• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.163-179
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• 2022

Although functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) are very common in pediatric patients, there is a scarcity of published epidemiologic data, characteristics, and management patterns from Saudi Arabia, which is the 2nd largest Arabic country in terms of area and the 6th largest Arabic country in terms of population, with 10% of its population aged <5 years. Functional constipation (FC) is an FGID that has shown a rising prevalence among Saudi infants and children in the last few years, which urges us to update our clinical practices. Nine pediatric consultants attended two advisory board meetings to discuss and address current challenges, provide solutions, and reach a Saudi national consensus for the management of pediatric constipation. The pediatric consultants agreed that pediatricians should pay attention to any alarming signs (red flags) found during history taking or physical examinations. They also agreed that the Rome IV criteria are the gold standard for the diagnosis of pediatric FC. Different therapeutic options are available for pediatric patients with FC. Dietary treatment is recommended for infants with constipation for up to six months of age. When non-pharmacological interventions fail to improve FC symptoms, pharmacological treatment with laxatives is indicated. First, the treatment is aimed at disimpaction to remove fecal masses. This is achieved by administering a high dose of oral polyethylene glycol (PEG) or lactulose for a few days. Subsequently, maintenance therapy with PEG should be initiated to prevent the re-accumulation of feces. In addition to PEG, several other options may be used, such as Mg-rich formulas or stimulant laxatives. However, rectal enemas and suppositories are usually reserved for cases that require acute pain relief. In contrast, infant formulas that contain prebiotics or probiotics have not been shown to be effective in infant constipation, while the use of partially hydrolyzed formula is inconclusive. These clinical practice recommendations are intended to be adopted by pediatricians and primary care physicians across Saudi Arabia.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.66 no.2
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• pp.310-325
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• 2024

Glyconutrients help in the body's cell communication. Glyconutrients and synbiotics are promising options for improving immune function. Therefore, we hypothesized that combining synbiotics and glyconutrients will enhance pig nutrient utilization. 150 pigs (Landrace × Yorkshire × Duroc), initially weighing 58.85 ± 3.30 kg of live body weight (BW) were utilized to determine the effects of synbiotics-glyconutrients (SGN) on the pigs' performance, feed efficiency, gas emission, pork traits, and composition of fatty acids. The pigs were matched by BW and sex and chosen at random to 1 of 3 diet treatments: control = Basal diet; TRT1 = Basal diet + SGN 0.15%; TRT2 = Basal diet + SGN 0.30%%. The trials were conducted in two phases (weeks 1-5 and weeks 5-10). The average daily gain was increased in pigs fed a basal diet with SGN (p = 0.036) in weeks 5-10. However, the apparent total tract digestibility of dry matter, nitrogen, and gross energy did not differ among the treatments (p > 0.05). Dietary treatments had no effect on NH₃, H₂S, methyl mercaptans, acetic acids, and CO₂ emissions (p > 0.05). Improvement in drip loss on day 7 (p = 0.053) and tendency in the cooking loss were observed (p = 0.070) in a group fed basal diets and SGN at 0.30% inclusion level. The group supplemented with 0.30% of SGN had higher levels of palmitoleic acid (C16:1), margaric acid (C17:0), omega-3 fatty acid, omega-6 fatty acid, and ω-6: ω-3 ratio (p = 0.034, 0.020, 0.025, 0.007, and 0.003, respectively) in the fat of finishing pigs. Furthermore, group supplemented with 0.30% of SGN improved margaric acid (C17:0), linoleic acid (C18:2n6c), arachidic acid (C20:0), omega 6 fatty acid, omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, unsaturated fatty acid, and monounsaturated fatty acid (p = 0.037, 0.05, 0.0142, 0.036, 0.033, 0.020, and 0.045, respectively) in the lean tissues of finishing pigs compared to pigs fed with the control diets. In conclusion, the combination of probiotics, prebiotics, and glyconutrients led to higher average daily gain, improved the quality of pork, and more favorable fatty acid composition. Therefore, these results contributed to a better understanding of the potential of SGN combinations as a feed additive for pigs.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.667-676
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• 2008

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of various Lactobacilli strains on growth performance, intestinal microflora, ileal villi development and ileal mucosal surface of broiler chickens. Six hundred 1-d-old male chicks(Avian) were randomly divided into five groups of four replicates, each replicates containing 30 birds and fed corn-soybean meal diets containing Latobaillus were isolated from cecum of chichens at 107cfu/g diet for five weeks. The treatments were control(antibiotics-free diet), Lactobacillus crispatus avibro1(LCB), Lactobacillus reuteri avibro2(LRB), Lactobacillus crispatus avihen1(LCH) or Lactobacillus vaginalis avihen2(LVH). The body weight gain in groups fed Lactobacillus significantly improved as compared to those of control(P<0.05). Feed intake was not statistically different among the groups. The number of Lactobacillus in ileum and cecum of chicks fed various Lactobacillus tended to be increased or significantly increased as compared to those of the control(P<0.05), but there was difference by age of chicks and species of Lactobacillus. The number of yeast was significantly increased in cecum and ileum at three weeks old chicks fed Lactobacilli compared with the control(P<0.05). The anaerobes’ number of ileum and cecum tended to increase or significantly increased in Lactobacillus treatments compared with the control(P<0.05). The ileal villi length extended greatly at three weeks of age in groups fed Lactobacillus compared with the control(P<0.05). The length of ileal villi in chicks fed Lactobacillus was continuously increased up to five weeks of age, but did not increased in the control(P<0.05). Lactobacillus was found on ileal mucosal surface. And ileal mucosal surface was maintained better with Latobacillus feeding. These results suggest the possibility that cecal Lactobacillus of chickens could be used as probiotics by improving the growth performance and promoting development of ileal villi in broiler chicks.

• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.223-228
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• 2017

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of fermented spent mushroom substrates (F-SMS) of Flammulina velutipes on growth performance, carcass traits, and economic characteristics of Hanwoo steers. A yeast strain (Saccharomyces sp. UJ14) and Bacillus strain (Bacillus sp. UJ03) isolated from fresh spent mushroom substrates of Flammulina velutipes were used as probiotics to prepare F-SMS. Twenty-four Hanwoo steers (14 months old) were allocated to three dietary treatments via a randomized block design and were slaughtered at 30 months of age. These treatment groups included Control (TMR), T1 (TMR containing 10% of F-SMS) group, and T2 (TMR containing 30% of F-SMS). Body weight gain was not influenced by the experimental diets. DM and TDN intakes in the finishing period were significantly (p < 0.05) greater in group T1 than in other groups. CP intake was significantly (p < 0.05) greater in group T2 than in other groups during the whole experimental period. Among carcass traits, rib-eye area and back fat thickness tended to increase with F-SMS supplementation. The appearance rate (%) of a meat yield more than grade A was the highest in group T1. The net profits increased by 1.2% and 13.3% in groups T1 and T2, respectively. In conclusion, if a proper feeding program (including feed safety) can be ensured, spent mushroom substrates of Flammulina velutipes can prove to be a highly profitable feed source for Hanwoo steers.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.145-150
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• 2010

This study was conducted to evaluate effects of dietary Agariemycetes on egg quality and fecal noxious gas concentration in laying hens. A total of two hundred forty laying hens were randomly allocated to four treatments with five replicates of twelve chicks per pen. The experiment lasted 42 days with a 7-day adjustment period. Dietary treatments were as follows: 1) CON (basal diet), 2) A1 (basal diet + Agariemycetes 0.1%), 3) A3 (basal diet + Agariemycetes 0.3%) and 4) A5 (basal diet + Agariemycetes 0.5%). There was no significant difference in egg production and egg weight between CON and Agariemycetes treatments. During the second week of the experiment, eggshell breaking strength was higher in A3 and A5 treatments than that in CON treatment (P<0.05). Besides, eggshell breaking strength in P5 treatment was higher when compared with that in CON treatment (P<0.05) in the sixth week. During the second week of the experiment, eggshell thickness was higher in Agariemycetes treatments than CON treatment (P<0.05). Also, A5 treatment was higher than other treatments in the fourth week of the experiment (P<0.05). At the end of the second week, yolk color unit in A5 treatment was lower compared with CON treatment (P<0.05). During the fourth week of the experiment, CON treatment was higher than A3 treatment (P<0.05). During the second week of the experiment, Haugh unit in A3 treatment was greater than that in CON treatment (P<0.05). At the end of six weeks, Haugh unit in CON treatment was lower than other treatments (P<0.05). Fecal ammonia and hydrogen sulfide were increased in Agariemycetes treatments when compared with CON treatment (P<0.05). Compared with CON and A5 treatments, fecal mercaptans was higher than in other treatments in first of the experiment (P<0.05). In conclusion, this study indicated that the addition of Agariemycetes in the diet improved the egg quality and decreased the feacal noxious gas concentration in laying hens.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.179-196
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• 2015

Because of our aging population, there is increasing concern about the impact of dementia and age-related cognitive decline. Intense research efforts on effective dietary interventions for the prevention or amelioration of dementia and age-related cognitive decline have indicated that dairy products affect physiological health and potentially healthy brain function during aging. Milk is a rich source of proteins and peptides with nutritional and immunotropic activities. The preparation of biologically active proteins and peptides generally requires enzymatic degradation, chemical modification, or the addition of specific co-factors. Milk-derived preparations are widely available in the food industry in the form of hygiene products and infant formulas. However, milk-derived products could also be applied as preventive or therapeutic measures for a wide-range of pathological conditions not only in neonates and infants but also in adults, including the elderly. Because they have no adverse side effects, milk-derived proteins and peptides could be used as a supplementary treatment for dementia and age-related cognitive decline.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.63-68
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• 2010

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of fermented apple pomace (FAP) and cinnamon on laying performance, egg quality and blood characteristics in laying hens. A total of two hundred 57-wk-old Hy-Line laying hens were divided into five groups with 4 replicates of 10 birds each; control, 0.1% probiotics, 1.0% fermented apple pomace 1.0%, 0.1% cinnamon and 1.0% fermented apple pomace with 1.0% cinnamon. Chickens fed the diets containing 1.0% of fermented apple pomace showed higher egg production than the chickens fed the other diets. No synergic effect on laying performance was found when fermented apple pomace and cinnamon were added to the diets in laying hens. There was no significant major differences in egg quality and serum blood biochemical profiles. These results suggest the possibility that fermentation of apple pomace could be used as the alternative of antibiotic growth promoters.