The biological properties of bee drone brood make it an ideal additive for growth promotion in animal husbandry instead of banned hormonal anabolics and antibiotics. However, the drone brood action on mammalian ovaries has not been well studied. The present study analyzes the impact of drone brood homogenate (DBH) in the diet of growing gilts on folliculogenesis. Large White female pigs at the age of 35 days were randomly divided into two groups of 10 animals each, and fed with the same basal diets. The experimental group was supplemented with 25 mg/kg forage of DBH for 180 days, after which the animals were slaughtered and morphometric, histological and immunohistochemical evaluation of their ovaries was performed. In addition, the expression of ovarian growth factors BMP15 and GDF9 in oocytes and cumulus cells was analyzed by RT-PCR. A significant increase in body weight and average daily gain at day 145 in the DBH-supplemented group was established. The length of the ovaries in the treated animals also was enhanced. More pools of primordial follicles, involved in intensive growth, as well as a larger diameter of primary and tertiary follicles were found in the ovaries of DBH-supplemented animals. These findings corresponded with an increase in the expression of GDF9 mRNA in the oocytes and cumulus cells. At the same time, signs of atresia in the Graafian follicles of treated animals were observed. The supplementation with DBH stimulates the early stages of folliculogenesis in gilts, but provokes atresia in the last stage of follicular development.

Endophytic microorganisms are most closely in contact with agricultural plants, inhabit their internal tissues, provide protection from pathogens, and have a direct impact on plant health and productivity. This is the relevance of studying the properties of endophytic organisms for the regulation of population density of pathogenic micromycetes. In this work, a comparative assessment of the antifungal activity of endophytic isolates B. subtilis EFS3, B. subtilis EFS9, B. subtilis EFS13 was carried out with respect to field isolates of microscopic fungi of the genera Fusarium, Aspergillus, Penicillium, Mucor. The studied endophytic bacilli inhibited the growth of micromycetes both due to the antibiotic substances produced and by direct contact, i.e., antibiotic and alimentary types of antagonism were noted in the mechanism of antifungal action. Thus, the studied endophytic bacteria are able to influence the development of pathogenic fungi and can be used to develop biological products that contribute to improving the quality of food raw materials of plant origin.

The article presents the results of the use of dry earthworm homogenate as a feed additive to the diet of white Wistar rats (Wistar). The obtained experimental material suggests that the introduction of dry earthworm homogenate in the diet of males in an amount of 0.3 % to the diet significantly increases the weight of the animals during the experiment with their 100 % safety. The live weight of the experimental animals by the end of the experiment decreased on average in the group from 257 to 210 g, in the experimental group it increased from 236 to 310 g. The absolute increase in live weight from the use of homogenate for 30 days at the rate of 100 mg/100 g of body weight in the experimental group of males was significantly higher than in the control rats and amounted to 48.8±0.15 g, and in the control group of males only 34.6±0.01 g. Hematological indicators indicate an increase in the level of hemoglobin in the blood of laboratory rats of the experimental group by 7.87 % compared to animals of the control group; an increase in the number of red blood cells by 13.2 %; a decrease in the number of platelets by 3.65 %. A tendency to reduce the number of platelets in the blood of laboratory rats of the experimental group was established. Biochemical parameters of blood serum indicate an increase in the concentration of total protein by 7.4 % relative to the values in the group of control animals. The albumin level increased by 5.65 %.