• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.14 no.6
• /
• pp.1239-1248
• /
• 2004

The methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha has been extensively studied as a model organism for methanol metabolism and peroxisome biogenesis. Recently, this yeast has also attracted attention as a promising host organism for recombinant protein production. Here, we describe the fabrication and evaluation of a DNA chip spotted with 382 open reading frames (ORFs) of H. polymorpha. Each ORF was PCR-amplified using gene-specific primer sets, of which the forward primers had 5'-aminolink. The PCR products were printed in duplicate onto the aldehyde-coated slide glasses to link only the coding strands to the surface of the slide via covalent coupling between amine and aldehyde groups. With the partial genome DNA chip, we compared efficiency of direct and indirect cDNA target labeling methods, and found that the indirect method, using fluorescent-labeled dendrimers, generated a higher hybridization signal-to-noise ratio than the direct method, using cDNA targets labeled by incorporation of fluorescence-labeled nucIeotides during reverse transcription. In addition, to assess the quality of this DNA chip, we analyzed the expression profiles of H. polymorpha cells grown on different carbon sources, such as glucose and methanol, and also those of cells treated with the superoxide­generating drug, menadione. The profiles obtained showed a high-level induction of a set of ORFs involved in methanol metabolism and oxidative stress response in the presence of methanol and menadione, respectively. The results demonstrate the sensitivity and reliability of our arrays to analyze global gene expression changes of H. polymorpha under defined environmental conditions.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.371-377
• /
• 2009

The objectives of the present study were to investigate the effects of different dietary ratios of whole-crop corn silage and alfalfa hay on nitrogen (N) digestion, duodenal flow and metabolism across the portal-drained viscera (PDV) of growing beef steers, and to elucidate their relationships. Four steers (236${\pm}$7 kg BW) fitted with duodenal cannulae and chronic indwelling catheters into the portal and mesenteric veins and abdominal aorta were used in a 4${\times}$4 Latin square design. Animals were fed (at 12-h intervals) the 4 diets consisting of whole-crop corn silage (C) and alfalfa hay (A) in 80:20 (C8A2), 60:40 (C6A4), 40:60 (C4A6) and 20:80 (C2A8) ratios of which dietary crude protein (CP) was 10.5, 12.0, 13.5 and 15.0% of dry matter (DM), respectively. Feeding level was restricted to 95% of ad libitum intake to measure N digestion, blood flow and net flux of N across the PDV. Digestibility of DM and neutral detergent fiber and digestible energy intake linearly increased as the ratio of alfalfa hay increased. The N intake, duodenal flow and intestinal disappearance increased linearly with increasing alfalfa hay. Arterial and portal concentrations of ${\alpha}$-amino N showed a quadratic response to increasing levels of alfalfa hay and were the highest in steers fed the C6A4 diet. The net PDV release of ${\alpha}$-amino N and ammonia N increased linearly with increasing alfalfa hay, but urea N uptake by PDV did not differ among diets. As a percentage of apparently digested N in the total gut, net PDV release of ${\alpha}$-amino N linearly decreased from 66 to 48% with increasing alfalfa hay. Conversely, net PDV recovery of ${\alpha}$-amino N to intestinal N disappearance varied with increasing alfalfa hay accounting for 49, 50, 58 and 61% on C8A2, C6A4, C4A6 and C2A8 diets, respectively. Net PDV uptake of urea N, relative to apparently digested N, linearly decreased from 81 to 25% as alfalfa hay increased from 20 to 80% of DM intake. Considering PDV uptake of urea N, microbial efficiency and conversion of total tract digested N to PDV ${\alpha}$-amino N net supply, a diet consisting of 80% whole-crop corn silage and 20% alfalfa hay (10.5% CP) was the best, while considering the quantities of intestinal N disappearance and ${\alpha}$-amino N absorption, a diet of 20% whole-crop corn silage and 80% alfalfa hay (15% CP) would be preferred. The proportion of ${\alpha}$-amino N recovered by PDV relative to the intestinal N disappearance may vary with energy intake level of mixed forage diets.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
• /
• v.6 no.6
• /
• pp.513-519
• /
• 2012

Aged garlic extract (AGE) is known to have a protective effect against immune system, endothelial function, oxidative stress and inflammation. We examined the effects of exercise with and without aged garlic extract administration on body weight, lipid profiles, inflammatory cytokines, and oxidative stress marker in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese rats. Forty-five Sprague-Dawley rats were fed either a HFD (HFD, n = 40) or a normal diet (ND, n = 5) for 6 weeks and thereafter randomized into ND (n = 5), HFD (n = 10), HFD with AGE (n = 10), HFD with Exercise (n = 10), or HFD with Exercise+AGE (n = 10) for 4 weeks. AGE groups were administered at a dose of 2.86 g/kg body weight, orally. Exercise consisted of running 15-60 min 5 days/week with gradually increasing intensity. AGE (P<0.01), Exercise, and Exercise+AGE (P<0.001) attenuated body weight gain and food efficiency ratio compared to HFD. Visceral fat and liver weight gain were attenuated (P<0.05) with all three interventions with a greater effect on visceral fat in the Exercise+AGE than AGE (P<0.001). In reducing visceral fat (P<0.001), epididymal fat (P<0.01) and liver weight (P<0.001), Exercise+AGE was effective, but exercise showed a stronger suppressive effect than AGE. Exercise+AGE showed further additive effects on reducing visceral fat and liver weight (P<0.001). AGE significantly attenuated the increase in total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol compared with HFD (P<0.05). Exercise+AGE attenuated the increase in triglycerides compared with HFD (P<0.05). Exercise group significantly decrease in C-reactive protein (P<0.001). These results suggest that AGE supplementation and exercise alone have anti-obesity, cholesterol lowering, and anti-inflammatory effects, but the combined intervention is more effective in reducing weight gain and triglycerides levels than either intervention alone.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.263-270
• /
• 2004

A repeated $4{\times}4$ Latin square design was conducted with eight ileal cannulated castrates to examine the effect of source of starch and fiber on nutrient balance and energy metabolism. Pigs were fed on one of the four experimental diets: Control diet (C) mainly based on cooked rice; and diets P, S and W with the inclusion of either raw potato starch, sugar beet pulp or wheat bran supplementation, respectively. With the exception of an increased (p<0.05) energy loss from methane production with diet S observed, no significant differences (p>0.05) in the ratio of metabolizable energy (ME)/digestible energy, the utilization of ME for fat deposition and for protein deposition, energy loss as hydrogen and urinary energy were found between diets. The efficiency of utilization of ME for maintenance was lower (p<0.05) with diets P and S than with diet C. The inclusion of fiber sources (sugar beet pulp or wheat bran) or potato starch reduced the maintenance energy requirement. The fecal energy excretion was increased (p<0.05) with either sugar beet pulp or wheat bran supplementation, while it was unaffected (p>0.05) by addition of potato starch. In comparison with diets C and P, a lowered ileal or fecal digestibility of energy with diets S and W was observed (p<0.05). Feeding sugar beet pulp caused increased (p<0.05) daily production of methane and carbon dioxide and consequently increased energy losses from methane and carbon dioxide production, while it did not influence the daily hydrogen production (p>0.05). An increased (p<0.05) proportion of NSP excreted in feces was seen by the supplementation of wheat bran. Higher NSP intake caused an increased daily amount of NSP in the ileum, but the ileal NSP proportion as a percentage of NSP intake was unaffected by diets. Feeding potato starch resulted in increased daily amount of starch measured in the ileum and the proportion of ileal starch as a percentage of starch intake, while no significant influence on fecal starch was found. Higher (p<0.05) daily amount of fecal starch and the proportion of fecal starch as a percentage of starch intake were found with fiber sources supplementation compared with diets C and P. By increasing the dietary NSP content the fecal amount of starch increased (p<0.01).

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.40 no.2
• /
• pp.160-168
• /
• 2016

Background: Ginseng (Panax ginseng Meyer) is a well-characterized medicinal herb listed in the classic oriental herbal dictionary as "Shin-nong-bon-cho-kyung." Ginseng has diverse pharmacologic and therapeutic properties. Black ginseng (BG, Ginseng Radix nigra) is produced by repeatedly steaming fresh ginseng nine times. Studies of BG have shown that prolonged heat treatment enhances the antioxidant activity with increased radical scavenging activity. Several recent studies have showed the effects of BG on increased lipid profiles in mice. In this study report the effects of water and ethanol extracts of BG on hypercholesterolemia in rats. To our knowledge, this is the first time such an effect has been reported. Methods: Experiments were conducted on male Sprague Dawley rats fed with a high-cholesterol diet supplemented with the water and ethanol extracts of BG (200 mg/kg). Their blood cholesterol levels, serum white blood cell levels, and cholesterol-metabolizing marker genes messenger RNA (mRNA) expression were determined. Liver and adipose tissues were histologically analyzed. Results: We found that BG extracts efficiently reduced the total serum cholesterol levels, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels with increased food efficiency ratio and increased number of neutrophil cells. It also attenuated the key genes responsible for lipogenesis, that is, acetyl-coenzyme A (CoA) acetyltransferase 2, 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA reductase, and sterol regulatory element-binding protein 2, at the mRNA level inside liver cells. Furthermore, the BG extract also reduced the accumulation of fat in adipose tissues, and inhibited the neutral fat content in liver cells stained with hematoxylin and eosin and oil red O. Conclusion: Administration of BG extracts to Sprague Dawley rats fed with high-cholesterol diet ameliorated hypercholesterolemia, which was mediated via modulation of cholesterol-metabolizing marker genes. This data throw a light on BG's cardioprotective effects.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.85-99
• /
• 2005

This trial was carried out to determine effects of organic feeds in comparison to conventional diet on feed intake, digestibility, and nitrogen retention in Korean native goats. Twelve Korean native goats were allotted to treatments in four groups of three goats and then they were housed in separate metabolism cages for 21 days. Treatments included conventional diet (A) as a control group and three organic feed groups (B: organic rice straw, C: organic nee leaves, D: organic mixture of rice straw and tree leaves). The A treatment, conventional diet, consisted of common rice straw and commercial concentrates at a proportion of 60 and 40%, respectively. All ingredients of organic feeds treatments were organically produced-agricultural products without any application of chemical fertilizer and pesticide. Four experimental diets were formulated to have the same ratio of forage to concentrate and similar contents for protein and carbohydrate across treatments and they were offered to goats ad libitum. Feed intake, apparent nutrient digestibility and nitrogen retention were investigated. For chemical compositions of experimental diets, all nutrients except crude ash and ether extract were not significantly different across treatments as we expected. Crude ash content was highest in the A treatment (P<0.05), however, it was not significantly different among organic feeds treatments. Ether extract content was higher (P<0.05) in C and D treatments than in A and B. Even if dry matter intakes for organic feeds treatments were not significantly different among them, they were significantly higher (P<0.05) compared with conventional diet. Fecal excreta were not significantly different across treatments, resulting in significantly higher digestible dry matter (g/day) in treatments of organic feeds (P<0.01). Average daily gain (ADG) and feed efficiency (FE) were more increased (P<0.01) in treatments of organic feeds compared with conventional diet. Digestibilities for most of nutrients except NFC had the same trend as ADG and FE, however, NFC digestibilities for C and D treatments were significantly lower (P<0.01) than those of A and B. Nitrogen intakes for organic feeds treatments were significantly higher (P<0.001) than conventional diet, with no difference among organic feeds treatments. Fecal nitrogen loss was higher (P<0.05) for C and D treatments than for A and B. Retained nitrogen contents were significantly higher (P<0.05) for organic feeds treatments than for conventional diet, but nitrogen retention rate did not show any difference across treatments. The results showed that organic feed supplementation more improved feed intake, digestibility and nitrogen retention in comparison with conventional diet, and thus they could be concluded that organic feeds might contribute to animal performance and a safer production of animal product.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.25 no.11
• /
• pp.1546-1552
• /
• 2012

A feeding experiment with 40 lactating Holstein cows and 4 dietary treatments was conducted to investigate supplementation with different levels of alcohol fermented feed to the TMR on lactating performance, blood metabolites, milk fatty acid profile and cholesterol concentration of blood and milk. Forty Holstein lactating cows ($106{\pm}24$ d post-partum; mean${\pm}$SD) were distributed into four groups and randomly assigned to one of four treatments with each containing 10 cows per treatment. The treatment supplemented with TMR (DM basis) as the control (CON), and CON mixed with alcohol-fermented feeds (AFF) at a level of 5%, 10% and 15% of the TMR as T1, T2 and T3, respectively. Dry matter intake and milk yield were not affected by supplementation of AFF. An increased 4% FCM in the milk occurred in cows fed T3 diet compared with CON, while T1 and T2 diets decreased 4% FCM in a dose dependent manner. Supplementation of AFF increased the concentration of albumin, total protein (TP), ammonia, and high density lipoprotein-cholesterol in serum compared with CON. In contrast, supplementation with AFF clearly decreased concentration of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and total cholesterol (TC) compare with CON. AFF supplementation increased the proportion of C18:1n9 and C18:2n6 compared to CON. A decrease in the concentration of saturated fatty acid (SFA) for T1, T2 and T3 resulted in an increased unsaturated fatty acid (USFA) to SFA ratio compared to CON. Concentration of cholesterol in milk fat was reduced in proportion to the supplemental level of AFF. Feeding a diet supplemented with a moderate level AFF to lactating cows could be a way to alter the feed efficiency and fatty acid profile of milk by increasing potentially human consumer healthy fatty acid without detrimental effects on feed intake and milk production. A substantially decreased cholesterol proportion in milk induced by supplementation AFF suggests that alcohol fermented feed may improve milk cholesterol levels without any negative effects in lactating cows.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.30 no.5
• /
• pp.672-682
• /
• 2017

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of probiotic, prebiotic and synbiotic with and without feed restriction on broilers performance, blood parameters, carcass characteristics, and feed cost of production from 1 to 56 days of age. Methods: Two hundred and forty unsexed one day-old chicks of Arbor Acres breed were used. Two trials, I and II, were conducted, with 120 birds in both. Each trial was divided into 4 equal groups. The birds in trial I were fed ad libitum throughout the experiment, while the chicks in trial II were fed ad libitum during the first week of age, then subjected to 5 hours/d of feed restriction from the beginning of the second week up to the end of the experiment. In both trials, the birds in group 1 were fed on a control diet while the other groups were given the same control diet supplemented either with a probiotic in group 2, prebiotic in group 3, or synbiotic in group 4. Results: It was found that chicks fed diets supplemented with probiotic, prebiotic and synbiotic (with and without feed restriction) exhibited higher body weight and feed efficiency than chicks fed the control diets. The feed additives in both trials did not affect hemoglobin, serum total protein, albumin, globulin, glucose, and total cholesterol, except the packed cell volume which was increased in the additive treatments with restriction at the end of the experiment. Moreover, the dietary treatments did not influence the carcass yield. However, the relative weights of liver, gizzard and proventriculus, small intestine and bursa of fabricius were found to be increased. The additives decreased the visible fat in the carcass, with more decreasing effect in the additive groups with restriction. The lowest feed cost per kg of weight gain was observed in the birds fed diets supplemented with synbiotic, probiotic and prebiotic. Feed restriction improved the feed conversion ratio, economic return, but decreased the feed intake, serum total cholesterol and visible fat in comparison with non-restricted groups. Conclusion: The biological feed additives could be routinely added to broiler diets, especially when a feed restriction program is followed. Finally, it can be recommended to restrict feed, and add probiotic or synbiotic to increase weight, improve feed conversion rate and reduce feed cost of production.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.31 no.10
• /
• pp.1619-1626
• /
• 2018

Objective: This study was an attempt to investigate the effect of levels of fungal (Lentinus sajor-caju) treated oil palm fronds (FTOPF) on digestibility, rumen fermentation, and nitrogen balance in goats. Methods: Four 16 month old male crossbred (Thai Native${\times}$Anglo Nubian) goats with initial body weights of $33.5{\pm}1.7kg$ were randomly assigned according to a $4{\times}4$ Latin square design. Four levels of FTOPF were assigned for feed intake. The experimental treatments consisted of 0%, 33%, 67%, and 100% of oil palm fronds (OPF) being replaced by FTOPF. Results: The results revealed that total dry matter intake and nutrient intake were not influenced (p>0.05) by the inclusion of FTOPF. However, the efficiency values of the digestibility of the dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, and acid detergent lignin on FTOPF were higher (p<0.05) in treatments with 33%, 67%, and 100% of FTOPF compared with 0% of FTOPF. FTOPF feeding did not change the rumen pH, temperature, and $NH_3-N$. However, the FTOPF levels did affect the total volatile fatty acid (VFA), molar proportion of acetate, propionate, butyrate, ratio of acetic (propionic acid and acetic) plus butyric (propionic acid), and production of $CH_4$. The totals of VFA and propionate was lower in goat fed with 0% of FTOPF than in those of the other groups (p<0.05). The amount of nitrogen retention based on g/d/animal or the percentage of nitrogen retained was the lowest the goat fed with 0% of FTOPF (p<0.05), whereas nitrogen intake, excretion, and absorption were not changed among treatments. Conclusion: Based on this study, FTOPF could be effectively used as an alternative roughage source in total mixed ration diets, constituting at least up to 100% of OPF.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.29 no.12
• /
• pp.1719-1724
• /
• 2016

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of physically effective neutral detergent fiber (peNDF) content in total mixed ration (TMR) on dry matter intake, digestibility, and chewing activity in fattening Hanwoo (Bos taurus coreanae) heifers. The experiment was designed as a replicated $3{\times}3$ Latin square using 12 heifers. Fattening heifers were offered one of three diets [high (T1), medium (T2), and low (T3) peNDF] obtained by different mixing times (3, 10, and 25 min) for the same TMR feed. The peNDF content of TMR was determined by multiplying the proportion of dry matter retained by a 1.18 mm-screen in a Penn State Particle Separator by the dietary NDF content. The $peNDF_{1.18}$ content was 30.36%, 29.20%, and 27.50% for the T1, T2, and T3 diets, respectively (p<0.05). Dry matter intake was not affected by peNDF content in TMR. Total weight gain in T1 group was significantly higher (p<0.05) than in T2 and T3 groups. However, weight gain did not differ between T2 and T3 groups. The feed conversion ratio decreased with an increase in the peNDF content (T1: 12.18, T2: 14.17, and T3: 14.01 g/g). An increase in the peNDF content of TMR was associated with a linear increase in the digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, crude fiber, neutral detergent fiber, and acid detergent fiber (p<0.05). Also, an increase in peNDF content of the TMR resulted in a linear increase in the number of chews in eating and ruminating (p<0.05), and consequently in the number of total chews (p<0.05). These results indicate that peNDF content affects digestibility and chewing activity. Consequently, the peNDF content of TMR should be considered for improving feed efficiency, digestibility, body weight gain, and performance in fattening heifers.