Vertebrate animal products

The major dietary sources for preformed vitamin A are vertebrate animal products that are rich in vitamin A esters (liver, kidney, oil, dairy products, and eggs). Liver and oil, particularly from fish, are the major dietary sources of preformed vitamin A. Levels in milk and eggs depend on dietary retinoid and carotenoid intake. Freshwater fish are a source of vitamin A2 (3,4-dehydroretinol), which shows reduced vitamin A activity. Levels of retinal in food are very low, whereas retinoic acid has not been found. 

Xylanase production has been reported to occur in a wide spectrum of organisms. Although absent in vertebrate animals, xylanases are produced in many forms of bacteria, fungi and yeasts, crustaceans, algae and plant seeds. Current interest in xylanases has been focused primarily on the enzymes produced by fungi and bacteria and, to a lesser extent, yeasts. The high yields and relative ease of production have made these systems the most promising for future commercialization. 

This section contains a discussion of some of the products produced from vertebrate animals. Some of these materials are not species specific, and are produced from whatever animals are available and suitable for the prescribed purpose. 

Strychnine was first registered as a pesticide in the USA in 1947 however, this natural toxin had been used in many coimtries to control vertebrate animals for many years prior to 1947. Currently, strychnine is registered for use only below ground as a bait application to control pocket gophers. The end-use products are formulated as a grain-based bait or a paste. Baiting can be done manually, or with the use of application equipment. 

Although many insects nutritionally require ascorbic acid, numerous species have apparently been reared on artificial or synthetic diets without ascorbic acid or related nutrients. These include Diptera and assorted roaches, crickets, beetles, and moths, whose normal food comprises detritus, seeds, carrion, and dry stored products that are deficient in ascorbate for certain vertebrate animals. The general presumption has been that the diets lack vitamin C and that certain insects can biosyn-... 

The Immune Response. The immune response of a vertebrate animal has two major arms, the cell-mediated responses and antibody-mediated or humoral responses. The cell-mediated response, which is involved in protection against cancer and some intracellular pathogens ( ), will not be reviewed here because it is not relevant to most immunoassay technology. The humoral response, which involves production of antibodies to foreign substances, is the arm of the immune system which provides the basis for immunoassay systems. 

Brucellosis is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria of the genus Brucella. These bacteria are primarily passed among animals, and they cause disease in many different vertebrates. Various Brucella species affect sheep, goats, cattle, deer, elk, pigs, dogs, and several other animals. Humans become infected by coming in contact with animals or animal products that are contaminated with these bacteria. In humans brucellosis can cause a range of symptoms that are similar to the flu and may include fever, sweats, headaches, back pains, and physical weakness. 

The fluid that circulates in the vascular system of vertebrate animals, carrying nourishment and oxygen to all parts of the body and taking away waste products for excretion. Blood consists of liquid plasma containing dissolved nutrients, waste products, and other substances and Suspended red blood cells, leukocytes, and blood platelets. 

Pesticides, and especially OCPs (DDT and its metabolytes, HCH isomers, aldrine, dieldrin, heptachlor, etc.), are seen everywhere in mammals. Table 4.7 gives data on the death of higher vertebrates from causes linked to agricultural production in the USSR. About 40% of the accidental deaths of animals, and about 80% of birds, are due to pesticides. It is difficult to evaluate how many mammals in the environment die from pesticide contamination, since sick and weakened individuals fall prey to predators [6]. 

The nature-nurture problem revisited in most vertebrates, early experience of certain odors, interwoven with genetically anchored developmental processes, produces lasting, often irreversible odor recognition, preferences, or avoidance. Such behavioral development often occurs during more or less defined critical windows in time. The development of responses to odors often precedes that of odor production. Neonates already orient towards odors, while many pheromones are not produced until adulthood. Even before hatching or birth, the journey of chemical communication starts in the egg or the uterus. Knowing how chemical communication and chemosensoiy responses to food or danger develop is essential in areas such as animal husbandry or human behavior. 

Alkaloids play a very important role in organism metabolism and functional activity. They are metabolic products in plants, animals and micro-organisms. They occur in both vertebrates and invertebrates as endogenous and exogenous compounds. Many of them have a distributing effect on the nervous systems of animals. Alkaloids are the oldest successfully used drugs throughout the historical treatment of many diseases ... 

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