Effects of Grazing Season on Physico-Chemical Characteristics and Fatty Acids of Nutritional Interest of Caciocavallo Palermitano Cheese

The aim of this work was to evaluate, in the different production seasons of the year, the physico-chemical quality of an artisanal cheese traditionally obtained from autochthonous grazing cows, with particular reference to fatty acids (FA) of nutritional interest that play an important role in the risk or prevention of some human pathologies. For this purpose, cheeses were sampled in 11 farms, repeating the samplings in 3 different periods of the year (summer, autumn–winter, and spring) when the productive conditions of the pastures varied. The cheeses produced in the spring period, when cows ingest a greater amount of grazed forage, resulted in a more adequate composition of the main FA, which are recognized as having a health effect, such as α-linolenic, trans-vaccenic, rumenic, docosapentaenoic (DPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids. Branched-chain FA were found in greater quantities in spring cheeses, as well as in summer ones. The FA composition of cheeses produced in the different seasons was reflected in some nutritional indexes that also resulted as more suitable in cheeses obtained in the spring period. The positive effects induced on the FA profile of cheeses are presumably linked to the diet of autochthonous cows, which is mainly based on forage from natural pastures. Therefore, the results obtained confirm the benefits of grazing, which is able to guarantee the production of healthier cheeses for consumers

Milk production and physiological traits of ewes and goats housed indoor or grazing at different daily timing in summer

During a 6 week trial in summer, 3 homogeneous groups, each consisting of 5 Comisana ewes and 5 Rossa Mediterranea goats, grazed watered forage resources during day (D) or night (N), or were housed indoor and supplied with mowed herbage(H). Maximum THI peaked at 94 at the end of July, and was almost constantly higher of 80. Milk yield was higher in N than in D and H goats, whereas N ewes produced more milk than H group, but their milk yield was higher than D ewes only in the period with the highest THI values. The lower urea in N goat milk, and the higher casein in N ewe milk, seem to indicate a better efficiency in dietary nitrogen utilization of night grazing animals. N ewes showed lower SCC in milk, and higher incidence of clotting milk samples, in comparison to other ewes. N goats and ewes showed lower rectal temperature and pulse rate in the afternoon and, among metabolic parameters, higher hematic level of sodium. Night grazing was confirmed to be a management practice for increasing heat tolerance, to which goats appeared to be more sensitive in terms of milk yield

Effects of housing system on welfare and milk yield and quality of Girgentana goats

Effetti del sistema di stabulazione sul benessere e sulla produzione di latte di capre Girgentane \u2013 La stabulazione in poste individuali, in uso per la razza Girgentana, per evitare che le capre possano procurarsi lesioni con le corna, viene confrontata con la stabulazione libera, valutando il grado di benessere e la produttivit\ue0 di 40 capre. Le Girgentane tenute alla posta hanno fatto rilevare buone condizioni di benessere e un pi\uf9 elevato livello produttivo, collegati alla mancanza degli effetti stressanti della gerarchia sociale ed alla possibilit\ue0 dell\u2019integrazione individuale. Tuttavia, assicurando adeguata igiene e sufficiente spazio, le Girgentane hanno mostrato di poter adattarsi anche alla stabulazione libera, che ha offerto maggiori possibilit\ue0 di movimento e relazioni sociali, e ha indotto una migliore risposta immunitaria; la minore esigenza di manodopera compenserebbe il pi\uf9 basso livello produttivo registrato con tale sistema.In the past years, in Sicily, goats of the Girgentana breed have decreased so drastically in number that they risked extinction. Among the causes, particular blame can be laid at the traditional housing system, in which the goats, after coming back from pasture, were tethered in individual wooden stalls. Such a system is still considered necessary by breeders in order to avoid aggressive and harmful behaviour on the part of the animals, due to the presence of their long horns (Giaccone et al., 1994). This belief negatively interferes with the action recently initiated for the recovery and regeneration of the breed (Portolano et al., 2002); in fact, the tie stalls housing, increasing manpower, limits the increase in size in herds of Girgentana goats. On the other hand, the biological production method does not admit the tie stall housing, but imposes a housing system that ensures that animals have freedom of movements and can express normal social behaviour. The present study aims to contribute to the development of the Girgentana breed, evaluating its adaptation to free-housing. Goats tethered in stalls and free-housed in a straw-bedded pen were compared by assessing their behavioural, immunological, endocrine and productive responses

Fatty acids as biomarkers of the production season of caciocavallo palermitano cheese

This experiment aims to evaluate the potential of fatty acids (FA) of Caciocavallo Palermitano cheese as biomarkers of production season and pasture-based diet. A total of 48 cheeses were made in the four seasons with milk from two farms that raised cows of Cinisara breed. The animals were fed on pasture with supplementation of wheat bran and wheat straw in the barn, and in summer also with Opuntia ficus-indica cladodes. The chemical composition and FA profile of cheese were influenced by the season and not by the farm. In particular, cheeses produced in spring were characterized by higher protein and lower fat, and showed higher contents in trans-vaccenic acid, α-linolenic acid, rumenic acid, n-3 polyunsaturated FA (PUFA), and total PUFA. In winter, the lower availability of grazing forage, requiring a higher level of feeding integration, was responsible for an increase of saturated FA (SFA). The multivariate analysis distinguished clearly the cheeses made in winter and spring, while those produced in autumn and summer showed some overlapping points. Further investigations should be carried out to evaluate the effects of type and level of feeding integration on the presence of FA more suitable to be used as biomarkers of period and diet

Effect of the inclusion of fresh lemon pulp in the diet of lactating ewes on the properties of milk and cheese

This study investigated the effects of fresh lemon pulp (FLP), as a natural antioxidant in the diet, on the intake of feed and the production of milk and cheese of Valle del Belice lactating ewes during the hot summer in Sicily. A total of 15 second-lambing ewes, kept individually in 3  7 3 m pens, were divided into 3 homogeneous groups fed with 3 diets in a 3  7 3 Latin square design, with 3 experimental phases of 21 days each. The diets were: mixed hay ad libitum plus 600 g/day of concentrate (FLP0); mixed hay ad libitum plus 400 g/day of concentrate and 1 kg/day of FLP (FLP1); and mixed hay ad libitum plus 200 g/day of concentrate and 2 kg/day of FLP (FLP2). Nine experimental Pecorino cheeses were manufactured with bulk milk collected at the end of each phase from each group. The ewes of each group showed the same dry matter (DM) intake (2 kg/day/head), but the FLP2 group received lower (P = 0.001) net energy for lactation (NEL) than other groups (2.13, 2.36, and 2.31 Mcal/day per head for FLP2, FLP0, and FLP1, respectively). The FLP constituted 9% and 16% of the total DM intake in the FLP1 and FLP2 groups, respectively. In general, the daily milk yield was low, reflecting the effect of the high environmental temperatures, and was lower (P = 0.001) in the FLP2 group than in the other groups (323, 355, and 369 g/day for FLP2, FLP1, and FLP0, respectively), probably due to the lower daily energy intake. Milk protein (P = 0.046) and casein (P = 0.033) percentages were higher in the FLP2 group than in the FLP1 group; the FLP-fed groups had higher levels of (P = 0.011) milk urea than the FLP0 group, due to a higher (P = 0.001) CP/NELratio in the ingested diet (96.4, 95.8, and 95.3 g/Mcal for FLP2, FLP1, and FLP0, respectively). The fatty acid composition of milk from FLP2-fed ewes was higher in vaccenic (10.6 vs. 7.96 mg/g fat; P = 0.031) and rumenic acids (6.21 vs. 5.30 mg/g fat; P = 0.048) than that in milk from FLP0 ewes. The characteristics of the cheeses were not influenced by the diet, with the exception of the total content of phenolic compounds (P = 0.011) and antioxidant activity (P = 0.051), both of which were higher in cheeses made with milk from FLP-fed ewes

A 3-week feed restriction after weaning as an alternative to a medicated diet: effects on growth, health, carcass and meat traits of rabbits of two genotypes

Feed restriction after weaning is widely used in meat rabbit farms to promote health and reduce mortality, but this practice impacts negatively on rabbit growth and slaughter performance. This study compared a 3-week post-weaning feed restriction with ad libitum medicated feeding, evaluating effects on feed intake, growth, health, carcass and meat quality of rabbits of two genotypes: Italian White pure breed and Hycole hybrid×Italian White crossbred. A total of 512 rabbits at 36 days of age, of both sexes and two genotypes, were divided into four homogeneous groups assigned, from 36 to 57 days of age, to different feeding programmes (FP): restricted non-medicated (R-N), ad libitum non-medicated (L-N), restricted medicated (R-M) and ad libitum medicated (L-M). The diets were medicated with oxytetracycline (1540 mg/kg) and colistin sulphate (240 mg/kg). The restriction, performed by giving 70, 80 and 90 g/day of feed for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd week, was followed by ad libitum feeding in the successive 5 weeks, up to slaughter at 92 days of age. Restricted feeds were ingested at a level of 64% of the feed intake recorded in the ad libitum fed rabbits; it was significantly associated, regardless of medication and rabbit genotype, with a lower feed intake (−22 to −24 g dry matter/day) during the entire experiment, compensatory growth and a lower feed conversion ratio in the ad libitum period, and a lower final live weight (−150 g) than ad libitum feeding (P<0.001). During restriction, mortality was lower in the restricted rabbits (6.25%, 5.47% v. 12.5%, 14.8% for R-N, R-M, L-N and L-M; P<0.05), whereas in the ad libitum period mortality did not differ among the groups (9.23%, 9.90%, 11.0% and 4.59% for R-N, R-M, L-N and L-M). Dressing out percentage was not affected by FP or genotype; heavier carcasses were produced by rabbits fed ad libitum (+100 g; P<0.001) and crossbred rabbits (+122 g; P<0.001). Restriction did not alter meat quality, except for a tendency towards a higher cooking loss and less fat; crossbred meat was higher in L* (+1.3; P<0.01) and b* (+0.51; P<0.05) colour indexes and tenderness (−0.14 kg/cm2; P<0.05) than pure breed meat. Under the conditions of this study, a 3-week restricted feeding after weaning resulted to be a suitable alternative, also for high growth potential genotypes, to the antibiotics to preserve rabbit health. The production of lighter carcasses could be compensated partly by the lower feed conversion ratio showed by restricted rabbits

Effects of feeding green forage of sulla (Hedysarum coronarium L.) on lamb growth and carcass and meat quality.

The nutritional effects of sulla (Hedysarum coronarium L.) forage containing condensed tannins (CT) on growth of lambs, and carcass and meat quality were investigated. Thirty-two male Comisana lambs aged 100 ± 8 days weighing 19.0 ± 2.8 kg were fed fresh forage of sulla or CT-free annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam. subsp. Wersterwoldicum) for 49 days until slaughter; in addition, each lamb was supplied with 200 g/days of concentrate. Eight lambs per diet had been previously treated with anthelmintic drugs to remove nematode parasites. Measurements of BW and feed intake, and counts of faecal nematode eggs were made. Carcass parameters were recorded after slaughter, and tissue components of the hind leg were determined. Longissimus dorsi meat was evaluated for pH, colour, thawing and cooking losses, Warner-Bratzler shear force, chemical composition and sensory properties based on triangle tests. Relative to ryegrass-fed lambs, sulla-fed lambs had significantly greater dry matter (DM) and protein intake, a more favourable feed conversion ratio, and superior growth rate, final BW at 150 days of age, carcass weight, yield and fatness. These results were attributed to the high protein and non-structural carbohydrate content of sulla, and also to the moderate CT content of sulla (16.7 and 20.3 g/kg of DM in offered and consumed sulla forage, respectively). Anthelmintic treatment did not affect lamb growth, as the level of parasitic infection (initial and final) was low. The physical, chemical and sensory properties of the lamb meat were not influenced by diet

Neuroendocrine responses in neonatal mother-deprived rabbits

To study both short- and long-term adaptation mechanisms activated by rabbits which were separated from their mothers (DLS) for 48 h between postnatal days 9 and 11, we examined plasma corticosterone concentrations before, during, and after DLS as well as the expression of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in the hippocampus and the adrenal axis responses to a mild stress stimuli or exogenous ACTH injection. At postnatal day 10, plasma corticosterone concentration of DLS rabbits was similar to that of controls, but rose two-fold at day 11 (17.7 ± 1.3 vs. 9.3 ± 1.2 μg/dl, P < 0.01) and then decreased at day 12, when suckling was allowed again, to match those of controls with no difference thereafter. At postnatal day 14, both control and DLS rabbits had similar basal corticosterone concentrations (2.2 ± 0.4 vs. 2.3 ± 1.1 μg/dl, respectively) as well as at day 120 (8.8 ± 3.2 vs. 9.7 ± 2.8 μg/dl, respectively). After the standardized stress stimulus, plasma corticosterone concentrations were lower in DLS rabbits than controls at postnatal days 14 (P < 0.01) and 120 (P < 0.05). At day 120, corticosterone levels rose similarly seven-fold (P < 0.01) within 30 min after ACTH administration and remained sustained thereafter in both control and DLS rabbits. Positive immunoreactivity for GR was detected in the hippocampus and in the dorsal medial hypothalamic region at postnatal day 14. The present data suggest that 48 h DLS from postnatal days 9 to 11 results in a modified hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis reactivity later in life