequences of the local L. humile populations were 99% identical to those of L. humile in the National Center for Biotechnology Information database, and the Argentine ants that invaded Korea had a sequence identical to that of other invasive populations from China, Japan, and New Zealand. As L. humile rapidly increases due to domestic adaptation, continuous monitoring and control strategy for eradication are needed to protect domestic biodiversity.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.31-43
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• 2023

Objective : Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is caused by excess alcohol intake. In the liver, alcohol breakdown results formation of toxic byproducts that lead to damage to tissue. This study is to investigate the therapeutic effects of Paeoniae Radix Alba and Puerariae Radix combination (PP) on ALD. Methods : PP was analyzed for polyphenolic compounds and free radical scavenging activity. ALD mouse model was induced by feeding ethanol and water (Control), silymarin (50 mg/kg), low-dose (PP: 100 mg/kg) or high-dose (PP: 200 mg/kg) was orally administrated to ALD mice for 14 days. The serum was assessed with levels of AST, ALT, total bilirubin, total cholesterol, and triglyceride. Liver tissues were evaluated for ROS levels, degree of liver damage and protein expression. Results : The 3:1 (Paeoniae Radix Alba:Puerariae Radix) ratio showed the best antioxidant values for the experiment. In ALD model, levels of AST, ALT, total bilirubin, total cholesterol, and triglyceride were significantly increased in the Control and the levels were decreased by treatment of PP. In addition, increased ROS, ONOO^- and MDA levels in the Control were reduced in the PP groups. Western blot analysis figured out that proteins related to ROS and cholesterol metabolism were higher in ALD than in PP-treated ALD. Antioxidant enzyme expression was low in the control group and increased by PP treatment. Conclusion : Our results suggest that PP has the potential to be a medicine in ALD in terms of regulating oxidative stress and adjusting lipid metabolism.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.32 no.11
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• pp.853-856
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• 2023

This study assesses the palatability of regular canine diets and seven types of black soldier fly-based canine diets when fed to dogs. Sixteen dogs of two types were included in this study: 8 poodles (average weight 2.7 kg ± 0.5) and 8 bichons frises(average weight 2.0 kg ± 0.5). For intake and first choice, two-bowl tests, adhering to standards of canine palatability, were conducted every two days for a total of 14 days by comparing between the control and each treatment. Data, including total intake and total first choice were collected and accumulated for a total of 58 days. This encompassed 14 days of data on comparison between control and treatments, and 44 days of data on comparison among treatment groups (e.g., T1 vs T2) of black soldier fly-based canine diets. Significance differences in canine palatability was observed in treatments (p<0.05), except for the control and T2 results. Among the two-bowl tests, T1 and T2 exhibited the lowest intake and first choices. In particular, the palatability of canine diets ranked in the order T6 > T3 > T7 > T4 > T5 compared to each control. The total intake demonstrated in the following ranking: T6 > T3 > T7 > T5 > Control > T4 > T2 > T1. The total first choice was highest for T6, followed by T3, T7, T5, T4, Control, T2, and T1. In conclusion, insect diets with higher protein content such as T6, T3, and T7 representing as black soldier fly-based canine diets exhibit higher intake and first choice preferences in canines.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.697-708
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• 2024

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of dietary supplementation of Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract (ELE) on muscle metabolism and meat quality of pigs with and without pre-slaughter transportation. Methods: In a 43-day feeding experiment, a total of 160 pigs with an initial body weight 60.00±2.00 kg were randomly assigned into four groups in a completely randomized design with 10 replicates. Pigs in groups A and C were fed a basal diet and pigs in groups B and D were fed a basal diet supplemented with 0.5% ELE. Pigs were slaughtered with (group B and D) or without (group A and C) pre-slaughter transport. Muscle chemical composition, postmortem glycolysis, meat quality and muscle metabolome were analyzed. Results: Dietary ELE supplementation had no effect on the proximate composition of porcine muscle, but increased free phenylalanine, proline, citruline, norvaline, and the total free amino acids in muscle. In addition, dietary ELE increased decanoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid, but decreased heptadecanoic acid, oleic acid, trans-oleic acid, and monounsaturated fatty acids in muscle. Meat quality measurement demonstrated that ELE improved meat water holding capacity and eliminated the negative effects of pre-slaughter transport on meat cooking yield and tenderness. Dietary ELE reduced muscle glycolytic potential, inhibited glycolysis and muscle pH decline in the postmortem conversion of muscle to meat and increased the activity of citrate synthase in muscle. Metabolomics analysis by liquid chromatographic tandem mass spectrometric showed that ELE enhanced muscle energy level, regulated AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling, modulated glycogenolysis/glycolysis, and altered the metabolism of carbohydrate, fatty acids, ketone bodies, amino acids, purine, and pyrimidine. Conclusion: Dietary ELE improved meat quality and alleviated the negative effect of pre-slaughter transport on meat quality by enhancing muscle oxidative metabolism capacity and inhibiting glycolysis in postmortem muscle, which is probably involved its regulation of AMPK.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.668-677
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• 2024

Objective: The current experiment was performed to investigate the influence of different dietary levels of Moringa oleifera leaf meal (MOLM) on productive performance, nutrient digestibility, blood parameters, immune response, caecal microbiota, and carcass characteristics of Muscovy ducks (Cairina moschata) during 7 to 63 d of age. Methods: A total of 240 unsexed 7-d-old ducklings were distributed into five (treatment) groups; each one contained six replicates with eight ducklings each. Birds of the first group were fed basal diet without MOLM and served as control, while the other four groups were fed basal diet with 0.25%, 0.50%, 1.0%, and 2.0% MOLM inclusion level, respectively. Results: The obtained results revealed that including MOLM in the diets significantly improved body weight, body weight gain, feed conversion ratio and economic efficiency compared with the control group. Among the different MOLM inclusion treatments, increasing MOLM inclusion level decreased (p<0.05) such previous parameters. Decreasing MOLM inclusion levels in duckling diets increased (p>0.05) the digestibility of organic matter, crude protein, ether extract, and nitrogen free extract, however all MOLM treatments were significantly higher than the control group. Results also revealed that feeding ducks lower MOLM inclusion levels (0.25% or 0.50%) improved blood parameters (p<0.05) compared with the higher inclusion levels (1.0% or 2.0% MOLM) and the control group. Ducks fed different MOLM levels had significantly higher phagocyte index and activity, immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgM, total antioxidant capacity, glutathione peroxidase activity, and superoxide dismutase activity compared with control group. Conclusion: Despite the beneficial effects of all MOLM treatments on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, physiological status, and immune response of duckling, the increasing MOLM inclusion level in the diet had deleterious effects on such studied traits, consequently 0.25% was the best MOLM inclusion level in duckling diets.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.89-97
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• 2024

Background: Ginsenoside F2 (GF2), the protopanaxadiol-type constituent in Panax ginseng, has been reported to attenuate metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). However, the mechanism of action is not fully understood. Here, this study investigates the molecular mechanism by which GF2 regulates MASLD progression through liver X receptor (LXR). Methods: To demonstrate the effect of GF2 on LXR activity, computational modeling of protein-ligand binding, Time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer (TR-FRET) assay for LXR cofactor recruitment, and luciferase reporter assay were performed. LXR agonist T0901317 was used for LXR activation in hepatocytes and macrophages. MASLD was induced by high-fat diet (HFD) feeding with or without GF2 administration in WT and LXRα^-/- mice. Results: Computational modeling showed that GF2 had a high affinity with LXRα. LXRE-luciferase reporter assay with amino acid substitution at the predicted ligand binding site revealed that the S264 residue of LXRα was the crucial interaction site of GF2. TR-FRET assay demonstrated that GF2 suppressed LXRα activity by favoring the binding of corepressors to LXRα while inhibiting the accessibility of coactivators. In vitro, GF2 treatments reduced T0901317-induced fat accumulation and pro-inflammatory cytokine expression in hepatocytes and macrophages, respectively. Consistently, GF2 administration ameliorated hepatic steatohepatitis and improved glucose or insulin tolerance in WT but not in LXRα^-/- mice. Conclusion: GF2 alters the binding affinities of LXRα coregulators, thereby interrupting hepatic steatosis and inflammation in macrophages. Therefore, we propose that GF2 might be a potential therapeutic agent for the intervention in patients with MASLD.

• Korean Circulation Journal
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.92-102
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• 2023

Background and Objectives: YKL-40 is considered to be associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). In this study, the effect of serum 25(OH) vitamin D [25(OH)VitD] differences between groups on YKL-40 was evaluated on a hypercholesterolemia rat model. Methods: Thirty-two male rats (wistar albino) were equally divided into 4 groups. The first group was the control group; the second group was high-cholesterol (H-CH) adequate vitamin D (VitD) group (H-Ade^VD). The third group was the H-CH deficient VitD group (H-Def^VD), and the last group was designed with the H-CH supplement VitD (H-Sup^VD). The feeding process consisted of 2 stages. At the first stage (5 months), the H-Def^VD group was fed on VitD deficient chow, while the other groups (control, H-Ade^VD, H-Sup^VD) were fed on standard chow. At the second stage (3 months), the H-Ade^VD and the H-Sup^VD groups were fed on the H-CH chow, whereas the H-Def^VD group was fed on the H-CH-VitD deficient chow. Moreover, the H-Sup^VD group was given 100 IU/kg/day VitD along with the H-CH chow. Results: Compared with the control group, interleukin-6 (IL-6), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), and YKL-40 values in the H-Def^VD groups increased significantly (p<0.001, p<0.001, p=0.009, p=0.005; sequentially). Conclusion: It can be concluded that VitD can suppress the YKL-40, thus, it will prevent CVD development in rat. Therefore, further clinical studies related with human will reveal the effect of VitD and YKL-40 on CVD development.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.12
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• pp.1648-1656
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• 2023

We have previously observed that feeding with single-cell hemoprotein (heme-SCP) in dogs (1 g/day for 6 days) and broiler chickens (1 ppm for 32 days) increased the proportion of lactic acid bacteria in the gut while reducing their body weights by approximately 1~2%. To define the roles of heme-SCP in modulating body weight and gut microbiota, obese C57BL/6N mice were administered varied heme-SCP concentrations (0, 0.05, and 0.5% heme-SCP in high fat diet) for 28 days. The heme-SCP diet seemed to restrain weight gain till day 14, but the mice gained weight again later, showing no significant differences in weight. However, the heme-SCP-fed mice had stiffer and oilier bodies compared with those of the control mice, which had flabby bodies and dull coats. When mice were dissected at day 10, the obese mice fed with heme-SCP exhibited a reduction in subcutaneous fat with an increase in muscle mass. The effect of heme-SCP on the obesity-associated dyslipidemia tended to be corroborated by the blood parameters (triglyceride, total cholesterol, and C-reactive protein) at day 10, though the correlation was not clear at day 28. Notably, the heme-SCP diet altered gut microbiota, leading to the proliferation of known anti-obesity biomarkers such as Akkermansia, Alistipes, Oscillibacter, Ruminococcus, Roseburia, and Faecalibacterium. This study suggests the potential of heme-SCP as an anti-obesity supplement, which modulates serum biochemistry and gut microbiota in high-fat diet-induced obese mice.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.66 no.1
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• pp.93-102
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• 2024

This study investigated the effect of dietary supplementation with phytase on growth performance, fecal excretion, and compost nutrition on broilers fed available phosphorus (avP)- and calcium (Ca)-deficient diets. A total of 750 one-day-old broiler chicks were randomly divided into five dietary groups having ten replications in a floor house. Diets of the groups were formulated with positive control (PC), negative control (NC; low avP and Ca), and NC supplemented with phytase levels; 500 (NC500), 1,000 (NC1000), and 1,500 FTU/kg (NC1500). A three-phase feeding program was used in the trial. Average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) in the groups fed diets supplemented with phytase were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than those fed NC and the increase was equivalent to those fed PC. Serum levels of Ca and phosphorus (P) were higher (p < 0.05) in broilers fed NC1000 and NC1500 than in those fed NC. Interleukin (IL) level was the lowest in the group fed NC. Plasma myo-inositol (INS) concentrations in the NC1500 group were higher (p < 0.05) than PC, NC, and NC500 groups. Crude protein (CP) excretion was notably (p < 0.05) lower in the NC1500 group than in PC and NC groups. A lower (p < 0.05) concentration of P₂O₅ was observed in compost from the group fed NC1500 than the groups fed PC and NC. Accordingly, we suggest that phytase supplementation in lower avP and Ca levels of broiler diet can improve their productive performance and reduce environmental pollution.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.38-41
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• 2005

An experiment was conducted on 3 male rumen fistulated adult buffaloes fed on wheaten straw and concentrate mixture in a Latin square design to study the impact of niacin supplementation on rumen metabolites. Three animals were fed wheaten straw+concentrate mixture (group I, control), wheaten straw+concentrate mixture+100 ppm niacin (group II), and wheaten straw +concentrate mixture+200 ppm niacin (group III). After 21 days feeding, rumen liquor was drawn for 3 consecutive days at different time intervals (0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 h) to study the various rumen metabolites i.e., rumen pH, ammonia-N, total-N, trichloroacetic acid precipitable-N, non-protein nitrogen, total volatile fatty acids, their fractions and number of protozoa. Mean pH values in strained rumen liquor (SRL) of animals in 3 groups were 6.64, 6.71 and 6.67, indicating no statistically significant difference. Results revealed a significant (p<0.01) increase in TVFA concentration among the supplemented groups (group II and III) in comparison to control group. Mean TVFA concentration (meq/dl) was 9.75, 10.97 and 11.44 in 3 groups respectively. The highest concentration of TVFA was observed at 4 h and minimum at 0 h in all the 3 groups. The percentage of acetic, propionic, butyric and isobutyric acid was statistically similar among the three groups. The mean ammonia-N concentration (mg/dl SRL) was significantly (p<0.01) lower in group II (16.38) and group III (15.42) than group I (18.14). Ammonia-N concentration was higher (p<0.01) at 4 h as compared to all the time intervals. The mean total-N concentration (mg/dl SRL) was higher (p<0.01) in group II (74.16) and group III (75.47) as compared to group I (62.04). Total-N concentration was higher (p<0.01) at 4 h as compared to other time intervals and lowest value was recorded at 0 h.Concentration of TCA-ppt-N (mg/dl SRL) was significantly (p<0.01) lower in control group as compared to niacin supplemented groups. Mean value of NPN (mg/dl SRL) was significantly (p<0.01) lower in group III (23.21) as compared to group I (25.71), whereas groups I and II, and groups II and III were similar to each other. Total protozoa number (${\times}10^4$/ml SRL) ranged from 18.06 to 27.41 in group I, 20.89 to 38.44 in group II and 27.61 to 39.45 in group III. The mean protozoa number was significantly (p<0.01) higher in SRL of group II (27.60) and III (30.59) as compared to group I (22.48). It can be concluded from the study that supplementation of niacin in the diet of buffaloes had improved the rumen fermentation by decreasing the concentration of ammonia-N and increasing protein synthesis.