Cassava: Nutrient composition and nutritive value in poultry diets.

Nanoparticles have been used as diagnostic and therapeutic agents in the human medical field for quite some time, though their application in veterinary medicine and animal production is still relatively new. Recently, production demands on the livestock industry have been centered around the use of antibiotics as growth promoters due to growing concern over microbial antibiotic resistance. With many countries reporting increased incidences of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, laws and regulations are being updated to end in-feed antibiotic use in the animal production industry. This sets the need for suitable alternatives to be established for inclusion in feed. Many reports have shown evidence that nanoparticles may be good candidates for animal growth promotion and antimicrobials. The current status and advancements of nanotechnological applications in animal production will be the focus of this review and the emerging roles of nanoparticles for nutrient delivery, biocidal agents, and tools in veterinary medicine and reproduction will be discussed. Additionally, influences on meat, egg, and milk quality will be reviewed.

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Current and future prospects for nanotechnology in animal production

Rice is one of the most economically important foods in the world today. The FAO has reported that managing rice processing and the resulting byproducts into more sustainable applications would be attractive for a variety of reasons. Rice processing involves several milling stages to produce edible final products. The milling process is the most important step in rice production because it sets the nutritional, cooking, and sensory qualities of crude rice. As crude rice goes through the milling process, it generates byproducts, such as bran, that have been shown to exhibit beneficial impacts on human and animal nutrition. While several rice byproducts have applications in agriculture, rice bran has probably received the most attention for its functional properties. Rice bran is a mixture of protein, fat, ash, and crude fiber. However, rice bran’s composition is largely dependent on the type of rice and the efficiency of the milling system. Based on studies with mice, rice bran has been shown to elicit prebiotic-like properties by preventing colonization of Salmonella in the gastrointestinal tract. More recently, in vitro incubation studies with chicken cecal contents have demonstrated that certain rice varieties are more inhibitory to Salmonella than others. Some of this may be related to impacts on cecal microbiome and production of certain metabolites. In this review, the byproducts of the milling process, how they are utilized, and potential application for conventional and alternative poultry production systems are discussed.

Current Trends of Rice Milling Byproducts for Agricultural Applications and Alternative Food Production Systems

The impact of bacteriospermia on boar sperm storage and reproductive performance.

Carotenoids are natural pigments known for their various health benefits for humans together with various other applications in diverse industries. Considering the high market value of carotenoids in the food and health sector, sustainable production of these metabolites for commercial applications is the need of time. Among various microbial alternatives, microalgae are considered as a rich source of carotenoids along with other metabolites and received special attention. However, commercial microalgae production is not fully developed and diversity of data is available regarding the cost-effectiveness of algal biomass production. Recent studies employing novel technologies and methods, coupled with the utilization of wastewater for algal cultivation are providing an innovative way forward. Implementation of wastewater for the cultivation of microalgae offers an economical, sustainable, and environmentally friendly method of resource utilization and urban wastewater management. This review intends to highlight the potential of microalgae species using wastewater for the production of different categories of carotenoids. The review will discuss the integrated approach that can be implemented for the biosynthesis of these value-added products along with wastewater treatment. Different techniques and factors which can be utilized for the upstreaming and downstreaming of the algal carotenoids will also be addressed in detail along with their challenges. Possible recommendations for the coupling of microalgae with wastewater as an effective method of waste remediation and as a source of potential products are also proposed.

Microalgae bioremediation: A perspective towards wastewater treatment along with industrial carotenoids production

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance of early growing broilers (2-6 weeks old) fed diets in which cassava peel/bovine blood mixed at varying ratios replaced 50 percent of the soyabean meal in the control Diet. One hundred and twenty broiler chicks were randomly allotted to six treatments replicated twice in a completely randomized design. Diet 1 served as the control, while Diets 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 had cassava peel/bovine blood mixed in the ratios of 1:1; 1:2; 1:3; 2:1; and 3:1; respectively. The feeding trial lasted for 28 days. Results showed that the effect of treatments on Average Daily Feed Intake (ADFI) was significant (P 0.05). Economic analysis showed that feed cost per bird was lower in the cassava/bovine blood based groups. Revenue from these groups were also higher than in the control. Benefit from birds on Diet 4 (1:3 ratio of cassava peel/bovine blood) was highest-x 495.62 as against x 385.23; x 413.28; x 459.95; x 462.43 and x 445.32 for birds on the control, Diets 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 respectively. It was concluded that feeding early growing broilers cassava peel/bovine blood can effectively replace 50 percent of soyabean meal in the control without any adverse effect on the performance of the birds, while cassava peel/bovine blood at the 1: 3 rate gave the highest economic return.

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Bioeconomic Indices of Broiler Chicks Fed Varying Ratios of Cassava Peel/Bovine Blood

Ten boars selected from each group of local Nigerian (LNB), Large White (LW) and LNB x LW (F1) crossbred boars were studied to determine the pattern of testicular development by external testicular measurements (length and width of testis) and to find out the relationship between external testicular dimensions body weight and sperm output. The results showed that LW boars were superior to both LNB and LNB x LW (F1) boars in all testicular and body weight measurements, while LNB x LW (F1) boars showed remarkable improvement over the LNB parent in all measurements. Rapid growth of the testis occurred in LNB from 14 – 30 weeks of age and 14 – 32 weeks of age in the crossbreds. Rapid growth of testis occurred from 12 – 32 weeks in the LW boars. These periods coincided with the phase of rapid gain in body weight in the various groups. Significant (P and lowest in LNB boars. Correlations between body weight testicular measurements and sperm output per 48 h were positive and highly significant (P 0.90. Sperm output was highly correlated (P < 0.01) with body weight in all genotypes with r2 values ranging from 0.85 – 0.91. The results generally indicate that measurements of external testis dimensions, body weight and sperm output characteristics can accurately guide the assessment of the reproductive performance of boars.

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Testicular development and relationship between body weight, testis size and sperm output in tropical boars

License. The full terms of the License are available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. Permissions beyond the scope of the License are administered by Dove Medical Press Limited. Information on how to request permission may be found at: http://www.dovepress.com/permissions.php Open Access Animal Physiology 2015:7 57–64 Open Access Animal Physiology Dovepress

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Survivability of boar sperm stored under room temperature in extenders containing some natural products

Ninety six unsexed four weeks old Anak broilers were used to compare the performance of finishing broilers fed Palm kernel cake, Bambara offal and Rice husk as partial replacement for maize. The ninety-six broilers were divided into four groups and fed diets containing either 40 percent Maize (T1) as control or 20 percent Palm kernel cake (T2), 20 percent Bambara offal (T3) and 20 percent Rice husk (T4). Each group was replicated thrice with 8 birds per replicate in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Feed and water were provided ad libitum for the 28 days the trial lasted. Results showed that the effect of treatments on final body weight, body weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion ratio and feed cost/kg gain were significant (P < 0.05). Average daily gain of 0.075kg observed in birds on T2 was significantly different (P < 0.05) from values of 0.065Kg, 0.066kg and 0.067kg recorded for birds on the control, T3 and T4 diets respectively. Also, the same group (T2) had superior feed cost per kg gain of x118.60 which differed significantly (P < 0.05) from x135.59 and x154.40 observed for birds on the control and T4 diets respectively. Haematological investigation revealed that the same birds on T2 had significantly higher values (P < 0.05) of red blood cell, haemoglobin, packed cell volume and eosinophils. Results of this study showed that 20 percent PKC can effectively replace maize in diets of finishing broilers with better performance and economic returns.

Comparative Performance and Haematological Indices of Finishing Broilers Fed Palm Kernel Cake, Bambara Offal and Rice Husk as Partial Replacement for Maize

The performance of growing pigs fed on basis of percentage of their body weight was evaluated using twenty four growing pigs of Landrace x Large White crosses weighing averagely 35±0.5 kg at the start of the study. The pigs were assigned to four treatments and each treatment was replicated thrice with two pigs per replicate in a Completely Randomized Design. An 18% CP and 11.82 MJME/kg diet was formulated and fed at levels of 10, 8, 6 and 4% of body weights in treatments 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively. The feeding trial lasted for 56 days. Results showed that treatment effect on the response parameters were significant (P<0.05). As percentage of body weight feeding reduced, final body weight of the pigs increased significantly (P<0.05). Pigs on treatments 2, 3 and 4 had a final body weight of 68.64, 67.62, 67.68 kg respectively which differed from the 60.03 kg observed for pigs on treatment 1. Pigs fed 4% of their body weight (Treatment 4) showed superiority in the response parameters. Pigs on Treatment 4 had a feed cost/kg gain value of 79.56 naira which differed significantly from 263.21 naira, 161.78 naira and 120.67 naira recorded for pigs on T , 1 T and T respectively. Linear body measurement of the pigs followed the same trend as observed in the 2 3 other response parameters. Pigs on T recorded the highest significant (P<0.05) changes in chest girth, 4 height at withers and body length. It is concluded that feeding growing pigs at level of 4% of their body weight leads to optimum performance and better economic returns.

S. O. C. Ugwu

Papers

Bioeconomic Indices of Broiler Chicks Fed Varying Ratios of Cassava Peel/Bovine Blood

Testicular development and relationship between body weight, testis size and sperm output in tropical boars

Survivability of boar sperm stored under room temperature in extenders containing some natural products

Comparative Performance and Haematological Indices of Finishing Broilers Fed Palm Kernel Cake, Bambara Offal and Rice Husk as Partial Replacement for Maize

Performance and linear measurements of growing pigs fed on basis of their body weight.