Safety evaluation of zinc methionine in laying hens: Effects on laying performance, clinical blood parameters, organ development, and histopathology.

The study was conducted to investigate whether high-dose zinc methionine (Zn-Met) affected the safety of laying hens, including laying performance, hematological parameters, serum chemical parameters, organ index, and histopathology. A total of 540 20-week-old Hy-Line White laying hens was randomly allocated to 6 groups with 6 replicates of 15 birds each. Birds were fed diets supplemented with 0 (control), 70, 140, 350, 700, or 1,400 mg Zn/kg diet as Zn-Met. The experiment lasted for 8 wk after a 2-week acclimation period. Results showed that dietary supplementation with 70 or 140 mg Zn/kg diet as Zn-Met significantly increased average daily egg mass (ADEM), laying rate (LR), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) (P < 0.05) and lowered broken and soft-shelled egg ratio (BSER) (P < 0.05) in comparison with the control group; no significant differences were detected among hens fed with 0, 350, or 700 mg Zn/kg as Zn-Met (P > 0.05); hens administered 1,400 mg Zn/kg showed a significant increase in BSER and remarkable decreases in ADEM, LR, and FCR (P < 0.001). There were no significant differences among hens receiving 0, 70, 140, 350, or 700 mg Zn/kg as Zn-Met in serum chemical parameters (P > 0.05); supplementation with 1,400 mg Zn/kg as Zn-Met remarkably elevated the concentrations of serum total bilirubin (TBILI), glucose (GLU), uric acid (UA), and creatinine (CRE) (P < 0.001), and enhanced activities of serum glutamic oxalacetic transaminase (GOP) and alkaline phosphatase (AKP) (P < 0.001) compared with the control group. No significant histopathological changes were found in hens administered 0, 70, 140, 350, or 700 mg Zn/kg as Zn-Met, while significant histological lesions were observed in the heart, liver, lung, and kidney tissues of hens receiving 1,400 mg Zn/kg as Zn-Met. No significant differences were detected in hematological parameters or organ index (P > 0.05). In conclusion, a nominal Zn concentration of 700 mg/kg as Zn-Met is considered to be no-observed-adverse-effect level following daily administration to hens for 56 days.

The prophylactic use of Chinese herbal medicine for chemotherapy-induced leucopenia in oncology patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.

OBJECTIVE: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to explore the clinical application of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) for chemotherapy-induced leucopenia and to evaluate its effectiveness and safety. METHODS: We included randomized clinical trials (RCTs) with no limitation of publication type or language. Participants were cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Trial designs included comparisons of CHM with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, supportive treatments for leucopenia, and/or placebo. Main outcomes were white blood cell count and incidence of leucopenia. Screening, data extraction, and analysis were conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. RESULTS: Eighty-three RCTs (n = 8,012) met the inclusion criteria. Fifteen Chinese patent medicines and 47 different modified formulas were used as prophylaxis for chemotherapy-induced leucopenia. Compared with no treatment, CHMs were shown to decrease the incidence of leucopenia (odds ratio (OR) -0.23 [-0.20, -0.27]), P < 0.00001), with the number needed to treat (NNT) -3.45 [-3.13, -3.85]. Subgroup analysis suggested a prophylactic benefit for white blood cell counts with Fufang E-jiao Jiang, Diyu Shengbai Pian, combination Huangqi and Shengmai Zhusheye, and Fuzhong Shengbai Fang for patients undergoing chemotherapy. No serious adverse events were reported. Only three articles (3/83, 4 %) were rated as having adequate methodological quality with a low level of bias. Funnel plots were asymmetrical. CONCLUSIONS: Some CHMs may be efficacious in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced leucopenia, but the majority of reviewed studies were of poor quality. Results need to be confirmed in rigorously conducted high-quality trials, including pharmacokinetic studies to ensure that there are no interactions between the CHM agent and chemotherapy.

[The effect of ginseng stem, leaf and rhizoma saponins on the formation of lipid peroxides in rats of various ages].

The effect of saponins isolated from the stem, leaf and rhizoma of panax ginseng on the formation of lipid peroxides in aged (30, 24 and 20 months) and middle-aged (14 months) wistar rats was studied with both in vivo and in vitro methods. The results showed: The formation of lipid peroxides increased with age in rats and mice: the two saponins of ginseng stem, leaf and rhizoma can obviously inhibit the lipid peroxidation in the serum (plasma) and liver homogenate of aged and middle-aged rats (p less than 0.05 and less than 0.001). The same effect was also shown in the aged LACA mouse (18 months) experiment.