Hyperxanthinuria and xanthine uroliths have been recognized with increased frequency in dogs with ammonium urate uroliths that had been given allopurinol. We hypothesized that dietary modification might reduce the magnitude of uric acid and xanthine excretion in urine of dogs given allopurinol. To test this hypothesis, excretion of metabolites, volume, and pH were determined in 24-hour urine samples produced by 6 healthy Beagles during periods of allopurinol administration (15 mg/kg of body weight, PO, q 12 h) and consumption of 2 special purpose diets: a 10.4% protein (dry matter), casein-based diet and a 31.4% protein (dry matter), meat-based diet. Significantly lower values of uric acid (P = 0.004), xanthine (P = 0.003), ammonia (P = 0.0002), net acid (P = 0.0001), titratable acid (P 0.0002), and creatinine (P = 0.01) excreted during a 24-hour period were detected when dogs consumed the casein-based diet and were given allopurinol, compared with the 24-hour period when the same dogs consumed the meat-based diet and were given allopurinol. For the same 24-hour period, urine pH values, urine volumes, and urine bicarbonate values were significantly (P = 0.0004, P 0.04, and P = 0.002, respectively) higher during the period when the dogs were fed the casein-based diet and given allopurinol than when they were fed the meat-based diet and given allopurinol. Endogenous creatinine clearance was significantly (P = 0.006) lower when dogs were fed the casein-based diet and given allopurinol than when they were fed the meat-based diet and given allopurinol. Significantly lower concentrations of plasma uric acid (P 0.0001), plasma xanthine (P = 0.01), and serum urea nitrogen (P = 0.0001) were detected when dogs consumed the casein-based diet and were given allopurinol than when they consumed the meat-based diet and were given allopurinol.

Two diets similar in caloric density and mineral content, but markedly different in protein content, were used to study the effects of dietary protein on renal function and morphologic and histopathologic changes in dogs that had functional renal tissue reduced by seven-eighths nephrectomy. The effects of moderate protein intake (MPrI = 15% protein; dry-matter basis) and high-protein intake (HPrI = 31% protein; dry-matter basis) were studied for the initial 7 months (period 1 [P1]) after renal mass reduction. Diets were then switched between groups during the following 7 months (period 2 [P2]) to evaluate the effects of increased or decreased protein intake. The HPrI caused significantly (P < 0.05) greater glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and renal growth than did MPrI during P1. Dogs that maintained HPrI during P1 and MPrI during P2 (group 1) had significant (P < 0.05) reduction in GFR during P2. Dogs that maintained MPrI during P1 and HPrI during P2 (group 2) had significant (P < 0.05) improvement in GFR and renal growth during P2. At the end of the study, renal reserve was evaluated in both groups of dogs before and after group 1 was returned to HPrI for 2 weeks. During this 2-week feeding trial, group-1 dogs had marked improvement in renal reserve, relative to group 2, and GFR increased to the terminal P1 values. Results indicate a possible residual benefit from HPrI during the early phase of compensatory renal growth in the form of functional compensatory memory to HPrI. The severity of renal lesions was indistinguishable between dogs of dietary groups during both study phases. Plasma electrolyte concentrations rapidly returned to normal range after renal ablation, but mild azotemia and proteinuria persisted throughout most of the study. High protein intake was not associated with increased degree or progression of proteinuria.

Renal failure is one of the main causes of economic impacts in the poultry industry and complex syndrome with different severity of clinical signs caused by multiple nephropathogenic factors such as infectious bronchitis viral infection and excess salt and calcium in diet. To evaluate the correlation between severity of renal failure and the causative nephropathogenic factors, one-day-old specific patogen free chicks were treated with either single causative factor or multiple causative factors described as above. Each group was designed as control for non-treated control, IB for infectious bronchitis virus (IB virus) infectio, IBHNa for IB virus infection with high diet salt, IBHCa for IB virus infectio with high diet calcium, IBHNC for IB virus infection with high diet salt and calcium, HNa for high diet salt, HCa for high diet calcium and HNC for high diet salt and calcium. Chickens were inoculated with IB virus at 1-day-old and remained on their respective diets until 21 day of age. The high dietary salt feeding groups such as IBHNa, IBHNC, HNa, HNC increased water intake, watery diarrhea, general subcutaneous edema and the high dietary calcium feeding groups such as IBHCa and IBHNC showed severe visceral gout. Two more than treated groups caused high mortality in comparison with the single treated groups. In virus exposure significantly increased urate deposition and lymphocytic interstitial nephritis. Espcecially urate deposition dramatically increased when excess diet calcium was combined together. In excess diet salt treated groups enlarged edematous kidneys were observed and hypertrophy of glomeruli were showed. These results suggest that IB virus enhanced the incidence and severity on chicken renal failure clearly related to the quantity of salt and calcium.

Renal failure is one of the main causes of economic impacts in the poultry industry and complex syndrome with different severity of clinical signs caused by multiple nephropathogenic factors such as infectious bronchitis viral infection and excess salt and calcium in diet. To evaluate the correlation between severity of renal failure and the causative nephropathogenic factors, one-day-old specific pathogen free chickens were treated with either single causative factor or multiple causative factors described as above. Each group was designed as control for non-treated control, IB for infectious bronchitis virus (IB virus) infection, IBHNa for IB virus infection with high diet salt, IBHCa for IB virus infection with high diet calcium, IBHNC for IB virus infection with high diet salt and calcium, HNa for high diet salt, HCa for high diet calcium and HNC for high diet salt and calcium. Chickens were inoculated with IB virus at 1-day-old and remained on their respective diets until 21 day of age. Plasma Na+, Cl-, BUN, creatinine, calcium and uric acid values were examined. The results obtained were as follows; IB virus and high dietary calcium combined treatment showed elevated plasma uric acid. BUN and creatinine values were not characteristic on chicken renal failure. But plasma uric acid values were increased according to renal lesion. Hypercalcemia and hyperuicemia did not induce urate deposition and mineralization in the kidney.

In our previous study, it was demonstrated that the administration of anion salts, which slightly lower the dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD), in the prepartum period is safe and effective for preventing milk fever in multiparous cows. In the present study, several clinico-pathological constituents in serum and urine, which might be related to milk fever, were analyzed using stored samples from the previous study to identify clinico-pathological parameters for easily evaluating the efficacy of lowering DCAD and to further investigate the mechanism by which lowering DCAD prevents milk fever. Among the parameters analyzed in the present study, inorganic phosphorus (iP) was involved in milk fever because the serum concentration and urinary excretion of iP were significantly higher in the group of primiparous cows (heifer group), which did not develop hypocalcemia, than those in other groups of multiparous cows. Serum chloride concentrations in the heifer group and the group of multiparous cows fed anion salts (anion group) tended to remain higher than those in other control groups of multiparous cows suggesting that serum chloride concentration may be utilized for evaluating the status of metabolic acidosis and the efficacy of lowerng DCAD in dairy cows fed anion salts. In addition, plasma estradiol-17beta concentration in the heifer group tended to be lower at parturition compared with that in other multiparous groups suggesting that estrogen known as a potent inhibitor of bone resorption may be involved in developing milk fever.

Twenty, 2-3-month-old worm free male Holstein calves, were assigned to two groups each containing ten animals. Each group was offered one of two diets: High (HP) and Low (LP) protein with 257 and 91 gkg-1 dry matter respectively, balanced for energy and minerals. After an initial period of 4 weeks on the diets, the calves from each group were subdivided into two groups of four and six calves. A trickle infection of 5,000 Haemonchus placei L3 was given twice a week for nine weeks to the sub group of six calves (I). The remaining four calves from each dietary group were used as non-infected control (C). Four weeks after the last infection, all calves were slaughtered and worm burdens counts. Carried out Biochemical determinations, faecal egg counts and body weights were carried out once a week. The HP group had significantly higher mean adult worm burdens (11,900 ± 7,660) when compared with BP (5,450 ± 7,895). Faecal egg counts were higher in the HP than LP group. Despite higher worm burdens, resilience was increased in the HP calves, with higher packed cell volume values as well as body weight when compared with the LP group. | Vinte bezerros com 2 a 3 meses de idade criados livres de vermes foram divididos em 2 grupos com 10 animais cada alimentados com alta proteína (HP) e baixa proteina (LP) com 257 e 91 g kg-1 de proteína na materia seca respectivamente, devidamente balanceado em energia e minerais. Após 4 semanas submetidos a estas duas dietas cada grupo original foi subdividido em 2 grupos, um contendo 4 animais não infectado (C) e 6 animais infectados (I). O grupo infectado recebeu 5.000 larvas de Haemonchus placei duas vezes por semana por um período de 9 semamas, após 4 semanas da última infecção todos os animais foram sacrificados e realizada a contagem de vermes. Semanalmente foram feitas as pesagens dos animais, número de ovos por grama de fezes e colheita de sangue para determinação do hematócrito, hemoglobina, albumina e proteína total. A contagem de ovos por grama de fezes foi superior no grupo de HP em relação ao grupo de LP, tendo em vista que o número de vermes adultos no grupo HP (11.900 ± 7.660) foi maior que o grupo de LP (5.450 ± 7.895) . Apesar do número superior de vermes encontrado no grupo HP, observou-se valores superiores de hematócrito e peso vivo quando comparado com o grupo de LP (p&lt;0,05), demonstrado que a suplementação protéica possibilita uma melhor resilience em bezerros infectados com Haemonchus placei.

Feather protein has been considered as a protein complement for animal diets, since it is largely available as a by-product of poultry processing. In this work, a feather protein hydrolysate produced by the keratinolytic microorganism Vibrio sp. kr2 was evaluated as a feed additive. Wistar rats were fed seven experimental diets (n = 6 rats per diet) containing different protein sources: casein (CAS), soybean protein, feather hydrolysate, feather meal, and soybean protein supplemented with 10 or 20% (w/w) feather hydrolysate, and 20% feather hydrolysate supplemented methionine. Values for weight gain, feed ingest, true digestibility, feed:gain ratio, Protein Efficiency Ratio and Net Protein Ratio were similar for diets containing soybean protein and 20% feather hydrolysate supplemented methionine. Lowest values for all nutritional parameters were observed for diets containing soybean protein supplemented with 10 or 20% (w/w) feather hydrolysate, feather hydrolysate and feather meal. Protein source had a considerable influence in the final weight of liver, kidney and hearth, although no significant differences were observed for brains. These results indicate that feather hydrolysate may be useful as supplementary protein in feed formulations | A proteína da pena é uma boa fonte proteica para dietas de animais, sendo um material de grande disponibilidade como subproduto da produção avícola. Neste trabalho, um hidrolisado protéico de penas produzido pelo microrganismo queratinolítico Vibrio sp. kr2 foi avaliado como suplemento em rações. Ratos da linhagem Wistar foram alimentados com sete dietas experimentais (n = 6 ratos por dieta) contendo diferentes fontes de proteína: caseina (CAS), proteína de soja, hidrolisado de pena, farinha de pena, e proteína de soja suplementada com 10 ou 20% (w/w) hidrolisado de pena, ou 20% hidrolisado de pena suplementado com metionina. Os valores de ganho de peso, consumo, digestibilidade verdadeira, coeficiente de eficiência alimentar, coeficiente de eficiência proteica (PER) e eficiência líquida proteica (NPR) foram similares para as dietas contendo proteína de soja e proteína de soja suplementada com 20% hidrolisado de pena e metionina. Valores inferiores para todos parâmetros nutricionais foram observados para as dietas contendo 10 ou 20% hidrolisado de pena, hidrolisado de pena e fariha de pena. A fonte protéica influenciou no peso final do fígado, rins e coração, porém as diferenças não foram significativas para cérebros. Estes resultados indicam que o hidrolisado de penas pode ser usado como fonte de proteína suplementar na formulação de rações desde que suplementados com metionina