Microalgae Spirulina platensis accumulates many chemical components which are suitable for all higher organisms as food and forage raw material. There are a lot of vitally important for the organisms minerals and macroelements such as iron, calcium, sodium, potassium, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium, vitamins, carotin, nucleic acids, enzymes and other active substances. That should explain the value of Spirulina as a feed additive for the agricultural animals. In the present work the influence of the microalgae Spirulina platensis on the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of boars' sperm was studied. The experiment was carried out with 6 boars from Danube white breed in the experimental animal base of the Agricultural Institute - Shumen. The time of the experiment was divided in the control and experimental periods. During the control period the animals received the main diet in accordance with Bulgarian state standard BDS- 1642-96. In the experimental period to the main diet was added 7 ml/ per head the fresh biomass of microalgae preserved by melasa (final quantity - 1,4 mg Spirulina platensis). The obtained results shown that the addition of Spirulina improves the sperm parameters in boars: the volume of the ejaculates increased with 30 ml in experimental period (306 ml against 276 in control, P<0,05) as well as the spermatozoa concentration enhanced with 27 mln/ml. The total dehydrogenases activities estimated by reaction with methylene blue as well as LDH activity were higher in the experimental period. Also the survivability of the spermatozoids at 24, 48 and 72 hour in the experimental period was more than in control.

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Original Scientific ArticleSelenium is an essential micro-element in animal diet due to its high antioxidative properties. As a part of selenocystein it is an important constituent of the glutathione peroxidase (GPx) enzyme, which has a big importance for cell protection from oxidative damage. The aim of the present work was the investigation of the selenopyran effect on the antioxidative state of the pig ovary. The experiment was conducted with 18 gilts of Danube white breed randomly divided into two groups between 120 -228 days of age. The animals received equal basal diets without selenium additives. The experimental gilts were injected once per month intramuscularly with oil solution of preparation selenopyran (9-phenylsymmetrical octahydroselenoxanthene) ensured 0.1 mgSe/kg live weight. After slaughtering, the ovaries were used for histological analysis and estimation of the selenium content in ovarian tissue by the atomic absorption spectroscopy method. The GPx activity in ovary homogenates using the colorimetric assay kit (BioVision) was measured. The expression of γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) in ovaries by immunochistochemical method was estimated. The selenopyran treatment leads to significant (P<0.05) increase of the selenium level in blood and non-significant (P>0.05) in ovarian tissue. Enhancement of GPx activity in the ovaries of experimental group was observed (142.61±6.6 versus 122.28±3.4U/gP, P<0.05). The GGT expression in the ovarian cortex cells, follicular fl uid and in the erythrocytes of ovarian blood vessels in treated gilts was an evidence of active transport of glutathione from blood to the ovary tissue. The selenopyran treatment promotes the increase of the GPx dependent antioxidative defense in ovary of growing gilts.

Twelvehematological and fifteen serum biochemical parameters were determined in indigenous East Balkan pigs at different ages and two seasons. The experiment was carried out in the Scientific Centre of Agriculture- Sredets aiming to characterize the health status of the animals when reared organically. Blood samples were taken from pre-weaned piglets (n=10), growers (n=10) and sows (n=10) in spring and summer. The results were analysed through two way ANOVA to assess the influence of the age, season and their interaction on the hematological and serum biochemical profile of the animals. Both age and season interacted significantly in regard to the red blood cells count (RBC) (P0.001), hemoglobin (HGB) (P0.001) and hematocrit (HCT) (P0.01), as well as in the most biochemical parameters including creatinine(P0.001), total protein (TP) (P0.001), albumin (ALB) (P0.001), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (P0.001), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (P0.01), uric acid (UA) (P0.01), Mg (P0.001), triglycerides (TG) (P0.05) and cholesterol (P0.01). Regardless of the season, the white blood cells (WBC) including lymphocytes and granulocytes, as well as platelets (PLT)decreased with age, while mean corpuscular volume (MCV) increased.The content of glucose, urea, gamma-glutamil transferase (GGT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), Ca and P which displayed maximal values in preweaned pigs (P0.05) compared to the other age groups (P0.05). The season affected the number of lymphocytes (P0.01), their percent (P0.001), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) andmean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) (P0.001), as well as the concentration of GGT (P0.001) which increased during summer,and also granulocytes (P0.01), their percentage (P0.001), PLT (P0.05), glucose, urea, ALP, Ca (P0.001) and P (P0.01) whichwere higher in spring.

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The importance of the microbial ecology and diversity of microorganisms in the digestive tract of herbivora has gained increasing attention in response to recent trends in the global livestock production. The microorganisms in the digestive tracts of ruminants and non-ruminant herbivora have a profound influence on the conversion of feed into end-products, which can impact on the animals and environment. Anaerobic fungi are the significant constituent of rumen microbiota in livestock that rely on poor-quality fibrous diets. They produce the whole set of enzymes necessary for plant cell-wall degradation. These enzymes enable fungi to penetrate plant cell walls, access fermentable substrates not available to surface-acting bacteria, colonize the sturdy plant structures, weaken and degrade plant tissues and reduce the plant particles size. The present paper studies the influence of different carbohydrate substrates on fermentative activity of five strains of Neocallimastix frontalis. Experiments for fermentative activity were performed with carboxymethyl cellulose, Whatman N o 1 and Avicel, and enzyme activity was detected extracellularly in culture supernatants, through reducing sugars, after vegetative growth. The enzymes CM-cellulаse, FP-ase and avicelase secreted from N. frontalis strain J3 released the largest quantity of reducing sugars, compared to the other strains.

The evaluation of climate plasticity and content of free amino acids, sugars and fatty acids in Bulgarian soybean cultivars were used as an innovative approach. The field performance, expression and metabolomic profiles of leaves, green seeds and mature seeds of plants grown from low temperature pre-treated and not-treated seeds were assessed by real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The data from the morphological indicators, expression profiles and content of metabolites confirmed that the plants grown from low temperature pre-treated seeds had better performance. The expression profiles correlated with the content of amino acids and sugars. Inclusion of extruded full-fat soybean from cvs. Srebrina and Richy in the compound feed for pigs and soybean cake obtained after cold pressed soybeans of cv. Srebrina in compound feed for laying hens were investigated. The results confirmed that extruded full-fat soybean cv. Srebrina could be successfully included in the protein component of feed for growing pigs at a rate of 50% of soybean meal in protein equivalent. Extruded full-fat soybean cv. Richy in the amount of 30% of the protein component of the ration, in protein equivalent of the compound feed for the period of fattening of pigs could be included. The results confirmed that feed for laying hens, in which 50% of imported soybean meal is replaced by soybean cake produced from locally grown soybean, could increase the content of free amino and fatty acids of the final product and benefit the quality of eggs.