There is a balance between oxidative stress, antioxidant capacity and immune response. Their roles in physiological and behavioural mechanisms are important for the maintenance of the organism’s internal equilibrium. This study aimed to evaluate the antioxidant effects of the exogenous alga Spirulina platensis (Arthrospira platensis) in a stress-induced rat model, and to describe its possible mechanism of action.

The present study evaluated the dietary supplementation with essential oil of Lippia alba on the hemato-immunological parameters of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) submitted to acute inflammation induced by carrageenin injection in the swim bladder. For a period of 45 days, 96 fish were divided in four treatments in triplicate, as follows: fish fed supplemented diet with essential oil of L. alba (4 mL kg-1 dry ration) injected with carrageenin; fish fed supplemented diet with cereal alcohol injected with carrageenin; fish fed unsupplemented diet with essential oil injected with carrageenin; fish fed unsupplemented diet and noninjected. Cortisol levels, erythrogram, leukogram and the inflammatory infiltrate were analyzed 6 h after inflammatory stimulus. Carrageenin-injected fish showed acute inflammatory reaction in the swim bladder characterized by higher infiltrate of neutrophils and monocytes. The circulating neutrophils number was significantly higher in fish fed L. alba when compared to other treatments. No difference in cortisol levels was found. For dose, time and administration form tested, supplementation with essential oil of L. alba did not present anti-inflammatory activity. On the other hand, influence of dietary supplementation was observed on the neutrophils number after induced aerocystitis highlighting its immunomodulatory characteristic.

Brazil is the world’s largest exporter and third largest producer of chicken meat. To maintain competitiveness, the productive sector must always be alert to consumer demands, and concern about animal welfare is a growing tendency. Aspects involving animal welfare are especially critical in the slaughter of broiler chickens. This study evaluated the stunning of chickens in a CO2-enriched atmosphere chamber to reduce bird stress, comparing with electrical water bath stunning, the most usual desensitization method used in chicken slaughter. The reaction of birds when exposed to a high CO2 concentration (30%) and to a 10% initial CO2 level, gradually elevated to 30% was compared. The effect of mixing argon with CO2 was also evaluated, always aiming to reduce the discomfort of birds. In all the gas stunning parameters evaluated, evident discomfort reactions before stunning were observed in about two thirds of the birds, but the blood levels of corticosterone and glucose, used as stress indicators, indicated that gas increased the birds’ welfare. Gas exposure time required to stun the birds and time to regain consciousness after exiting the gas chamber presented a wide variation. Controlled atmosphere stunning method facilitated bird handling during slaughter, but more studies will be necessary to develop this technological alternative and make it viable for industrial use.

Surgical procedures in pet animals are usually associated with some degree of stress and pain. Hospitalization is one stress-triggering factor. The present study aimed to evaluate the degree of stress and pain during hospitalization of female dogs submitted to elective ovariohysterectomy (OVH) and to investigate the influence of hospitalization on the stress of these animals. Fifteen young adult crossbreed female dogs were divided into two groups: eight animals without surgery (Group 1 - control) and seven animals submitted to surgery (Group 2 - OVH). Pain and stress were evaluated. Visual analogue scale (VAS), simple descriptive pain scale (SDS) and modified Glasgow pain scale (MGPS) were used. Serum cortisol (μg/dL) and glucose (mg/dl) were also measured. No statistical difference was observed for cortisol (μg/dL) between the two groups. Despite the absence of statistical difference between groups and times, mean serum cortisol (μg/dL) values exceeded the normal values for the canine species at various times evaluated. Hyperglycemia was only observed at T4 in the OVH group. It was concluded that the hospitalization of animals was more relevant in the establishment of stress than the surgical procedure and associated pain. The influence of stress was a relevant factor in the results of assessments carried out using the MGPS.

The intensification of cattle production has raised concern for animal welfare due to the stress that is associated with farming practices. The welfare of an animal is determined by the animal’s ability to cope with or adapt to its continuously changing environment and the biological cost that is associated with this adaptation and maintenance. Stressors arise from various psychological, physiological and physical aspects of farming practices due to management and human–cattle interactions. Measuring the activity of the hypothalamopituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis with plasma cortisol levels is a useful method for determining the effects of stress on animals as it is stimulated at the onset of a perceived stress. The activation of the HPA axis affects various target tissues or systems and can result in suppression of the immune system, increased susceptibility to disease and adverse effects on reproductive success in prenatal and neonatal calves. Although some levels of stress associated with farming practices are unavoidable, improvements in farming methods need to be implemented in order to maintain or increase the efficiency of cattle production in a way that does not compromise the welfare of the animal.

In current research guidelines, much focus is placed on ethical management of animals and the application of principles of reduction, refinement and replacement. Of these refinements through environmental enrichment is an important aspect when housing primate to prevent behavioural problems. In this study, we investigated the co-housing of domestic cats and vervet monkeys as a novel method of enrichment based on the cohabitation and stress alleviation effect of horses housed with goats and from seeing cats cohabitating with vervet monkeys in an animal sanctuary. The study used a habituation method whereby the cats were stepwise introduced to the monkeys by sight and smell but with physical separation. Assessment included changes in behaviour, weight and faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGCM) concentrations over time. On the first day of housing, the vervets whilst inquisitive kept their distance. The vervets housed in cages that were closest to the cats were the most active and during the first minute of introduction made more alarm calls, which stopped a few days later. The fGCMs were non-significantly different. The results of this study provide evidence that vervet monkeys and domestic cats could potentially be housed together without overt aggression. We thus suggest further observations to ascertain if the co-housing could have long-term benefits for vervet monkeys, from the companionship that would be offered by the cats.

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of MspI polymorphism in the calpastatin (CAST) gene on hematology and selected serum biochemical parameters in Awassi lambs. Materials and Methods: CAST genotypes of 31 Awassi lambs were determined using polymerase chain reactionrestricted fragment length polymorphism method. Hematology, serum biochem¬ical analyses, serum levels of triiodothyronine, thyroxine, and cortisol were determined using rou¬tine laboratory procedures. Results: Two CAST genotypes were detected with frequencies of 0.65 and 0.35 for MN (three major bands of 622, 336, and 268 bp) and NN (two major bands of 336 and 268 bp), respectively. Allele frequencies were 0.49 and 0.51 for M and N alleles, respectively. Animals with MN MspI CAST genotype had significantly (p < 0.05) higher neutrophil percentage and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio but, significantly (p < 0.05) lower lymphocyte percentage and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio than NN MspI CAST genotype. Serum T3 and cortisol concentrations were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in MN MspI CAST genotype than the NN MspI CAST genotype. Conclusion: Results of this study indicate that CAST gene heterozygous individuals are healthier than homozygous individual, which may explain the superiority of the CAST gene heterozygous animals in growth performance. [J Adv Vet Anim Res 2019; 6(2.000): 193-196]

The research work was aimed at investigating physiological, biochemical, analgesic and anesthetic indices of dogs anesthetized with propofol-ketamine and maintained with repeat bolus and constant infusions of propofol. Eight dogs, assigned to two groups (n=4), were used in this study. All dogs were pre-medicated with atropine (at 0.03 mg/kg bwt) and xylazine (at 2 mg/kg bwt). Anesthesia was induced by a concurrent administration of propofol (at 4 mg/kg bwt) and ketamine (at 2.5 mg/kg bwt). Maintenance of anesthesia in Group 1 was done with a repeat bolus of propofol (at 2 mg/kg bwt), while in Group 2 it was done with a constant infusion of propofol (at 0.2 mg/kg bwt/min). Gastrotomy was performed in both groups, and anesthesia was maintained for 60 min. Physiological, analgesic, anesthetic parameters and plasma glucose concentration were measured. There was no significant (P>0.05) difference found in the analgesia and pedal reflex scores, durations of analgesia and recumbency, recovery time and standing time between the groups. The heart rate, respiratory rate and rectal temperature reduced significantly (P<0.05) from the baseline values. The heart and respiratory rates were significantly (P<0.05) lowered in Group 1 than in Group 2. Blood glucose was significantly (P<0.05) elevated at recovery from anesthesia in both groups. However, the value did not differ significantly (P>0.05) between the groups. In conclusion, both maintenance protocols are suitable for dogs, although the repeat bolus technique produces marked cardiopulmonary depression.

Environmental factors such as stocking density can cause stress and negatively affect the physiological status and meat quality of broiler chickens. In the current study, we evaluated the effects of increased rearing density on the growth performance, stress, fear levels, meat quality and liver histopathology of broilers as well as suggesting a use of different supplementations that may be helpful to reverse such adverse effects. Three hundred sixty one day-old cobb broilers (44.0 ± 5.24 g live-weights) were randomly distributed to 24 replicate pens to create two different stocking densities (D10 and D15 bird/m2) with the different supplementation treatments: 1) 10 birds/m2/pen (without any treatment, control, "CD10"), 2) 10 birds/m2/pen (moringa aqueous extract treatment "MAED10"), 3) 10 birds/m2/pen (synbiotic "SynD10"), 4)15 birds/m2/pen (without any treatment control SD15 "CD15"), 5) 15 birds/m2/pen (moringa aqueous extract treatment "MAED15"), 6) 15 birds/m2/pen (synbiotic "SynD15").  Results of the current study revealed that there was a significant increase in the overall experimental period body weight gain (P<0.01) with increasing density without affecting feed intake, body weight and feed conversion ratio. High stocking density resulted in significantly increased corticosterone (P>0.001), altered brain monoamines, deteriorated some carcass quality parameters and declined liver health. Additionally, it was concluded that moringa aqueous extract (MAE) and synbiotic (Syn) supplementation have a significant effect in reversing the catastrophic effect of high stocking density (SD) with minimal effect at the lower density groups.

This study set out to look at the efficacy of using thyme - celery mixture (TCM) supplementation in mitigating stress and improving the performance and behavior of pregnant ewes housed under two different conditions. Forty (40) pregnant ewes were randomly distributed into four groups; two groups were housed in the semi-shaded house (SS), including one group that was provided with TCM supplemented in diet (SST), and the other received no supplementation (SSNT). Similar to the first two groups were housed in a fully shaded house (FS), including one group that was provided with the same TCM supplementation (FST) and the other that received no supplementation (FSNT). Ewe's performance including weekly feed intake was monitored during the late stage of pregnancy, stress indicators were measured in blood. Besides, feeding behavior was recorded. As a result full shaded houses succeed to protect pregnant ewes from environmental changes despite the decreased feed intake. TCM supplementation didn’t achieve success in mitigating the physiological stress of pregnancy in both housing conditions but resulted in a significant increase in the feed intake of semi-shaded housed ewes.