A 2 x 3 factorial experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of silymarin-nanohydrogle (0, 500 free; 500 nano) and a mycotoxin (0; 2.2 mg/kg), silymarin contaminated diet on productive performance and certain serum biochemical parameters using 72 Japanese quail chicks in days 7-35 of age. Six experimental treatments consisting inclusion of 0 or 2.2 mg/kg aflatoxins in a basal diet fed to the birds receiving 0 or 500 mg/L silymarin in two free- or nanohydrogle forms via drinking water. Daily weight gain (DWG) and European production index (EPI) reduced by 6.7% and 13.6% while feed intake (FI) and FCR increased by 3.76% and 12% in the birds fed on the diet containing 2.2 mg/kg aflatoxin, respectively (p < .05). Administration of silymarin-nanohydrogle through drinking water improved FI and DWG by 3.7% and 8.1%, respectively (p < .05). Mean serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity elevated by 26.1% and serum concentration of total protein (TP), glucose (GLU) and high density lipoproteins (HDL) declined by 14.4%, 6.1% and 27.1% in the birds fed on the aflatoxin-contaminated diet, respectively (p < .05). Mean serum concentration of BUN (86.4%) and GLU (12.0%) increased and Ca (10.3%) decreased in birds receiving 500 mg/kg silymarin-nanohydrogle (p < .05). The birds receiving silymarin-nanohydrogle in drinking water showed lesser liver and spleen percentage (p < .05). It was concluded that inclusion of 500 mg/kg silymarin-nanohydrogle in drinking water could significantly compensate the impaired growth performance and alter hepatic function in Japanese quails fed on a diet contaminating 2.2 mg aflatoxins.

In this work, 3, 3'-dithiobis (propanoic dihydrazide) modified and aldehyde-modified hyaluronic acid were respectively synthesized as precursor solutions to form redox and pH dual-responsive injectable hydrogels through dynamic acylhydrazone and disulfide linkages without exogenous stimulus conditions. The reversible sol-gel transition behavior of hydrogels could be repeated multiple times by adjusting DTT/H2O2 or HCl/TEA. Interestingly, the hydrogels shrank gradually when pH decreased, which improved significantly the storage modulus up to 8.4 times at pH 2. Furthermore, the hydrogel presented acid-switchable shape-recovery characteristics of self-healing by a dynamic recombination of acylhydrazone bonds. Moreover, the osmotic driving force derived from inner and outer concentration difference also affected the characteristic. The controlled release of bovine serum albumin (BSA) encapsulated in this hydrogel could be achieved in vitro under simulated pH/redox intracellular and intercellular microenvironment. This hydrogel could also promote chondrocytes proliferation.