Applied Animal Nutrition-I

GERM FREE TECHNIQUE

• It is evident from previous discussions regarding various vitamins that are synthesised in the intestinal tract and contribute to the host's nutrition and complicate the interpretation of the data on dietary requirements obtained in feeding trials.
• Thus nutritionist has special interest in the techniques which have been developed for obtaining animals which are germfree at birth and for rearing them in an uncontaminated environment thereafter.
• Germ free means, free of contamination by bacteria, yeasts, moulds, fungi, protozoa and parasites in general, that is, free of all other life.

• The new born are obtained by Caesarian section and reared in specially designed apparatus in an uncontaminated environment and are fed sterilized diet.

• Success has been reported with rats, rabbits, hamsters, mice, chickens, turkeys and monkeys. Rats mice and chickens have been bred through successive generations.
• Techniques have been developed for obtaining " Specific Pathogen free" baby pigs by hysterectomy and using them for nutrition experiments. 
• Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) animals are developed to avoid the multiplication of intestinal organisms and used in nutrition experiments.