Effects of dietary supplementation with histidine and ß-alanine on blood plasma metabolome of broiler chickens at different ages.

Histidine is an essential amino acid for broiler chickens and a precursor for the dipeptides carnosine and anserine, but little information is available about its metabolism in modern, fast-growing broilers. We used untargeted metabolomics to investigate the metabolic changes caused by the use of different standardized ileal digestible His:Lys ratios in broiler diets with and without ß-alanine supplementation. A total of 2204 broilers were randomly divided into 96 pens of 23 birds each. The pens were divided into 16 blocks, each containing one pen for all six feeding groups (total of 16 pens per group). These feeding groups were fed three different His:Lys ratios (0.44, 0.54, and 0.64, respectively) without and with a combination of 0.5% ß-alanine supplementation. Five randomly selected chickens of one single randomly selected pen per feeding group were slaughtered on day 35 or 54, blood was collected from the neck vessel, and plasma was used for untargeted metabolomic analysis. Here we show that up to 56.0% of all metabolites analyzed were altered by age, whereas only 1.8% of metabolites were affected by the His:Lys ratio in the diet, and 1.5% by ß-alanine supplementation. Two-factor analysis and metabolic pathway analysis showed no interaction between the His:Lys ratio and ß-alanine supplementation. The effect of the His:Lys ratio in the diet was limited to histidine metabolism with a greater change in formiminoglutamate concentration. Supplementation of ß-alanine showed changes in metabolites of several metabolic pathways; increased concentrations of 3-aminoisobutyrate showed the only direct relationship to ß-alanine metabolism. The supplementation of ß-alanine indicated few effects on histidine metabolism. These results suggest that the supplements used had limited effects or interactions on both His and ß-alanine metabolism. In contrast, the birds' age has the strongest influence on the metabolome.

Original Article Phytotherapy in Adults With Recurrent Uncomplicated Cystitis.

BACKGROUND: Uncomplicated urinary tract infections are among the commonest bacterial infections. Because antibiotic resistance is on the rise, there is growing interest in alternative, non-antimicrobial treatment options. This systematic review presents the current evidence on phytotherapy for the treatment and prevention of recurrent uncomplicated cystitis. METHODS: A systematic search of the relevant literature from January 2011 to August 2021 was carried out in the MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases and in two clinical trial registries. The trials included in the present review are ran - domized controlled trials (RCTs) of phytotherapeutic agents as monotherapy or combination therapy, in comparison to placebo, no treatment, non-pharmacological treatment, or drug treatment without any phytotherapeutic component. Two of the authors independently selected the publications, extracted the data, and estimated the risk of bias using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool. RESULTS: 12 RCTs with a total of 1797 female patients were included. A trial of acute therapy with Chinese plant-based medicine revealed non-inferiority to antibiotic treatment. Six trials of prophylaxis with cranberry products yielded mixed results with regard to efficacy against recurrent urinary tract infections. A trial of Seidlitzia rosmarinus for the prevention of cystitis showed that its use was associated with a lower cystitis rate than placebo (at 6 months: 33 vs. 73%, p <0.001). In all trials but one, the risk of bias was unclear or high. No standardized assessment of adverse events was carried out. CONCLUSION: Phytotherapeutic agents are an option for the treatment and prevention of recurrent cystitis in women. Given the heterogeneous state of the evidence on phytotherapy, no dependable recommendations can now be made for the clinical management of these patients with respect to phytotherapeutic agents.