Investigating adverse effects of chronic dietary exposure to herbicide glyphosate on zootechnical characteristics and clinical, biochemical and immunological blood parameters in broiler chickens.

Although the herbicide glyphosate is widely used globally and considered safe, more evidence of its adverse effects on animals and humans is accumulating. The present investigation was aimed at evaluating the impact of different glyphosate concentrations on zootechnical characteristics and clinical, biochemical and immunological blood parameters in Ross 308 broiler chickens. Four groups were employed, including untreated control and three experimental groups fed diets enriched with glyphosate at doses of 10, 20 and 100 ppm that conformed to 0.5, 1 and 5 maximum residue limits, respectively. The results showed that glyphosate is a stress factor triggering a multifaceted effect on important blood parameters (e.g., white blood cell and phagocytic counts), which was shown for the first time in the experiments involving productive meat-type poultry. It was first revealed that glyphosate-induced changes in blood parameters may be related to a negative impact on the zootechnical characteristics including the digestive tract organ development and body weight gain. The study findings suggested that exposure to glyphosate in the feedstuffs can adversely affect the physiological condition and productivity of broilers.

Analysis of Biomechanical and Biochemical Markers of Rat Muscle Soleus Fatigue Processes Development during Long-Term Use of C60 Fullerene and N-Acetylcysteine.

The development of an effective therapy aimed at restoring muscle dysfunctions in clinical and sports medicine, as well as optimizing working activity in general remains an urgent task today. Modern nanobiotechnologies are able to solve many clinical and social health problems, in particular, they offer new therapeutic approaches using biocompatible and bioavailable nanostructures with specific bioactivity. Therefore, the nanosized carbon molecule, C60 fullerene, as a powerful antioxidant, is very attractive. In this study, a comparative analysis of the dynamic of muscle soleus fatigue processes in rats was conducted using 50 Hz stimulation for 5 s with three consistent pools after intraperitoneal administration of the following antioxidants: C60 fullerene (a daily dose of 1 mg/kg one hour prior to the start of the experiment) and N-acetylcysteine (NAC; a daily dose of 150 mg/kg one hour prior to the start of the experiment) during five days. Changes in the integrated power of muscle contraction, levels of the maximum and minimum contraction force generation, time of reduction of the contraction force by 50% of its maximum value, achievement of the maximum force response, and delay of the beginning of a single contraction force response were analyzed as biomechanical markers of fatigue processes. Levels of creatinine, creatine phosphokinase, lactate, and lactate dehydrogenase, as well as pro- and antioxidant balance (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, hydrogen peroxide, reduced glutathione, and catalase activity) in the blood of rats were analyzed as biochemical markers of fatigue processes. The obtained data indicate that applied therapeutic drugs have the most significant effects on the 2nd and especially the 3rd stimulation pools. Thus, the application of C60 fullerene has a (50-80)% stronger effect on the resumption of muscle biomechanics after the beginning of fatigue than NAC on the first day of the experiment. There is a clear trend toward a positive change in all studied biochemical parameters by about (12-15)% after therapeutic administration of NAC and by (20-25)% after using C60 fullerene throughout the experiment. These findings demonstrate the promise of using C60 fullerenes as potential therapeutic nanoagents that can reduce or adjust the pathological conditions of the muscular system that occur during fatigue processes in skeletal muscles.

Seasonal Variability of Biochemical Parameters in Female Cynomolgus Macaques (Macaca fascicularis).

We study of seasonal variability of biochemical parameters of blood serum in female cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) in the Adler nursery of the Research Institute of Medical Primatology kept under conditions of free access to the open enclosure. It was found that in the most favorable season for monkeys (from June to September) the serum levels of sodium, phosphorus, creatinine were significantly increased and cholesterol and calcium concentrations and lactate dehydrogenase activity were significantly reduced. There was no seasonal variability in the content of triglycerides, urea, potassium, activity of γ-glutamyltransferase, ALT, and AST.