• Animal Bioscience
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• 제34권11호
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• pp.1839-1848
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• 2021

Objective: The objective of the present study was to investigate the comparative effects of dietary functional nutrients including glutamine (Gln), chromium picolinate (Cr picolinate), vitamin C (Vit C), betaine (Bet), and taurine (Tau) on growth performance, meat quality, immune responses, and stress biomarkers in broiler chickens raised under heat stress conditions. Methods: A total of 420 21-d-old Ross 308 male broiler chickens (initial body weight = 866±61.9 g) were randomly allotted to 1 of 7 treatment groups with 6 replicates. One group was kept under thermoneutral conditions and was fed a basal diet (PC, positive control). Other 6 groups were exposed to a cyclic heat stress condition. One of the 6 groups was fed the basal diet (NC, negative control), whereas 5 other groups were fed the basal diet supplemented with 0.5% Gln, 500 ppb Cr picolinate, 250 mg/kg Vit C, 0.2% Bet, or 1.0% Tau. The diets and water were provided ad libitum for 21 d. Results: Broiler chickens in NC group had decreased (p<0.05) growth performance and immune responses measured based on cutaneous basophil hypersensitivity (CBH), but increased (p<0.05) stress responses measured based on feather corticosterone concentrations and blood heterophil:lymphocyte than those in PC group. However, none of dietary functional nutrients had a positive effect on growth performance of broiler chickens. Dietary supplementation of 250 mg/kg Vit C improved (p<0.05) CBH responses of broiler chickens, but other functional nutrients had no such an improvement in CBH responses. All functional nutrients decreased (p<0.05) stress responses of broiler chickens. Conclusion: Functional nutrients including Gln, Cr picolinate, Vit C, Bet, and Tau at the supplemental levels used in this study decrease stress responses of broiler chickens to a relatively similar extent. However, this reduction in stress responses could not fully ameliorate decreased productive performance of broiler chickens raised under the current heat stress conditions.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• 제65권2호
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• pp.324-335
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• 2023

Korea, located in East Asia in the northern hemisphere, is experiencing severe climate changes. Specifically, the heat stress caused by global warming is negatively affecting the dairy sector, including milk production and reproductive performance, as the major dairy cattle Holstein-Friesian is particularly susceptible to heat stress. Here, we collected artificial insemination and pregnancy data of the Holstein and the Jersey cows from a dairy farm from 2014 to 2021 and analyzed the association between the conception rate and the temperature-humidity index, calculated using the data from the closest official weather station. As the temperature-humidity index threshold increased, the conception rate gradually decreased. However, this decrease was steeper in the Holstein breed than in the Jersey one at a temperature-humidity index threshold of 75. To evaluate the effects of heat stress on the oocyte quality, we examined the nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation of Holstein (n = 158, obtained from six animals) and Jersey oocytes (n = 123, obtained from six animals), obtained by ovum pick-up. There were no differences in the nuclear maturation between the different conditions (heat stress: 40.5℃, non- heat stress: 37.5℃) or breeds, although the Holstein oocytes seemed to have a lower metaphase II development (p = 0.0521) after in vitro maturation under heat stress conditions. However, we found that the Holstein metaphase II oocytes exposed to heat stress presented more reactive oxygen species and a peripheral distribution of the mitochondria, compared to those of the Jersey cattle. Here, we show that weather information from local meteorological stations can be used to calculate the temperature-humidity index threshold at which heat stress influences the conception rate, and that the Jersey cows are more tolerant to heat stress in terms of their conception rate at a temperature-humidity index over 75. The lower fertility of the Holstein cows is likely attributed to impaired cytoplasmic maturation induced by heat stress. Thus, the Jersey cows can be a good breed for the sustainability of dairy farms for addressing climate changes in South Korea, as they are more resistant to hyperthermia.

• 한국유기농업학회지
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• 제28권4호
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• pp.627-641
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• 2020

Intensive farming methods that do not guarantee animal welfare can induce stress in pigs. Stress, in turn, can reduce their disease resistance and influence their hormones and metabolites in such a manner that productivity is negatively affected. This study was conducted to compare the stress related factors and blood characteristics of pigs raised on conventional farms and those raised on animal welfare farms. We measured the levels of cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine, biochemical parameters in blood and glycogen, L-lactate and heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) in muscle, as physiological markers of indicating the stress in conventional farm pigs (Control, n=10) and animal welfare farm pigs (Welfare, n=10). We found that there was a significant difference in the albumin-globulin ratio (A/G ratio), as well as the albumin (ALB), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels between the two farms. Epinephrine was significantly higher in conventional farm, while level of norepinephrine was higher in animal welfare farm. There was no significant difference in cortisol, which is known as a stress hormone, across the two groups of farms. Muscular glycogen content was significantly high in animal welfare farm pigs. While L-lactate tended to be low in the animal welfare farm pigs, the difference between them and the conventional farm cohorts was not significant. HSP70 showed high levels of expression in conventional farm. Thus, we suggested that blood parameter results showed a stress response in the livers of conventional farm, and that catecholamine hormones, glycogen, L-lactate and HSP70 can be used as physiological factors of assessing animal welfare.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• 제64권4호
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• pp.621-639
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• 2022

Cortisol and corticosterone, hormones traditionally considered biomarkers of stress, can be measured in fluid biomatrices (e.g., blood, saliva) from live animals to evaluate conditions at sampling time, or in solid biomatrices (e.g., hair, feather) from live or dead animals to obtain information regarding long-term changes. Using these biomarkers to evaluate physiological stress responses in domestic animals may be challenging due to the diverse characteristics of biomatrices for potential measurement. Ideally, a single measurement from the biomatrix should be sufficient for evaluating chronic stress. The availability of appropriate and cost-effective immunoassay methods for detecting the biomarkers should also be considered. This review discusses the strengths and limitations of different biomatrices with regard to ensuring the highest possible reliability for chronic stress evaluation. Overall, solid biomatrices require less frequent sampling than other biomatrices, resulting in greater time- and cost-effectiveness, greater ease of use, and fewer errors. The multiplex immunoassay can be used to analyze interactions and correlations between cortisol and other stress biomarkers in the same biomatrix. In light of the lack of information regarding appropriate biomatrices for measuring chronic stress, this review may help investigators set experimental conditions or design biological research.

• 한국유기농업학회지
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• 제31권4호
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• pp.469-477
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• 2023

Animal welfare has been gradually gathering more attention from consumers over time, making it increasingly important to assess the level of stress experienced by livestock. Traditionally, stress has been measured by collecting blood to assess cortisol levels, an action that can be considered distressing for the animal. Therefore, we aimed to explore the feasibility of using hair as an alternative medium to blood for stress assessment. We utilized B/F (blood collected at the farm), B/A (blood collected after transport to the auction), and H/A (hair collected at the auction after blood sampling) from calves at the age of 7-9 months transported from the farm to the auction. Hair underwent a washing and extraction process to utilize hair extracts, while blood was centrifuged to analyze using ELISA. The cortisol concentration in the blood was significantly higher in B/A compared to B/F (p<0.05), confirming that the calves experienced stress during transportation. Additionally, H/A was significantly lower than both B/A and B/F (p<0.0001). These results emphasized that cortisol in hair is not suitable for investigating short-term stress in livestock, as it is with blood. While measuring stress indices using hair may not be appropriate for replacing blood, it is considered a highly suitable practice for animal welfare, and further research in this area should be continued.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• 제65권4호
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• pp.683-697
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• 2023

The threat posed by increased surface temperatures worldwide has attracted the attention of researchers to the reaction of animals to heat stress. Spermatogenesis in animals such as stallions is a temperature-dependent process, ideally occurring at temperatures slightly below the core body temperature. Thus, proper thermoregulation is essential, especially because stallion spermatogenesis and the resulting spermatozoa are negatively affected by increased testicular temperature. Consequently, the failure of thermoregulation resulting in heat stress may diminish sperm quality and increase the likelihood of stallion infertility. In this review, we emphasize upon the impact of heat stress on spermatogenesis and the somatic and germ cells and describe the subsequent testicular alterations. In addition, we explore the functions and molecular responses of heat shock proteins, including HSP60, HSP70, HSP90, and HSP105, in heat-induced stress conditions. Finally, we discuss the use of various therapies to alleviate heat stress-induced reproductive harm by modulating distinct signaling pathways.

• 한국초지조사료학회지
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• 제42권3호
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• pp.208-214
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• 2022

Drought stress is a condition that occurs frequently in the field, it reduces of the agricultural yield of field crops. The aim of the study was to screen drought-adapted genotype of Italian rye grass. The experiments were conducted between the two Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum L.) cultivars viz. Hwasan (H) and Kowinearly (KE). The plants were exposed to drought for 14 days. The results suggest that the morphological traits and biomass yield of KE significantly affected by drought stress-induced oxidative stress as the hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) level was induced, while these parameters were unchanged or less affected in H. Furthermore, the cultivar H showed better adaptation by maintaining several physiological parameter including photosystem-II (Fv/Fm), water use efficiency (WUE) and relative water content (RWC%) level in response to drought stress. These results indicate that the cultivar H shows improved drought tolerance by generic variation, improving photosynthetic efficiency and reducing oxidative stress damages under drought stress. These findings can be useful to the breeder and farmer for improving drought tolerance in Italian rye grass through breeding programs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제13권10호
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• pp.1373-1376
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• 2000

The peroxidation status of tissues was estimated in broilers under acute or chronic heat stress ($32^{\circ}C$, 24 h, $5{\times}24h$) in the present study. The results showed that the lipid peroxide (LPO) concentrations in plasma and liver were elevated (p<0.05) by acute heat stress, and were not influenced in kidney (p>0.05). At the same time, no significant change of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in the liver, kidney or plasma was observed. Under chronic heat exposure, the SOD activity in liver was increased (p<0.05) and the LPO concentrations in the liver and plasma were restored to the normal levels. The LPO level in kidney was not affected by chronic heat stress (p>0.05), but SOD activity was significantly decreased (p<0.01). The results suggested that the peroxidation was induced by acute heat stress and disappeared along with the time of heat exposure, and the peroxidation reactions were different among tissues.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제23권1호
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• pp.98-105
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• 2010

A total of 16 crossbred post-weaning pigs (10.64${\pm}$0.27 kg BW) were individually penned and assigned to one of two treatments to investigate the influences of diquat-induced oxidative stress on performance and arginine metabolism. Pigs in the oxidative stress group were injected intra-peritoneally with 10 mg/kg BW of diquat, while the control group were injected with isotonic saline. All pigs were fed ad libitum. The experiment lasted for 7 days. The results indicated that compared with control treatment, oxidative stress induced by diquat significantly decreased average daily gain, intake and feed conversion. The treatment decreased activities of antioxidant enzymes, increased concentration of malondialdehyde in plasma, increased cationic amino acid transporter-1 mRNA level and activity of ornithine aminotransferase and concentrations of arginine and citrulline in the jejunum, decreased the concentrations of arginine in plasma and kidney, and decreased induced nitric oxide synthase mRNA level. It is concluded that oxidative stress induced by diquat can influence absorption and metabolism of arginine and consequently modify the requirement of arginine for post-weaning pigs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제20권10호
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• pp.1600-1605
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• 2007

This study was undertaken to investigate the effects of oxidative stress on growth performance, nutrient digestibilities and activities of antioxidant enzymes of weanling pigs. In the experiment, 24 male $Landrance{\times}Yorkshire $weanling pigs were allotted to three groups of 8 animals each. Pigs were fed individually. According to a single factorial arrangement, pigs received diets with 5% of either fresh (group 1 and group 3) or oxidized fish oil (peroxide value was 786.50 meq $O_2/kg$ before inclusion in the diet, group 2). At the beginning of the experiment, pigs in group 3 received an intraperitoneal injection of diquat at 12 mg/kg of body weight. The trial lasted for 26 d. A metabolism test was carried out during the last 4 days of the second week. The results showed that feeding diets containing oxidized fish oil or injection with diquat depressed the growth performance and nutrient digestibilities of weanling pigs, decreased activities of antioxidant enzymes and increased concentration of malondialdehyde in plasma and liver. Intraperitoneal injection of diquat would induce more serious oxidative stress than oral intake of oxidized fish oil in the diet. In conclusion, administration of oxidized fish oil or diquat could induce oxidative stress in weanling pigs, and oxidative stress could depress growth performance and impact anti-oxidative ability of young pigs.