Life cycle assessment of animal feeds prepared from liquid food residues: a case study of rice-washing water.

Life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to compare the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy consumption of three methods used to produce animal feed from concentrated rice-washing water (CRW) and disposing of the rice-washing water through wastewater treatment. Four scenarios were compared using LCA: (i) producing concentrated liquid feed by centrifugation (CC) of CRW with wastewater treatment and discharge of the supernatant, (ii) producing concentrated liquid feed by heating evaporation (HC) of CRW, (iii) producing dehydrated feed by dehydration (DH) of CRW, and (iv) wastewater treatment and discharge of nonconcentrated rice-washing water (WT). The functional unit (FU) was defined as 1 metric ton of rice washed for cooking or processing. Our results suggested that the energy consumptions of CC, HC, DH, and WT were 108, 322, 739, and 242 MJ per FU, respectively, and the amounts of GHG emissions from CC, HC, DH, and WT were 6.4, 15.8, 45.5, and 22.5 kg of CO equivalents per FU, respectively. When the produced feed prepared from CRW was assumed to be transported 200 km to farms, CC and HC still emitted smaller GHGs than the other scenarios, and CC consumed the smallest amount of energy among the scenarios. The present study indicates that liquid feed production from CRW by centrifugation has a remarkably reduced environmental impact compared with the wastewater treatment and discharge of rice-washing water.

Effects of Supplementation with Dried Neem Leaf Extract on Lipid Peroxidation and Antioxidant Enzyme mRNA Expression in the Pectoralis Major Muscle of Broiler Chickens.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation of dried neem (Azadirachta indica) leaf extract (DNE) on lipid peroxidation and the expression of genes encoding mRNAs in antioxidant enzymes in the pectoralis major muscle of chickens. A total of 24 male broiler chickens (ROSS308) were divided into three groups (n=8) at 21 days of age. The control group of chickens was fed a basal diet, and the remaining two groups of chickens were fed a basal diet supplemented with DNE at a concentration of 0.5% or 2.0% until 35 days of age. Growth performance (body weight, weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio) and tissue weights did not differ among the three groups. The 2.0% DNE-supplemented diet decreased the muscle malondialdehyde content, a marker of lipid peroxidation, and drip loss compared to the control chickens. In addition, the expression of genes encoding mRNAs of antioxidant enzymes (i.e., Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase, Mn-superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase 7, and catalase) were higher in the pectoralis major muscle of chickens fed the 2.0% DNE-supplemented diet than in the control chickens. Therefore, DNE supplementation increased the expression of genes encoding mRNAs in antioxidant enzymes and reduced lipid peroxidation and drip loss in the pectoralis major muscle of broiler chickens.

Prophylactic effect of Lactobacillus oral vaccine expressing a Japanese cedar pollen allergen.

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) represent an attractive delivery vehicle for oral allergy vaccine because of their safety as a food microorganism as well as their potent adjuvant activity triggering anti-allergic immune response. Here, we report the generation of recombinant LAB expressing a major Japanese cedar pollen allergen Cry j 1 (Cry j 1-LAB), and their prophylactic effect in vivo. To facilitate heterologous expression, the codon usage in the Cry j 1 gene was optimized for the host LAB strain Lactobacillus plantarum by the recursive PCR-based exhaustive site-directed mutagenesis. Use of the codon-optimized Cry j 1 cDNA and a lactate dehydrogenase gene fusion system led to a successful production of recombinant Cry j 1 in L. plantarum NCL21. We also found that oral vaccination with the Cry j 1-LAB suppressed allergen-specific IgE response and nasal symptoms in a murine model of cedar pollinosis.