A Polyherbal Mixture with Nutraceutical Properties for Ruminants: A Meta-Analysis and Review of BioCholine Powder.

BioCholine Powder is a polyherbal feed additive composed of Achyrantes aspera, Trachyspermum ammi, Azadirachta indica, and Citrullus colocynthis. The objective of this study was to analyze published results that support the hypothesis that the polyherbal product BioCholine Powder has rumen bypass choline metabolites through a meta-analysis and effect size analysis (ES). Using Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, PubMed, and university dissertation databases, a systematic search was conducted for experiments published in scientific documents that evaluated the effects of BioCholine supplementation on the variables of interest. The analyzed data were extracted from twenty-one publications (fifteen scientific articles, three abstracts, and three graduate dissertations available in institutional libraries). The studies included lamb growing-finishing, lactating ewes and goats, calves, and dairy cows. The effects of BioCholine were analyzed using random effects statistical models to compare the weighted mean difference (WMD) between BioCholine-supplemented ruminants and controls (no BioCholine). Heterogeneity was explored, and three subgroup analyses were performed for doses [(4 (or 5 g/d), 8 (10 g/d)], supplementation in gestating and lactating ewes (pre- and postpartum supplementation), and blood metabolites by species and physiological state (lactating goats, calves, lambs, ewes). Supplementation with BioCholine in sheep increased the average daily lamb gain (p < 0.05), final body weight (p < 0.01), and daily milk yield (p < 0.05) without effects on intake or feed conversion. Milk yield was improved in small ruminants with BioCholine prepartum supplementation (p < 0.10). BioCholine supplementation decreased blood urea (p < 0.01) and increased levels of the liver enzymes alanine transaminase (ALT; p < 0.10) and albumin (p < 0.001). BioCholine doses over 8 g/d increased blood glucose, albumin (p < 0.10), cholesterol, total protein, and globulin (p < 0.05). The ES values of BioCholine in retained energy over the control in growing lambs were +7.15% NEm (p < 0.10) and +9.25% NEg (p < 0.10). In conclusion, adding BioCholine Powder to domestic ruminants' diets improves productive performance, blood metabolite indicators of protein metabolism, and liver health, showing its nutraceutical properties where phosphatidylcholine prevails as an alternative that can meet the choline requirements in ruminants.

Effects of maternal calcium propionate supplementation on offspring productivity and meat metabolomic profile in sheep.

This study determined the effect of dietary calcium propionate (CaPr) as a source of energy supplementation during the First Half of Gestation (FMG), the Second Half of Gestation (SMG), and during All Gestation (AG), on offspring post-weaning growth performance, meat quality, and meat metabolomic profile. Thirty-one pregnant ewes were assigned to one of four treatments: a) supplementation of 30 gd-1 of CaPr during the first half of gestation (day 1 to day 75, n = 8) (FMG); b) supplementation of 30 gd-1 of CaPr during the second half of gestation (day 76 to day 150, n = 8) (SMG); c) supplementation of 30 gd-1 of CaPr during all gestation (AG, n = 8); d) no CaPr supplementation (control; CS, n = 7). The ewes were ad libitum fed a basal diet based on oat hay and corn silage. Ewes were distributed in a completely randomized unbalanced design to four treatments. The FMG group had lower (P ≤ 0.05) birth weight and weaning weight than the CS group. However, the average daily gain was similar across all treatments. Empty body weight and FMG had lower values (P ≤ 0.05) than the other groups. Both FMG and AG had lower hot carcass weight (P ≤ 0.05) compared to CS, while CaPr treatments resulted in reduced hot carcass yield (P ≤ 0.05). Meat color and texture were similar among treatments. A principal component analysis between gestation stages showed a trend for separating CS and FMG from SMG and AG, and that was explained by 93.7% of the data variability (PC1 = 87.9% and PC2 = 5.8%). Regarding meat metabolomic profile, 23 compounds were positively correlated between all treatments. Only 2 were negatively correlated (eicosane and naphthalene 1,2,3); but tetradecanoic acid, hexadecane, undecane 5-methyl, (-)-alpha, hexadecenoic acid, octadecanoic acid, and octadecane had a highly significant correlation (P ≤ 0.05). Overall, dam supplementation with CaPr during different periods of gestation provoked changes in meat metabolites related to the biosynthesis of fatty acids in lambs without negative changes in lamb's growth performance and carcass quality.

Predicting carcass tissue composition in Blackbelly sheep using ultrasound measurements and machine learning methods.

This study aimed to predict Blackbelly sheep carcass tissue composition using ultrasound measurements and machine learning models. The models evaluated were decision trees, random forests, support vector machines, and multi-layer perceptrons and were used to predict the total carcass bone (TCB), total carcass fat (TCF), and total carcass muscle (TCM). The best model for predicting the three parameters, TCB, TCF, and TCM was random forests, with mean squared error (MSE) of 0.31, 0.33, and 0.53; mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.26, 0.29, and 0.53; and the coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.67, 0.69, and 0.76, respectively. The results showed that machine learning methods from in vivo ultrasound measurements can be used as determinants of carcass tissue composition, resulting in reliable results.

Effect of the Supplementation Using an Herbal Mixture as a Choline Source during Early Gestation in Rambouillet Ewes.

Previous research indicates that adequate choline nutrition during late gestation improves fetal development. However, there is a lack of studies describing choline's role during early gestation. Thus, the current study hypothesizes that an herbal mixture as a source of choline (Biocholine) positively affects offspring development from ewes supplemented during early gestation. Therefore, the objectives were to evaluate the impact of biocholine on the programming of the offspring early in life through the evaluation of dams and newborn performance. Twenty-eight four-year-old Rambouillet ewes were assigned randomly to two treatments: non-supplementation and 4 gd-1 of biocholine during the early gestation. Compared with the dams without supplementation, the ewes supplemented using biocholine showed no increase in parameters such as birth and weaning weight (p > 0.05). Additionally, the milk yield and quality of colostrum and milk did not present statistical differences (p > 0.05). However, the placental membrane development was reduced in the ewes that received supplementation with biocholine; interestingly, those dams increased the weight of the newborns during the lambing period (p < 0.05). Finally, the current study proposes necessary elucidation of how placental size is programmed and if less placental development has potential benefits in the fetus's development.

Herbal Vitamin C Prevents DNA Oxidation and Modifies the Metabolomic Water Profile of Tilapia (Oreochromis spp.).

This experiment aimed to evaluate the effects of herbal vitamin C at different levels on tilapia (Oreochromis spp.) growth, potential DNA damage, and the metabolomic profile of water effluent. Forty-five tilapias were housed in separate plastic tanks (80 L), and these were randomly assigned to three treatments: (a) a commercial diet (CD) only; (Nutripec Purina®); (b) the commercial diet plus 250 mg of herbal vitamin C (HVC)/kg (CD250); and (c) the commercial diet plus 500 mg of HVC/kg (CD500). Biometric measurements were taken each week, blood samples were collected from the caudal vein on the final day, and water effluent was taken each week and immediately frozen (-80 °C) until further analysis (gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) systems). Data were completely randomized with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments. Upon including herbal vitamin C, the final BW (p = 0.05) and BWG (p = 0.06) increased linearly. Herbal vitamin C decreases DNA damage (p ≥ 0.05). PLS-DA showed a 41.6% variation between treatments in the water samples. Fifteen metabolites had the best association between treatments, with a stronger correlation with CD500. Herbal vitamin C could improve fish performance, prevent DNA damage, and influence changes in the metabolomic profile of the water.

Application of an Electronic Nose and HS-SPME/GC-MS to Determine Volatile Organic Compounds in Fresh Mexican Cheese.

Electronic devices have been used to describe chemical compounds in the food industry. However, there are different models and manufacturers of these devices; thus, there has been little consistency in the type of compounds and methods used for identification. This work aimed to determine the applicability of electronic nose (e-nose) Cyroanose 320 to describe the differentiation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in fresh Mexican cheese (F-MC) formulated with milk from two different dairy cattle breeds. The VOCs were described using a device manufactured by Sensigent and Solid-Phase Micro-extraction (SPME) coupled to GC-MS as a complementary method. The multivariate principal components analysis (PCA) and the partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) were used to describe the relationships of VOCs to electronic nose data, sensory data, and response levels. In addition, variable importance in projection (VIP) was performed to characterize the e-nose signals to the VOCs. The e-nose distinguishes F-MC prepared with milk from two dairy breeds. Sensor number 31 correlated with carboxylic acids most in F-MC from Jersey milk. The HS-SPME/GC-MS identified eighteen VOCs in F-MC made with Holstein milk, while only eleven VOCs were identified for F-MC made with Jersey milk. The more significant peaks in both chromatogram analyses were Propanoic acid, 2-methyl-, 1-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-2-methyl-1,3-propanediyl ester in cheese made from Holstein milk and Propanoic acid, 2-methyl-, 3-hydroxy-2,4,4-trimethylpentyl ester in Jersey milk cheese. Both compounds are considered essential carboxylic acids in the dairy industry. Thus, sensor 31 in the electronic nose Cyranose 320 increased its response by essential carboxylic acids identified by HS-SPME/GC-MS as a complementary method. The e-nose Cyranose 320 is potentially helpful for evaluating fresh Mexican cheese authentication independent of cows' milk samples from different breeds.

Effects of Dietary Calcium Propionate Supplementation on Hypothalamic Neuropeptide Messenger RNA Expression and Growth Performance in Finishing Rambouillet Lambs.

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of feeding different levels concentrations of dietary calcium propionate (CaPr) on lambs' growth performance; ruminal fermentation parameters; glucose-insulin concentration; and hypothalamic mRNA expression for neuropeptide Y (NPY), agouti-related peptide (AgRP), and proopiomelanocortin (POMC). Thirty-two individually fed lambs were randomly assigned to four treatments: (1) control diet (0 g/kg of CaPr), (2) low CaPr, (30 g/kg dry matter (DM)), (3) medium CaPr, (35 g/kg DM), and (4) high CaPr (40 g/kg DM). After 42 days of feeding, lambs were slaughtered for collecting samples of the hypothalamus. Data were analyzed as a complete randomized design, and means were separated using linear and quadratic polynomial contrast. Growth performance was not affected (p ≥ 0.11) by dietary CaPr inclusion. The ruminal concentration of total volatile fatty acids (VFA) increased linearly (p = 0.04) as dietary CaPr increased. Likewise, a linear increase in plasma insulin concentration (p = 0.03) as dietary CaPr concentration increased. The relative mRNA expression of NPY exhibited a quadratic effect (p < 0.01), but there were significant differences in the mRNA expression of AgRP and POMC (p ≥ 0.10). Dietary calcium propionate did not improve lamb growth performance in lambs feed with only forage diets. Intake was not correlated with feed intake with mRNA expression of neuropeptides.

Role of Long Chain Fatty Acids in Developmental Programming in Ruminants.

Nutrition plays a critical role in developmental programs. These effects can be during gametogenesis, gestation, or early life. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are essential for normal physiological functioning and for the health of humans and all domestic species. Recent studies have demonstrated the importance of n-3 PUFA in ruminant diets during gestation and its effects on pre-and postnatal offspring growth and health indices. In addition, different types of fatty acids have different metabolic functions, which affects the developmental program differently depending on when they are supplemented. This review provides a broad perspective of the effect of fatty acid supplementation on the developmental program in ruminants, highlighting the areas of a developmental program that are better known and the areas that more research may be needed.

Effect of supplementation with different fatty acid profile to the dam in early gestation and to the offspring on the finishing diet on offspring growth and hypothalamus mRNA expression in sheep.

Supplementation with omega-3 and omega-9 fatty acids (FA) during late gestation regulates offspring development; however, their effect in the first third of gestation is unknown in sheep. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of the maternal supplementation with an enriched source of monounsaturated FA (MUFA) or an enriched source of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) during the first third of gestation on productive performance on ewes and offspring, and hypothalamic neuropeptides on offspring. Seventy-nine post-weaning lambs, born of sheep supplemented in the first third of gestation with 1.61% Ca salts rich with MUFA or EPA+DHA (dam supplementation, DS), were distributed in a 2×2 factorial arrangement of treatments to finishing diets containing 1.48% of Ca salts of MUFA or EPA+DHA (lamb supplementation, LS). The finishing period of the offspring lasted for 56 d. During the finishing period dry matter intake (DMI, daily) and body weight (BW) were recorded. Plasma was collected for metabolites analysis. Twenty-four lambs were slaughtered, and hypothalamus was collected for mRNA expression of hormone receptors, neuropeptides, and lipid transport genes. The data were analyzed with a mixed model in SAS (9.4) using repeated measurements, when needed. There was a DS×LS interaction for BW (P = 0.10) where LS with EPA+DHA born from DS with MUFA were heavier than the other 3 treatments. Lambs born from DS with MUFA have a greater DMI (P < 0.01) than the offspring born from DS with EPA+DHA. Lambs born from MUFA supplemented dams had a greater (P ≤ 0.05) hypothalamus mRNA expression for cocaine and amphetamine regulated transcript, growth hormone receptor, metastasis suppressor 1, leptin receptor, pro-opiomelanocortin, and Neuropeptide Y. These results indicate that growth depends not on the type of FA during the finishing phase but the interaction of different sources of FA ad different stages. Also, supplementation with FA during early pregnancy changes productive performance and neuropeptides' mRNA expression of lambs independently of the finishing diet.

Supplemental Herbal Choline Increases 5-hmC DNA on Whole Blood from Pregnant Ewes and Offspring.

Herbal formulas during pregnancy have been used in developing countries. Despite that, the potential effects on the mother and offspring and whether those supplements elicit epigenetic modifications is still unknown. Therefore, our objectives were to determine the effects of supplemental herbal choline source (BCho) on the percentage of 5-hmC in whole blood from gestating ewes and their offspring, as well as determining the milk quality and growth of the offspring. Thirty-five gestating Rambouillet ewes were randomly assigned to five treatments: T1, supplementation of 4 g per day (gd-1) of BCho during the first third of gestation; T2, supplementation of 4 gd-1 of BCho during the second third of gestation; T3, supplementation of 4 gd-1 of BCho during the last third of gestation; T4, supplementation of 4 gd-1 of BCho throughout gestation; and T5, no BCho supplementation (control). For the 5-hmC DNA analysis, whole blood from ewes was sampled before pregnancy and at each third of gestation (50 days). Whole blood from lambs was sampled five weeks after birth. The evaluation of the nutritional programming effects was conducted through the percentages of 5-hmC in the lambs. Compared with other treatments, the whole blood from ewes supplemented during T1 and T4 had the greatest 5-hmC percentages (p < 0.05). However, only ewes fed BCho throughout gestation (T4) maintained the greatest percentages of 5-hmC (p < 0.05). The lamb growth performance indicated that the BCho maternal supplementation did not affect the nutritional programming. However, the lambs born from ewes supplemented during T2 had the greatest 5-hmC percentages (p < 0.05). Our data suggest that ewes supplemented during T4 with BCho increase and maintain the percentages of 5-hmC in whole blood, and the offspring born from ewes supplemented with BCho during T2 maintained the greatest percentages of 5-hmC 35 d after they were born.

Eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acid supplementation during early gestation modified relative abundance on placenta and fetal liver tissue mRNA and concentration pattern of fatty acids in fetal liver and fetal central nervous system of sheep.

In sheep, polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) supplementations in late gestation increases the growth of offspring; however, there is a lack of evidence on the effect of PUFA supplementation during early gestation. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in early gestation pregnant ewes on fatty acid concentration of fetal liver (FL) and fetal central nervous system (FCNS), and relative abundance of the mRNA for genes associated with transport and metabolism of fatty acids in FL and placenta. A total of 12 ewes, block for stage of gestation were fed a diet containing 1.6% (dry matter basis) monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) or EPA+DHA during the first 45 days of gestation. A cesarean section was conducted on day 45 of gestation to collect placenta (caruncle and cotyledon), FL, and FCNS. Relative abundance of mRNA in FL and FCNS and fatty acid concentration were analyzed using a 2x2 factorial arrangement of treatments considering fatty acid supplementation and tissue as the main factors. Concentrations of C18:1 isomers increase (P < 0.05) in FL and FCNS with MUFA supplementation; the FL and FCNS had a greater concentration of C20:3(n-6), C20:3(n-3), C22:1, C22:5 and C22:6 (P < 0.05) with EPA+DHA supplementation. In FL, the relative abundance of LPL mRNA was greater (P = 0.02) as a result of MUFA supplementation. In placenta, there was a FA x tissue interaction for relative abundance of DNMT3b and FFAR-4 mRNA (P < 0.05). Fetus from MUFA-supplemented dams had a greater relative abundance of FABP-4 mRNA (P < 0.05). Results indicate supplementation with EPA+DHA during early gestation increases the total EPA and DHA in FL. For the placenta, EPA+DHA supplementation led to an increase in the relative abundance of lipid mRNA for transport genes.