Effects of Dietary Alkyl Polyglycoside Supplementation on Lactation Performance, Blood Parameters and Nutrient Digestibility in Dairy Cows

Simple Summary

This project investigated the effects of alkyl polyglycoside (APG), a non-ionic surfactant, on lactation performance, blood metabolites and nutrient digestibility of lactating dairy cows, and found that the addition of APG at doses up to 22 mL/kg of pelleted concentrate (around 9 mL/kg of diet or 100 mL/day/head) had positive effects on milk quality in dairy cows.

Abstract

This study evaluated the effects of alkyl polyglycoside (APG), which is a non-ionic surfactant, on lactation performance, nutrient digestibility and blood metabolites in dairy cows. Twenty dairy cows were randomly divided into four groups and fed a basal diet that included pelleted concentrate, distillers grains, and fresh limpograss. The four treatments included 0, 5.5, 11 and 22 mL APG per kg of pelleted concentrate on a dry matter basis; treatments were defined as APG0, APG5.5, APG11, and APG22, respectively. Dry matter intake was not affected by APG supplementation. There was an increase in milk yield (from 13.96 to 16.71 kg/day) and increases in milk fat (quadratic, p = 0.04), protein (quadratic, p = 0.10), and lactose concentrations (linear, p = 0.07) with increasing APG supplementation. In addition, APG supplementation increased (p ≤ 0.03) the milk fat, protein, solid non-fat, and total solid yields, while the lactose yield increased (linear, p = 0.01) as the APG level increased. Dietary APG supplementation had no effect on nutrient digestibility and blood metabolites. It was concluded that the addition of APG at doses up to 22 mL/kg of pelleted concentrate had positive effects on the milk composition in dairy cows.

Microbial biosurfactants: current trends and applications in agricultural and biomedical industries

Synthetic surfactants are becoming increasingly unpopular in many applications due to previously disregarded effects on biological systems and this has led to a new focus on replacing such products with biosurfactants that are biodegradable and produced from renewal resources. Microbially derived biosurfactants have been investigated in numerous studies in areas including: increasing feed digestibility in an agricultural context, improving seed protection and fertility, plant pathogen control, antimicrobial activity, antibiofilm activity, wound healing and dermatological care, improved oral cavity care, drug delivery systems and anticancer treatments. The development of the potential of biosurfactants has been hindered somewhat by the myriad of approaches taken in their investigations, the focus on pathogens as source species and the costs associated with large-scale production. Here, we focus on various microbial sources of biosurfactants and the current trends in terms of agricultural and biomedical applications.

Experimental Study and ANN Dual-Time Scale Perturbation Model of Electrokinetic Properties of Microbiota

The electrokinetic properties of the rumen microbiota are involved in cell surface adhesion and microbial metabolism. An in vitro study was carried out in batch culture to determine the effects of three levels of special surface area (SSA) of biomaterials and four levels of surface tension (ST) of culture medium on electrokinetic properties (Zeta potential, ξ; electrokinetic mobility, μe), fermentation parameters (volatile fatty acids, VFAs), and ST over fermentation processes (ST-a, γ). The obtained results were combined with previously published data (digestibility, D; pH; concentration of ammonia nitrogen, c(NH3-N)) to establish a predictive artificial neural network (ANN) model. Concepts of dual-time series analysis, perturbation theory (PT), and Box-Jenkins Operators were applied for the first time to develop an ANN model to predict the variations of the electrokinetic properties of microbiota. The best dual-time series Radial Basis Functions (RBR) model for ξ of rumen microbiota predicted ξ for >30,000 cases with a correlation coefficient >0.8. This model provided insight into the correlations between electrokinetic property (zeta potential) of rumen microbiota and the perturbations of physical factors (specific surface area and surface tension) of media, digestibility of substrate, and their metabolites (NH3-N, VFAs) in relation to environmental factors.

Consumer Behavior and Fascinating Challenges on Household Laundry and Dishwashing

Intense research in household cleaning offers more innovative cleaning solutions. Over the half of consumers worldwide favor functionality over “natural” and “multipurpose” claims in household care products. Due to rapid urbanization, emergence of small pack size, current environmental pressures and price escalation of petrochemical feedstock, the demand for sustainable laundry and dishwashing products is developing rapidly. The user-centered researches revealed that the increase in per capita income and wide range of choices, greatly influence consumers interactions with products as expenditure for household laundry and increase the number of sophisticated consumers. Dishwashing accounts for barely more than 0.5% of total per capita expenditure. Low energy as well as water consumption, high performance values are very important for the consumers when purchasing automatic washing appliances. Multi-usability and efficiency capture continuously the attention of the consumers in large scale in the sense of economic viability, environmental feasibility and reverted interest to use traditional liquid and powder detergents. Brand value and integrity proves to be also surprisingly important. Researches revealed that many consumers prefer household appliances with low water and energy consumption. As per the statistics, since half of the total surfactant consumption belongs to household applications particularly dishwashing and laundry washing, the natural product based surfactants produced from biomass are expected to continue to drive cleaning market.