Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2022-04-13"
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- Effect of Dietary Laminaria digitata with Carbohydrases on Broiler Production Performance and Meat Quality, Lipid Profile, and Mineral CompositionPublication . Costa, Mónica M.; Pestana, José M.; Osório, Diogo; Alfaia, Cristina M.; Martins, Cátia F.; Mourato, Miguel; Gueifão, Sandra; Rego, Andreia M.; Coelho, Inês; Coelho, Diogo; Lemos, José P.C.; Fontes, Carlos M.G.A.; Lordelo, Madalena M.; Prates, José A. M.Simple Summary: Seaweeds represent promising alternatives to unsustainable conventional feed sources, such as cereals, incorporated in poultry diets. Brown macroalgae (e.g., Laminaria digitata) correspond to the largest cultured algal biomass worldwide and are rich in bioactive polysaccharides, minerals, and antioxidant pigments. However, their utilization as feed ingredients is limited due to the presence of an intricate gel-forming cell wall composed of indigestible carbohydrates, mainly alginate and fucose-containing sulfated polysaccharides. Therefore, supplementation with carbohydrate-active enzymes is required to disrupt the cell wall and allow seaweed nutrients to be digested and absorbed in poultry gut. The present study aimed to evaluate if the dietary inclusion of 15% L. digitata, supplemented or not with carbohydrases, could improve the nutritional value of poultry meat without impairing growth performance of broiler chickens. The results show that L. digitata increases antioxidant pigments and n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in meat, thus improving meat nutritional and health values. On the other hand, feeding algae at a high incorporation level impaired growth performance. Feed enzymatic supplementation had only residual effects, although alginate lyase decreased intestinal viscosity caused by dietary L. digitata with potential benefits for broiler digestibility.
- Unveiling the Toxicity of Fine and Nano-Sized Airborne Particles Generated from Industrial Thermal Spraying Processes in Human Alveolar Epithelial CellsPublication . Bessa, Maria João; Brandão, Fátima; Fokkens, Paul H.B.; Leseman, Daan L.A.C.; Boere, A. John F.; Cassee, Flemming R.; Salmatonidis, Apostolos; Viana, Mar; Monfort, Eliseo; Fraga, Sónia; Teixeira, João PauloHigh-energy industrial processes have been associated with particle release into workplace air that can adversely affect workers’ health. The present study assessed the toxicity of incidental fine (PGFP) and nanoparticles (PGNP) emitted from atmospheric plasma (APS) and high-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) thermal spraying. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, 2-(4-nitrophenyl)-2H-5-tetrazolio]-1,3-benzene disulfonate (WST-1) metabolisation, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, cell cycle changes, histone H2AX phosphorylation (γ-H2AX) and DNA damage were evaluated in human alveolar epithelial cells at 24 h after exposure. Overall, HVOF particles were the most cytotoxic to human alveolar cells, with cell viability half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of 20.18 µg/cm2 and 1.79 µg/cm2 for PGFP and PGNP, respectively. Only the highest tested concentration of APS-PGFP caused a slight decrease in cell viability. Particle uptake, cell cycle arrest at S + G2/M and γ-H2AX augmentation were observed after exposure to all tested particles. However, higher levels of γ-H2AX were found in cells exposed to APS-derived particles (~16%), while cells exposed to HVOF particles exhibited increased levels of oxidative damage (~17% tail intensity) and ROS (~184%). Accordingly, APS and HVOF particles seem to exert their genotoxic effects by different mechanisms, highlighting that the health risks of these process-generated particles at industrial settings should not be underestimated.