Com a utilização de 18 éguas, adultas, sem raça definida, com peso médio de 521±56 Kg, em delineamento inteiramente casualisado com três tratamentos e seis repetições por tratamento com medidas repetidas no tempo. Os objetivos deste trabalho foi verificar os efeitos da suplementação dietética com ácidos graxos ômegas 3 e ômega 6 sobre a composição do colostro e leite de éguas e transferência imunitária para os potros. Diferenças significativas encontradas foram na qualidade do leite das éguas onde foi observado efeito de tempo (semanas) sobre as variáveis de gordura, proteína, lactose e sólidos totais. Para a variável sólidos totais observou-se efeito do tratamento, semana e da inclusão de óleo na dieta. Observou-se nos potros uma atividade linfoproliferativa, no grupo óleo de soja semelhante ao encontrado no grupo controle, em ambos os períodos analisados. O grupo óleo de linhaça apresentou atividade linfoproliferativa maior do que a encontrada nos dois outros grupos no dia sete. No dia trinta, o grupo de linhaça continuou a apresentar uma maior atividade proliferativa, no entanto sem diferença estatística. A suplementação fonte de óleo aumentou a energia dietética disponível e a resposta proliferativa das éguas do dia sete. Observou-se que a suplementação com óleo de linhaça promoveu um aumento das concentrações dos isótopos IgGa e IgGb no colostro. A concentração média de IgGa no grupo óleo de linhaça foi quase 4 vezes superior aquela encontrada no colostro das éguas do grupo controle e quase 3 vezes superior aquela encontrada no grupo suplementado com óleo de soja com uma significância de. Assim concluímos que o ômega 3 melhorou a posta linfoproliferativa e aumentou a concentração de IgGb, porem não alterou os componentes do leite. / With the use of 18 mares, adult mongrel with a mean weight of 521 ± 56 kg in completely randomized design with three treatments and six replicates per treatment with repeated measures. The objectives of this study was to determine the effects of dietary supplementation with fatty acids omega 3 and omega 6 on the composition of colostrum and milk of mares and foals for immune transfer. Significant differences were found in milk quality mares where was no effect of time (weeks) on the variables of fat, protein, lactose and total solids. For variable total solids was observed effect of treatment week and oil inclusion in the diet. It was observed in foals lymphoproliferative activity in the soybean oil group similar to that found in the control group in both periods analyzed. The group linseed oil lymphoproliferative showed activity greater than that found in the other two groups on day seven. On the thirtieth day, the flaxseed group continued to show a higher proliferative activity, however no statistical difference. The source of oil supplementation increased dietary energy available and the proliferative response of mares of day seven. It was observed that supplementation with flaxseed oil promoted increases in concentrations of isotopes and IgGa IgGb in colostrum. The average concentration of IgGa group in linseed oil was almost 4 times higher than that found in colostrum of mares in the control group and almost 3 times higher than that found in the group supplemented with soybean oil with a significance. Thus we conclude that omega 3 put lymphoproliferative improved and increased the concentration of Ig, but it does not change the components of milk.

The purpose of this study was to determine if supplementation of two grams of fish oil for 90 days would significantly lower cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in Hispanics with type 2 diabetes. The Hispanic American population is at an increased risk for CVD. Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) in fish oil have been found to reduce risk of CVD. Subjects were randomly divided into two groups and received either two grams of fish oil or corn oil (control) per day for 90 days. Before and after the trial, participant blood lipids and plasma fatty acids were evaluated. Respired air samples were obtained to evaluate plasma fatty acids. Although analysis of blood lipids and plasma fatty acids did not show sufficient evidence to disprove the null hypothesis, this study is an important model for future studies concerning fish oil to lower CVD risk in Hispanics with type 2 diabetes.

Orientador: Américo Garcia da Silva Sobrinho / Banca: Mateus José Rodrigues Paranhos da Costa / Banca: Mauro Sartori Bueno / Banca: Márcia Helena Machado da Rocha Fernandes / Banca: Fabiana Alves de Almeida / Banca: Juliana Duarte Messana / Resumo: Objetivou-se avaliar o desempenho, a digestibilidade dos nutrientes, os parâmetros quantitativos da carcaça e os qualitativos e sensoriais da carne de cordeiros Ile de France terminados em confinamento, recebendo dietas com crescentes inclusões de farinha de algas marinhas. Foram utilizados 32 cordeiros não castrados com aproximadamente 60 dias de idade e 20 ± 0,2 kg de peso corporal, alojados em baias individuais e abatidos aos 35,0 ± 0,2 kg. Os tratamentos foram compostos por quatro dietas: D0- silagem de milho + concentrado sem farinha de algas; D2- silagem de milho + concentrado + 2% de farinha de algas; D4- silagem de milho + concentrado + 4% de farinha de algas e D6- silagem de milho + concentrado + 6% de farinha de algas. A relação volumoso:concentrado foi 40:60, compondo dietas com semelhantes teores proteicos (15%) e energéticos (3,3 Mcal de energia digestível/kg de matéria seca). Os dados foram avaliados num delineamento experimental inteiramente casualizado, com quatro tratamentos e oito repetições. Os resultados foram submetidos à análise de variância e regressão, com os graus de liberdade desdobrados em efeitos linear, quadrático e cúbico. As inclusões de farinha de algas marinhas influenciaram (P<0,05) o consumo de nutrientes, com efeito linear decrescente para matéria seca (MS), matéria orgânica (MO), proteína bruta (PB), fibra insolúvel em detergente neutro (FDN), fibra insolúvel em detergente ácido (FDA) e energia bruta (EB), e crescente para a fração EE (ext... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: This study was undertaken to evaluate the performance, nutrient digestibility, quantitative parameters of carcass, and qualitative and sensory parameters of meat in feedlot-finished lambs fed diets with increasing levels of marine algae meal inclusion. Thirty-two newly weaned 60-day-old uncastrated Ile de France lambs weighing 20.0 ± 0.2 kg body weight were used. The animals were housed in invidual pens and slaughtered at 35.0 ± 0.2 kg. The treatments were composed of four diets: D0- corn silage + concentrate without algae meal; D2- corn silage + concentrate + 2% algae meal; D4- corn silage + concentrate + 4% algae meal; and D6- corn silage + concentrate + 6% algae meal. The roughage:concentrate ratio was 40:60, and diets were formulated with similar protein (15%) and energy (3.3 Mcal digestible energy/kg DM) contents. The data were evaluated in a completely randomized experimental design, with four treatments and eight replications. The results were submitted to analysis of variance and regression. The algae meal contente were broken down into linear, quadratic and cubic effects. Marine algae meal levels influenced (P<0.05) nutrient intake, with a linear decrease seen in DM, OM, CP, NDF, ADF and GE; the opposite effect was found on EE, which increased linearly. Likewise, nutrient digestibility was influenced (P<0.05) by the algae meal levels, which linearly reduced the digestibilities of DM, OM, NDF, ADF, TC, and NFC. The digestibility of the EE fraction rose linearly (P<0.0... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

The current obesity epidemic has intensified research on lifestyle interventions aimed at combating obesity and associated cardiovascular (CV) and metabolic risk. This clustering of risk factors with obesity is known as the “Metabolic Syndrome” (MS). There is now a large body of evidence detailing the ability of omega-3 fatty acids (n-3 FA) and regular moderate exercise to independently ameliorate several CV risk factors; however the combination of these interventions may be a more effective strategy in reducing CV risk than either treatment alone. This thesis describes the independent and combined effects of supplementation with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) rich fish oil, and regular moderate exercise, on CV, metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers. Sedentary, overweight volunteers (BMI > 25kg/m2) with mild hypertension (140/90 – 160/100mmHg), elevated plasma triglycerides (TAG) (>1.6mmol/L) or elevated total cholesterol (TC) (>5.5mmol/L) were recruited in three cohorts for a 12-week intervention trial. Subjects were randomised to one of the following interventions: fish oil, fish oil and exercise, sunflower oil (placebo), sunflower oil and exercise. Subjects consumed 6 g/day of DHA-rich fish oil (26% DHA, 6% EPA; ~1.9g n-3 FA) or sunflower oil. The exercise groups walked 3 days/wk for 45 min, at 75% age-predicted maximal heart rate (HR). Outcome measures were assessed and compared across each intervention group at Weeks 0, 6 and 12, with the exception of body composition, heart rate variability (HRV) and immune functions, which were assessed at Weeks 0 and 12 only. Apart from the consumption of allocated capsules, all subjects were instructed to maintain their normal diet during the study. If not asked to exercise as part of the intervention subjects were also instructed to maintain their normal level of physical activity. Supplementation with DHA rich fish oil resulted in substantial increases in total long chain n-3 FA and DHA levels in erythrocyte membranes, accompanied by reduction of TAG, increase of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and reduction of superoxide production by stimulated neutrophils. Both the increase in HDL and the decrease in superoxide production were correlated with the change in erythrocyte DHA. Endothelium dependent arterial vasodilation (assessed by flow-mediated dilatation, FMD), HRV and HR response to exercise were also improved in subjects supplemented with the DHA-rich fish oil. Regular moderate intensity exercise, either alone or in addition to the DHA-rich fish oil supplementation, had no effect on these parameters, although it improved the compliance of small resistance arteries. Interestingly, however, both DHA-rich fish oil and regular exercise reduced body fat and these effects were additive when the interventions were combined. The change in fat mass was accompanied by an increase in fat oxidation during exercise, as measured by the respiratory exchange ratio. For the population as a whole, reductions in total and abdominal fat mass were associated with reductions in blood pressure. In summary, this study is the first to evaluate the metabolic and CV benefits that can be achieved by combining n-3 FA supplementation from fish oil and regular aerobic exercise in overweight/obese adults. While this combination did not produce any synergistic effects, several independent benefits were attained. The high compliance rate (>85%) within this study indicates that this intervention is well tolerated and may therefore be sustainable in the longer term. Future research should evaluate the mechanisms underlying the n-3 FA - mediated improvements in body composition. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1283720 / Thesis (PhD) -- School of Molecular and Biomedical Science, 2007

Periodontitis is an infective disease caused predominantly by gram negative anaerobic bacteria. However it is apparent that alveolar bone loss, which characterises periodontitis, is a result of the host inflammatory response to pathogenic bacteria, not the infectious agents directly. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (O-3 PUFAs) are recognised, and used widely, for their anti-inflammatory effects. Evidence is emerging that their oxygenated derivatives are key chemical mediators in the resolution of inflammation. We hypothesised that dietary supplementation with fish oil rich in the O-3 PUFA docosahexaenoic acid would modify inflammatory reactions within the periodontium and thus reduce alveolar bone loss in mice infected with periodontopathic bacteria. Eighty mice were fed experimental diets containing either 10% tuna oil (40) or a sunola oil (40) which contained no traceable O-3 PUFAs for 57 days. After two weeks each dietary set was split into four groups of ten mice, with these groups being inoculated with either a) Porphyromas gingivalis b) P. gingivalis and Fusobacterium nucleatum (combined inoculum) c) Carboxymethylcellulose (control) or d) No inoculations (control). Of the twenty mice which received no inoculations, half were sacrificed after fifteen days and half at the end of the experiment to enable comparative fatty acid analysis of the oral soft tissues. Results demonstrated that eicosapentoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid were found in significantly higher proportions in the oral soft tissues of mice fed a tuna oil diet, and that animals receiving this diet exhibited an average of 54 - 72% less alveolar bone resorption in response to the different bacterial infections. Irrespective of diet, the combined inoculum resulted in slightly more alveolar resorption than P. gingivalis alone. The findings of this study suggest that fish oil dietary supplementation may have potential benefits as a host modulatory agent in the adjunctive management of periodontitis. Given its advantages in terms of safety, cost effectiveness and widespread availability, this dietary supplement warrants further research in human trials to assess its ability to modulate alveolar bone loss in individuals with periodontitis. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1313252 / Thesis (D.Clin.Dent.) - University of Adelaide, School of Dentistry (Periodontics), 2008

<p>Persons suffering from Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) struggle with complications within the functions that regulate and control the brain activities, due to deficiencies in these functions within the affected nerve-paths. ADHD is a cognitive function impairment characterised by inattention, impulsiveness and over activity. According to Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders, American Psychiatric Association (DSM-IV), certain diagnostic criteria of ADHD must be fulfilled in order for a person to be diagnosed with ADHD. The everyday problems caused by ADHD are individual and medication can have positive effects relieving the person’s impairing behaviour. The study is based on scientific literature, three quantitative scientific articles and preview material from the last study by Johnson, Fransson, Kadesjö & Gillberg, presently being scrutinised. Swedish as well as English literature has been used. The purpose of this study is to shed some light upon whether medication facilitates the child’s school situation. The result deals with the ADHD diagnosis and pharmacological therapy involving drugs that stimulate the central nervous system, as well as naturopathic medicine like Omega-3/6. The pedagogical aspect for children with ADHD in school has been observed and evaluated. In this matter it is important for the pedagogue to encourage the child by letting it find out that it can manage more than it thinks.</p>

Persons suffering from Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) struggle with complications within the functions that regulate and control the brain activities, due to deficiencies in these functions within the affected nerve-paths. ADHD is a cognitive function impairment characterised by inattention, impulsiveness and over activity. According to Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders, American Psychiatric Association (DSM-IV), certain diagnostic criteria of ADHD must be fulfilled in order for a person to be diagnosed with ADHD. The everyday problems caused by ADHD are individual and medication can have positive effects relieving the person’s impairing behaviour. The study is based on scientific literature, three quantitative scientific articles and preview material from the last study by Johnson, Fransson, Kadesjö &amp; Gillberg, presently being scrutinised. Swedish as well as English literature has been used. The purpose of this study is to shed some light upon whether medication facilitates the child’s school situation. The result deals with the ADHD diagnosis and pharmacological therapy involving drugs that stimulate the central nervous system, as well as naturopathic medicine like Omega-3/6. The pedagogical aspect for children with ADHD in school has been observed and evaluated. In this matter it is important for the pedagogue to encourage the child by letting it find out that it can manage more than it thinks.

Currently, the labeling of functional food products is highly regulated in Canada. Although certain nutrient content claims and five generic health claims have been allowed, the inability to make additional nutrient content and health claims decreases functional food firms incentives to produce and commercialize new and healthy food products. This, in turn, has consequences for functional food demand, consumer welfare, and health care costs. The primary objective of this thesis is to examine the potential welfare implications of functional food labeling for Canadian society.<p>A benefit cost analysis is conducted to examine a specific case study of omega-3 enriched eggs. The benefit cost analysis evaluates the welfare effects of functional food labeling policy and helps realize the magnitude of potential benefits that could be gained if not for restrictive and complicated labeling regulations. Based on a range of assumptions and using three different scenarios to cover a range of estimates, the health benefits from the reduction in the risk of coronary heart disease due to the current consumption of omega-3 enriched eggs, and the production and labeling-related costs are estimated. By comparing the estimated benefits and costs, the results indicate that the current consumption of omega-3 enriched eggs provides a considerable net economic gain. Therefore, labeling information on health components can contribute to facilitating a healthy lifestyle with reduced medical costs, stimulating agricultural innovation, and increasing economic welfare.<p>Realizing the positive overall impact that the current consumption of omega-3 enriched eggs has on consumers health and economy in Canada, a possible policy that could regulate all eggs to be enriched with omega-3 fatty acids is proposed. This policy could potentially be used to correct not only information asymmetry but also the negative externalities that are created by health and disability insurances. The benefit cost analysis show that the health benefits would be greatly increased while costs would slightly increase due to reduced labeling-related costs. Therefore, the results indicate that the net economic gain is even stronger if the mandatory development of omega-3 enriched eggs were required.

The growing interest among consumers in the link between diet and health makes functional food one of the fastest growing sectors in the global food industry, especially functional dairy products. Understanding consumer choices with respect to functional food is an important and relatively new research area. Given the credence nature of functional food attributes, labelling plays a key role in allowing consumers to make informed choices about foods with enhanced health attributes. In 2007, Canada launched a review of the regulatory system for health claims on functional foods, which included rules concerning the approval, labelling and verification of health claims. In 2010 two new health claims related to oat products and plant sterols were approved by Health Canada. An analysis of how consumers respond to health claim information is therefore timely. This thesis focuses on examining the effects of different types of labelling and verification of health claims on consumers stated preferences for a specific functional food product, Omega-3 milk. The analysis incorporates reference-dependent effects. This study improves the knowledge of Canadian consumer understanding of health claims and the impact of health claims on consumer choice. This research is one of the first studies to simultaneously examine the effects of different types of health claims (e.g. function claims, risk reduction claims and disease prevention claims) and other ways of signalling or implying health benefits (e.g. symbols) on Canadian consumers' functional food choices. This study contributes to the knowledge in this domain by providing a comparative analysis of different types of labelling strategies. The extant knowledge of labelling effects in the formats of risk reduction claims, disease prevention claims and symbols or imagery on functional foods is limited. One of the primary contributions of this study is addressing this gap in the literature. The theoretical framework of this thesis is based on random utility theory. A stated preference choice experiment is designed to examine consumers' response to Omega-3 milk under different labelling scenarios. Using data from an online survey of 740 Canadians conducted in summer 2009, discrete choice models, including Conditional Logit, Random Parameter Logit and Latent Class models, and Willingness-To-Pay (WTP) values are estimated. The results suggest that full labelling (function claims, risk reduction claims and disease prevention claims) is preferred over partial labelling (e.g. the use of a heart symbol to imply a health claim), but primarily for risk reduction claims. There is no significant difference between a function claim, such as "good for your heart" and partial labelling in the form of a red heart symbol. The results also suggest that consumers on average respond positively to verification of health claims by government and the third party agencies, however, the Latent Class models reveal considerable heterogeneity in consumer attitudes toward the source of verification. The influences of key-socio-demographic (e.g. income, education and health status) and attitudinal factors (e.g. attitude, trust and knowledge) provide further insights into consumer responses in the choice experiment to identify different consumer segments. Moreover, the results reveal reference-dependent effects where perceived losses of ingredient or price attributes have a greater influence on consumer choice than perceived gains. In terms of industry and public policy implications, this study suggests that food manufacturers in Canada would benefit from the ability to make more precise health claims. The implications derived from the Latent Class Models could help the Canadian functional food industry to identify target consumer segments with different characteristics for the purpose of developing marketing strategies. Furthermore, the results of this study suggest that Canadian consumers are receptive to both full labelling and partial labelling. It indicates that public policy makers need to pay attention to effectively regulating health claims for functional foods so as to balance the need for credible health claims to facilitate the development of the functional food sector with the imperative of protecting consumers from misleading health claims. Public policy makers should also be aware that the verification of health claims plays an important role in reducing consumers' uncertainty and making health claims more credible.

The nutritional value of flaxseed meal (FSM), a by-product of the flax crushing industry, has not been evaluated properly for use within swine rations. A series of experiments were conducted to determine the nutritional profile of this novel feed ingredient for pigs.<p>The analysis of FSM revealed that it contains, on a dry matter (DM) basis, 133 g/kg ether extract (EE), 345 g/kg crude protein (CP), 60 g/kg ash, 164 g/kg ADF, 250 g/kg NDF, 102 g/kg crude fibre, 14 g/kg starch and 9 g/kg phosphorus. The gross energy (GE) content of the meal was 5.2 Mcal/kg DM. The ether extract fraction was characterized by, as a percent of total fat, 46.6% á-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid. Palmitic, stearic, oleic and linoleic acids accounted for 9.5, 4.8, 20.7 and 18.4% of the total fat content respectively. The crude protein content was well balanced for all amino acids with the exception of lysine (4.1% of CP), the level of which falls below that of the requirements for growing pigs (5.3% of CP for pigs 20-50 kg). The apparent digestibility of DM, nitrogen, ash, EE and GE as well as determination of the DE and NE content of FSM was determined for both growing pigs (32 pigs, initial weight 70 ± 3 kg) and gestating sows (26 pigs, parities 2 4). Animals were fed wheat/barley based diets containing 0, 10, 20 or 30% FSM. Faecal grab samples were collected for 3 days after a dietary adaptation period. The apparent digestibility of nutrients in FSM was determined both by regression and by difference calculations. As calculated by difference, the apparent digestibility coefficients for DM, nitrogen, ash, and GE were 63.0, 60.8, 22.3 and 60.5% respectively for growing pigs. The values obtained for sows were 64.1, 58.8, 20.8, 94.9 and 65.4% for DM, nitrogen, ash, EE and GE respectively. The DE content was 3.37 Mcal/kg for growing pigs and 3.52 Mcal/kg for sows. Net energy was then estimated by use of a prediction equation to be 2.34 and 2.44 Mcal/kg for growing pigs and sows. <p>An experiment was conducted to evaluate the growth performances and carcass fatty acid profiles of pigs fed with graded levels of FSM. A total of 200 pigs (100 barrows, 100 gilts; initial weight 32 ± 4 kg) were blocked by gender and housed in groups of 5 pigs per pen. The experiment was divided into three phases for pigs 32-60 kg, 60-85 kg and 85-115 kg. Each group was assigned to one of four dietary treatments containing 0, 5, 10 or 15% FSM at the expense of wheat and soybean meal. At the time of market, 6 pigs per treatment group were randomly selected for carcass fatty acid analysis, and backfat and rib-end loin samples were collected. The average daily gains, average daily feed intakes and gain to feed ratios were not affected by dietary treatment (P > 0.05). Inclusion of 15% dietary FSM increased the ALA content from 11 to 47 (± 0.8) mg/g of backfat (P < 0.001) and from 5 to 10 (± 0.4) mg/g of loin tissue (P < 0.001). Increasing dietary FSM decreased the saturated fatty acid content of backfat (P < 0.01). <p> The final experiment was designed to determine the availability of phosphorus in semi-synthetic diets containing FSM, and to determine the effects of microbial phytase inclusion of this availability. Five treatment groups, 8 barrows (45 ± 4 kg initial weight) each, were fed a diet containing 30% FSM with increasing levels of phytase (0, 575, 1185, 2400 and 2570 FTU/kg). Apparent P digestibility increased from 20.6 to 61.3% with the inclusion of up to 2570 FTU/kg microbial phytase (P < 0.001), and followed a quadratic response pattern with an R2 value of 0.96. A broken-line analysis estimated the optimal phytase inclusion level to be 1415 FTU/kg of diet. Inclusion of just 575 FTU/kg accounted for half of the response, improving the apparent P digestibility by 20% and reducing P excretion by 850 mg/kg dry matter intake.