2008 DEC 29 - (VerticalNews.com) -- According to recent research published in the Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition, "It has been shown that some dietary plant proteins beneficially influence lipid metabolism in animals. The effect of pea protein in this respect however has not yet been investigated."

  "Therefore, we studied the effect of purified pea protein on the lipid metabolism in rats. Twenty-four rats received diets with either 200 g/kg of casein or purified pea protein for 16 days. Concentrations of triacylglycerols in liver, plasma and lipoproteins did not differ between both groups of rats. However, rats fed the pea protein diet had a lower concentration of total cholesterol in the liver and the very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) fraction than rats fed the casein diet (p < 0.05); cholesterol concentration in plasma, low density lipoproteins (LDL) and high density lipoproteins (HDL) did not differ between both groups. Rats fed pea protein moreover had an increased mRNA concentration of cholesterol-7 alpha-hydroxylase in the liver and an increased amount of bile acids excreted via faeces compared with rats fed casein (p < 0.05). Concomitantly, mRNA concentrations of sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP)-2 and its target genes 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase and LDL receptor in the liver were increased in rats fed pea protein (p < 0.05). The data of this study suggests that pea protein stimulates formation and excretion of bile acids, which leads to a reduced hepatic cholesterol concentration and a reduced secretion of cholesterol via VLDL," wrote J. Spielmann and colleagues, University of Halle-Wittenberg ...read more

  2008 DEC 29 - (VerticalNews.com) -- According to a study from Frederiksberg, Denmark, "The ingestive and post-digestion effect of a blend of special essential oil compounds (EO) on eating, chewing and faecal parameters were measured in horses. Ingestive effects appear after no adaptation."

  "Post-digestion effects appear after adaptation. Six Icelandic horses were assigned to two groups in a Latin Square subplot design with EO treatments to four different roughage types and four different concentrates. The horses were fed four different roughage meals and two different concentrate meals on each of the four sampling days. Eating time and saliva were observed during meals. Jaw movements (JM) were recorded using a special chewing halter. Eating time was derived from JM and related to DM intake. The size characteristics of faecal particles were measured by using image analysis. All chewing characteristics measured were significantly affected by roughage (p < 0.001) and concentrate type (p < 0.01). EO had a significant ingestive effect on the frequency of observed saliva during concentrate meals. No significant (p < 0.05) post-digestive or ingestive effect of EO was found for any measured chewing characteristic, which was reflected in the absence of effect on faecal particle dimensions," wrote C. Brokner and colleagues, University of Copenhagen ...read more

  2008 DEC 29 - (VerticalNews.com) -- According to a study from the United States, "We investigated the influence of supplemental l-carnitine on foetal blood metabolites, litter characteristics, l-carnitine concentration in skeletal muscle and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) axis components in foetal hepatic and skeletal muscle tissues at day 40, 55 and 70 of gestating gilts. A total of 59 gilts (body weight = 137.7 kg) received a constant feed allowance of 1.75 kg/day and a top-dress containing either 0 or 50 ppm of l-carnitine starting on the first day of breeding through the allotted gestation length. ...read more