Vitamin A with L-ascorbic acid sodium salt improves the growth performance, immune function and antioxidant capacity of weaned pigs.

Vitamin A is easily degraded by environmental factors. Therefore, it is very important to add antioxidants during Vitamin A production. In the past, ethoxyquin (EQ) was widely used, but recent studies have found that it has potential toxicity. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated the antioxidant activities of 4 antioxidants in vitro: EQ, butylated hydroxytoluene, α-tocopherol and L-ascorbic acid sodium salt (Vitamin C sodium). In vitro experiments showed that Vitamin C sodium had better antioxidant capacity. Then, we explored the effects of different antioxidant types of Vitamin A on the growth performance, immune function and antioxidant capacity of weaned pigs. In total, 288 weaned piglets with an initial mean BW of 8.34 ±â€¯0.02 kg at 30 days old were randomly divided into three groups with four replicates and 24 piglets per replicate for 35 days of feeding. The experimental diets were as follows: i) basal diet without external Vitamin A (NC); ii) basal diet supplemented with 12000 IU/kg EQ Vitamin A and iii) basal diet supplemented with 12000 IU/kg Vitamin C sodium Vitamin A. On day 36, two pigs from each replicate were selected to collect serum samples. The in vivo results showed that pigs in the EQ Vitamin A and Vitamin C sodium Vitamin A groups had significantly higher final weight and average daily gain (P < 0.05). During the trial, the levels of IgG and glutathione peroxidase in the EQ Vitamin A and Vitamin C sodium Vitamin A groups were significantly higher than those in the NC group (P < 0.05), and the malondialdehyde content was significantly lower (P < 0.05). On the 36th day, the levels of IgA and total antioxidant capacity in the Vitamin C sodium Vitamin A group were significantly higher than those in the EQ Vitamin A and NC (P < 0.05) groups. Thus, Vitamin C sodium Vitamin A can significantly improve the growth performance, antioxidant capacity and immune function of weaned pigs. Meanwhile, Vitamin C sodium may replace EQ as an antioxidant additive for Vitamin A.

Effects of dietary pyrroloquinoline quinone disodium supplementation on inflammatory responses, oxidative stress, and intestinal morphology in broiler chickens challenged with lipopolysaccharide.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of pyrroloquinoline quinone disodium (PQQ·Na2) on inflammatory responses, oxidative stress, and intestinal morphology of broiler chickens challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). A 2 × 2 factorial arrangement in a complete randomized design experiment was used to study the effect of dietary PQQ·Na2 (0 or 1 mg/kg) on broiler chickens with or without a challenge with LPS. A total of two hundred eighty-eight 1-day-old Arbor Acre broiler chickens were randomly assigned to 4 treatments with 6 replicate cages of 12 birds per cage. All experimental broilers were injected intraperitoneally with 0.5 mg/kg body weight of either Escherichia coli LPS or sterile saline at 16, 18, and 20 d of age. Results showed that injecting LPS significantly increased the concentrations of interleukin-1beta (IL-1ß) in serum of birds on day 20 and day 21. Meanwhile, LPS injection increased (P < 0.05) the relative mRNA expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the duodenal mucosa of broilers on day 21. However, dietary supplementation with PQQ·Na2 decreased (P < 0.05) the concentration of IL-6 in serum of birds on day 20 and the levels of IL-1ß, IL-6, and interleukin-10 (IL-10) in serum of broiler chickens on day 21. Besides, supplementation of PQQ·Na2 within diet decreased (P < 0.05) the mRNA expressions of IL-1ß and IL-10 in the duodenal mucosa of birds on day 20. Relative to saline injection, the activity of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in serum and the activities of total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) and catalase (CAT) in liver were found to be lower (P < 0.05) in broilers after LPS challenge on day 21. However, birds fed with PQQ·Na2 showed higher (P < 0.05) GSH-Px activity in serum and higher (P < 0.05) T-SOD activities in liver on day 21 and day 42. Pyrroloquinoline quinone disodium also significantly attenuated the LPS-induced decreases in villus height to crypt depth ratio in the duodenum of broilers. In conclusion, dietary PQQ·Na2 supplementation significantly exerted protective effects on inflammation damage and oxidant stress of broilers under LPS challenge by regulating the expression of inflammatory cytokines (IL-1ß, IL-6, and IL-10) and activities of antioxidant enzymes (GSH-Px, T-SOD, and CAT). Moreover, dietary PQQ·Na2 supplementation significantly ameliorated the LPS-impaired intestinal morphology in broilers. Therefore, it has been considered that PQQ·Na2 can be used as a potential feed additive in broiler production.

Confronting the problem of interconnected structural changes in the comparative modeling of proteins.

Comparative models of three proteins have been built using a variety of computational methods, heavily supplemented by visual inspection. We consider the accuracy obtained to be worse than expected. A careful analysis of the models shows that a major reason for the poor results is the interconnectedness of the structural differences between the target proteins and the template structures they were modeled from. Side chain conformations are often determined by details of the structure remote in the sequence, and can be influenced by relatively small main chain changes. Almost all of the regions of substantial main chain conformational change interact with at least one other such region, so that they often cannot be modeled independently. Visual inspection is sometimes effective in correcting errors in sequence alignment and in spotting when an alternative template structure is more appropriate. We expect some improvements in the near future through the development of structure-based sequence alignment tools, side chain interconnectedness rotamer choice algorithms, and a better understanding of the context sensitivity of conformational features.