Aimed to find a safe and effective drug to replace nitroimidazole drugs in aquaculture pro-duction for the prevention and treatment of Trichomoniasis in pigeons,which can improve the eco-nomic benefits of meat pigeon breeding and ensure food safety.Firstly,Trichomonas was isolated and cultured from the crop of diseased pigeons and identified.After stable passage,a quantitative method for in vitro detection of Trichomonas was established by combining an automated cell counter and quantitative real-time PCR technology.To prepared the drug,powders of Sophora fla-vescent and Philodendron were made into herbal water extracts(SFPA)and mixed with copper sulfate(CS)solution.Then added the drug to the culture medium of Trichomonas to determine the effective concentration of it.A total of 135 pairs each of Silver King and Mimas breeding pigeons in the same laying period were selected and randomly divided into three groups,with 6 replicates in each group and 15 pairs of breeding pigeons in each replicate.Four days before brooding,the three groups were fed with 200 mL of pure water,0.5 g/L metronidazole(MDZ)solution,and a mixed solution of 30 g/L SFPA and 0.5 g/L CS,respectively.The feeding experiment lasted for 26 d.Results showed that the mixed solution of SFPA and CS had a significant killing effect on Trichomonas in vitro(P＜0.05).Feeding the drug to breeding pigeons significantly reduced the in-fection rate of breeding pigeons by Trichomonas(P＜0.05).The drug had no significant effect on the serum biochemical indexes,antioxidant properties,immunoglobulin levels of breeding pigeons,the average cage weight,immune organ indexes,meat quality and slaughter performance of squabs(P＞0.05).The results suggested that adding SFPA and CS to pigeons can effectively prevent and treat Trichomoniasis and improve production performance.It can replace nitroimidazole drugs without affecting the immune level of breeding pigeons and the weight,immune level,slaughter performance and meat quality of squabs,thereby reduce drug residues in poultry products and en-hance the food safety.

Aimed to find a safe and effective drug to replace nitroimidazole drugs in aquaculture pro-duction for the prevention and treatment of Trichomoniasis in pigeons,which can improve the eco-nomic benefits of meat pigeon breeding and ensure food safety.Firstly,Trichomonas was isolated and cultured from the crop of diseased pigeons and identified.After stable passage,a quantitative method for in vitro detection of Trichomonas was established by combining an automated cell counter and quantitative real-time PCR technology.To prepared the drug,powders of Sophora fla-vescent and Philodendron were made into herbal water extracts(SFPA)and mixed with copper sulfate(CS)solution.Then added the drug to the culture medium of Trichomonas to determine the effective concentration of it.A total of 135 pairs each of Silver King and Mimas breeding pigeons in the same laying period were selected and randomly divided into three groups,with 6 replicates in each group and 15 pairs of breeding pigeons in each replicate.Four days before brooding,the three groups were fed with 200 mL of pure water,0.5 g/L metronidazole(MDZ)solution,and a mixed solution of 30 g/L SFPA and 0.5 g/L CS,respectively.The feeding experiment lasted for 26 d.Results showed that the mixed solution of SFPA and CS had a significant killing effect on Trichomonas in vitro(P＜0.05).Feeding the drug to breeding pigeons significantly reduced the in-fection rate of breeding pigeons by Trichomonas(P＜0.05).The drug had no significant effect on the serum biochemical indexes,antioxidant properties,immunoglobulin levels of breeding pigeons,the average cage weight,immune organ indexes,meat quality and slaughter performance of squabs(P＞0.05).The results suggested that adding SFPA and CS to pigeons can effectively prevent and treat Trichomoniasis and improve production performance.It can replace nitroimidazole drugs without affecting the immune level of breeding pigeons and the weight,immune level,slaughter performance and meat quality of squabs,thereby reduce drug residues in poultry products and en-hance the food safety.

Objective To study the liver protection of crocetin against paraquat (PQ) poisoning induced acute liver injury in rats. Methods Fifty-four male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control group, exposure group and treatment group, and the rats in each group were subdivided into the 0.5th, 2nd, and 6th day after exposure subgroups (n = 6). The model of acute liver failure induced by PQ poisoning was reproduced by intraperitoneal injection of 20 mg/kg of 20% PQ, and the rats in control group was injected with the same amount of normal saline. The rats in treatment group were given with intraperitoneal injection of 50 mg/kg crocetin after 0.5 day, once a day until they were sacrificed; the other two groups were injected with the same amount of normal saline. The rats in all groups were sacrificed at the corresponding time points, and blood was collected from inferior vena cava and hepatic tissue was harvested. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining was used to observe the pathological changes in liver tissue on the 6th day under light microscope. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the serum tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to detect the mRNA expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB). The activities of apoptosis related factors, including caspase-8, -9, -12, in hepatic tissue were determined on the 6th day with chromogenic substrate method. Results In the liver tissue of exposed group, extensive infiltration of the inflammatory cells and the diffuse fragments necrosis were visible, and the regeneration of the liver cells was not obvious, and severity of the injury in a time dependent way. In the treatment group, the structure of hepatic artery was visible, and the infiltration of necrosis, congestion and inflammatory cells were not obvious. On the 0.5th, 2nd, and 6th day, serum levels of IL-6 and TNF-α, the mRNA expressions of iNOS and NF-κB in liver tissue, and the caspase-8, -9, -12 activities on the 6th day in the exposure group and treatment group were significantly higher than those in the control group. And the parameters in treatment group were significantly lower than those of the exposure group [IL-6 (ng/L): 188.37±64.21 vs. 376.61±82.42 on the 0.5th day, 287.18±58.69 vs. 432.77±96.28 on the 2nd day, 234.24±10.17 vs. 375.41±37.59 on the 6th day; TNF-α (ng/L): 472.36±76.43 vs. 688.33±102.19 on the 0.5th day, 189.32±87.54 vs. 296.21±89.77 on the 2nd day, 99.28±16.13 vs. 168.41±66.78 on the 6th day; iNOS mRNA (gray value): 2.998±0.801 vs. 3.453±0.026 on the 0.5th day, 3.126±0.306 vs. 5.259±0.153 on the 2nd day, 0.841±0.135 vs. 1.225±0.057 on the 6th day; NF-κB mRNA (gray value): 1.569±0.818 vs. 2.361±0.063 on the 0.5th day, 2.345±0.489 vs. 4.668±0.368 on the 2nd day, 2.348±0.316 vs. 3.972±0.449 on the 6th day; caspase-8 (pmol/mg): 126.77±9.97 vs. 199.18±66.48 on the 6th day; caspase-9 (pmol/mg): 213.12±69.06 vs. 321.62±89.39 on the 6th day; caspase-12 (pmol/mg): 183.46±70.52 vs. 219.68±53.93 on the 6th day, all P < 0.05]. Conclusion Crocetin has protective effect on liver in rats with PQ poisoning, which role is related with reducing the blood level of inflammatory factors, inhibiting the hepatic caspase-8, -9, -12 activities and gene expressions of iNOS and NF-κB.