The aim of the study was to assess the effect of feeding the same diet to different breeds of chickens and at different ages on fatty acid (FA) composition of the breast and thigh muscles. A total of 150 chickens comprising 50 each of red jungle fowl (RJ) and village chicken (VC), the slow-growing birds, and the commercial broiler (CB), fast-growing birds, were used for this study. Ten chickens from each breed were serially euthanized at days 1, 10, 20, 56, and 120 post hatch, and pectoralis major and bicep femoris were harvested to represent the breast and thigh muscles respectively. It was revealed that the breast muscle concentrations of saturated fatty acids (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), and total polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are significantly different (p<0.05) among the breeds. Also, the FA composition of breast and thigh muscles among RJ, VC, and CB at various ages studied varied significantly (p<0.05) but without a definite pattern. The composition of MUFA was lower, but that of PUFA was higher in the RJ and VC than in the CB breast muscles. Within the breeds, the composition of total MUFA decreased, while that of PUFA increased with age. The total MUFA and PUFA showed no significant difference (p>0.05) between the breast and thigh muscles at different ages evaluated. This study suggests that slow-growing birds (RJ and VC) might be better sources of desirable FA than the fast-growing birds, CB.
Dendritic cells (DCs) are cells derived from the hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) of the bone marrow and form a widely distributed cellular system throughout the body. They are the most efficient, potent, and professional antigen-presenting cells (APCs) of the immune system, inducing and dispersing a primary immune response by the activation of naïve T-cells, and playing an important role in the induction and maintenance of immune tolerance under homeostatic conditions. Thus, this review has elucidated the general aspects of DCs as well as the current dynamic perspectives and distribution of DCs in humans and in various species of animals that includes mouse, rat, birds, dog, cat, horse, cattle, sheep, pig, and non-human primates. Besides the role that DCs play in immune response, they also play a pathogenic role in many diseases, thus becoming a target in disease prevention and treatment. In addition, its roles in clinical immunology have also been addressed, which include its involvement in transplantation, autoimmune disease, viral infections, cancer, and as a vaccine target. Therefore, based on the current knowledge and understanding of the important roles they play, DCs can be used in the future as a powerful tool for manipulating the immune system.
This is a retrospective study on bovine fascioliasis infection on cattle in Peninsular Malaysia, spanning from January 2007 to December 2017. Cattle were diagnosed with Fasciola based on the fecal examination and the results were reported to the Veterinary Regional Laboratories in Peninsular Malaysia. These records were analysed for the occurrence of bovine fascioliasis within that 11-year period. Records of annual diagnostic cases from five major Veterinary Regional Laboratories were examined: Bukit Tengah, Pulau Pinang (north); Kuantan, Pahang (east); Johor Bahru, Johor (south); Sepang, Selangor (west); and Kota Bharu, Kelantan (east). A positive fascioliasis infestation was calculated based on a number of positively infected cattle with Fasciola from a number of cattle examined. A total of 1988 cattle were examined during this period and 35 (1.76%) cattle were reported to be positive for bovine fascioliasis. Parasite infection was the highest at Bukit Tengah region (5.55%) where 19 cases were positive from 342 reported cases while, at Kuantan (4.96%), 15 positive cases were reported, unlike Johor Bahru (0.09%), with only 1 positive case from 1136 cattle examined. Sepang and Kelantan had no positive cases. These results showed that bovine fascioliasis was generally prevalent in the northern and southeast parts of the Peninsular Malaysia; however, there was no significant relationship between the region and the occurrence of fascioliasis.
Fascioliasis is a parasitic disease of human and animal caused by Fasciola gigantica (F. gigantica) and Fasciola hepatica (F. hepatica). More than 700 million of grazing animals and over 180 million human population are at the risk of fascioliasis. This study was conducted in Banting, Ipoh, Shah Alam, and Taiping abattoirs within Peninsular Malaysia to determine the occurrence and identify the species of liver flukes, causing liver condemnation in cattle and buffaloes. Within a study period from January to December 2018, a total of 25 condemned bovine livers were collected from Banting, Ipoh, Shah Alam, and Taiping abattoirs and analyzed. Taiping abattoir had the highest occurrence of fascioliasis [14/1014 (1.38%)], and Shah Alam abattoir had the least occurrence [1/3377 (0.03%)]. From all the sampled livers, the average number of adult flukes recorded ranged from 1 to 83. A total of 440 adult flukes were studied morphometrically, using parameters such as body length (BL), body width (BW), cone length (CL), cone width (CL), body area (BA), body perimeter (BP), the distance between the ventral sucker and posterior end of body (VS-P), BL/BW ratio, BL/V-SP, and body roundness (BR). Furthermore, molecular analysis was conducted using PCR-RFLP methods to distinguish between F. gigantica and F. hepatica involving ITS1 primer and RsaI restriction enzyme. RFLP pattern with RsaI produced a consistent pattern of 360,100 and 60 bp fragments in F. hepatica, whereas F. gigantica worms had a profile of 360,170, and 60 bp in size. The morphometric and molecular analysis results indicated that cattle and buffaloes slaughtered at Banting, Shah Alam, Taiping, and Ipoh abattoirs were infected with F. gigantica.