The use of visible/near-infrared spectroscopy to predict fibre fractions, fibre-bound nitrogen and total-tract apparent nutrients digestibility in beef cattle diets and faeces

Data about diet and digestion process of cattle are important for the fine-tuning of the diet and from an environmental point of view. Given the capacity of the near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) to provide easily, quickly and cheap data its ability in predicting dietary and faecal chemical composition, fibre-bound N and total-tract apparent digestibility (ttaD) of beef cattle were tested. The ttaD was estimated using the dietary and faecal undigestible neutral detergent fibre (uNDF) as an internal marker. A total of 172 pool faecal samples and 164 total mixed ration (TMR) samples were randomly collected 24 h post-feeding across the fattening groups of young males and females Charolaise beef cattle. Both TMR and faeces were analysed chemically and through visible/NIRS instrument. Calibration models were developed using a modified partial least squares (mPLS) regression analysis and tested by a leave-one-out cross-validation procedure and the best calibrations were selected based on various parameters including the coefficient of determination of calibration (R2CrV) and the residual predictive deviation (RPD). The overall composition of TMR and faeces were similar to that reported in literature and the coefficient of variation was higher than 12% for most of the parameters studied. The NIRS was able to accurately predict the ADF, nitrogen (N), and ash content in the TMR, whereas in faeces only the ADF prediction was acceptable. The ttaD and total-tract true digestibility of N using the uNDF as an internal marker were inaccurately predicted both in TMR and in faeces (R2CrV ≤0.66; RPD ≤ 1.71).Highlights Near-infrared spectroscopy was not a suitable technology to predict total tract apparent digestibility. NIRS was able to accurately predict the ADF, nitrogen and ash content in the TMR. NIRS was able to accurately predict the ADF in faeces

Application of a handheld near-infrared spectrometer to predict gelatinized starch, fiber fractions, and mineral content of ground and intact extruded dry dog food

The aim of the present study was to investigate the ability of a handheld near-infrared spectrometer to predict total and gelatinized starch, insoluble fibrous fractions, and mineral content inextruded dry dog food. Intact and ground samples were compared to determine if the homogenization could improve the prediction performance of the instrument. Reference analyses were performed on 81 samples for starch and 99 for neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), acid detergentlignin (ADL), and minerals, and reflectance infrared spectra (740 to 1070 nm) were recorded with aSCiO™near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer. Prediction models were developed using modified partial least squares regression and both internal (leave-one-out cross-validation) and external validation.The best prediction models in cross-validation using ground samples were obtained for gelatinized starch (residual predictive deviation, RPD = 2.54) and total starch (RPD = 2.33), and S (RPD = 1.92), while the best using intact samples were obtained for gelatinized starch (RPD = 2.45), total starch (RPD = 2.08), and K (RPD = 1.98). Through external validation, the best statistics were obtained for gelatinized starch, with an RPD of 2.55 and 2.03 in ground and intact samples, respectively. Overall, there was no difference in prediction models accuracy using ground or intact samples. In conclusion, the miniaturized NIR instrument offers the potential for screening purposes only for total and gelatinized starch, S, and K, whereas the results do not support its applicability for the other traits

Italian local goat breeds have better milk coagulation properties than cosmopolitan breed

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Long-Term administration of a commercial supplement enriched with bioactive compounds does not affect feed intake, health status, and growth performances in beef cattle

Feed additives including natural bioactive compounds (BCs) in combination with vitamin E (VitE) and organic Se could mitigate animal stress associated with intensive livestock farming due to their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Yeast and yeast derivate are included in feed additives as probiotic products and digestion promoters. Scutellaria baicalensis is a source of bioactive compounds and has been tested in monogastrics, exhibiting many immunostimulating and hepato-protective activities. However, the literature lacks information regarding S. baicalensis effects on beef cattle performance and health status. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact on beef cattle's feed intake, health and oxidative status, and growth performances of the inclusion of a commercial supplement (CS) containing VitE, organic Se, yeast derivate, and S. baicalensis extract during the fattening and finishing period. A total of 143 Charolaise male cattle were allotted into 12 pens of 11-12 animals each and assigned to a control ( 463.9 ± 21.48 body weight - BW) or a treated ( 469.8 ± 17.91 BW) group. Each group included two replicates of three pens. The treated groups were supplemented with 20 g CS animal - 1 d - 1 . Feed intake was measured monthly on a pen base during two consecutive days. Total mixed ration and fecal samples were collected at three time points (monthly, from November to February) and pooled by replicate for the analyses to monitor digestibility. Blood samples were individually collected at the beginning and at the end of the trial for oxidative status and metabolic profile determination. Final BW and carcass weight were individually recorded to calculate average daily gain, feed conversion ratio, and carcass yield. Similar feed digestibility between groups were observed during the whole experiment. Feed intake, growth performances, final body weight, average daily gain, feed conversion rate, oxidative status, and metabolic profile were not affected by the dietary inclusion of the tested CS indicating no detrimental effect of the treatment. Different doses of this product should be tested in the future in order to provide a more complete report on the product efficacy

At-line Prediction of Gelatinized Starch and Fiber Fractions in Extruded Dry Dog Food Using Different Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Technologies

This study aimed to assess the feasibility of visible/near-infrared reflectance (Vis-NIR) and near-infrared transmittance (NIT) spectroscopy to predict total and gelatinized starch and fiber fractions in extruded dry dog food. Reference laboratory analyses were performed on 81 samples, and the spectrum of each ground sample was obtained through Vis-NIR and NIT spectrometers. Prediction equations for each instrument were developed by modified partial least squares regressions and validated by cross- (CrV) and external validation (ExV) procedures. All studied traits were better predicted by Vis-NIR than NIT spectroscopy. With Vis-NIR, excellent prediction models were obtained for total starch (residual predictive deviation; RPDCrV = 6.33; RPDExV = 4.43), gelatinized starch (RPDCrV = 4.62; RPDExV = 4.36), neutral detergent fiber (NDF; RPDCrV = 3.93; RPDExV = 4.31), and acid detergent fiber (ADF; RPDCrV = 5.80; RPDExV = 5.67). With NIT, RPDCrV ranged from 1.75 (ADF) to 2.61 (acid detergent lignin, ADL) and RPDExV from 1.71 (ADL) to 2.16 (total starch). In conclusion, results of the present study demonstrated the feasibility of at-line Vis-NIR spectroscopy in predicting total and gelatinized starch, NDF, and ADF, with lower accuracy for ADL, whereas results do not support the applicability of NIT spectroscopy to predict those traits

Prediction of Mineral Composition in Commercial Extruded Dry Dog Food by Near-Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy

The pet food industry is interested in performing fast analyses to control the nutritional quality of their products. This study assessed the feasibility of near-infrared spectroscopy to predict mineral content in extruded dry dog food. Mineral content in commercial dry dog food samples (n = 119) was quantified by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry and reflectance spectra (850–2500 nm) captured with FOSS NIRS DS2500 spectrometer. Calibration models were built using modified partial least square regression and leave-one-out cross-validation. The best prediction models were obtained for S (coefficient of determination; R2 = 0.89), K (R2 = 0.85), and Li (R2 = 0.74), followed by P, B, and Sr (R2 = 0.72 each). Only prediction models for S and K were adequate for screening purposes. This study supports that minerals are difficult to determine with NIRS if they are not associated with organic molecules

Genetic characteristics of colostrum refractive index and its use as a proxy for the concentration of immunoglobulins in Holstein cattle

Abstract Background Colostral concentration of immunoglobulins (Ig) is crucial for the passive transfer of antibodies from the cow to the new-born calf. Direct determination of Ig by the gold standard radial immunodiffusion method is demanding in terms of time and costs. For this reason, a refractometer is commonly used at the farm level for an indirect estimation of colostrum quality, which is given as the Ig concentration. In this study, colostrum samples were collected from 548 Italian Holstein cows within 6 h of calving. The refractive index (BRIX, %) of these samples was assessed using a portable optical refractometer, as well as the concentration of total protein, IgG, IgA, and IgM by radial immunodiffusion. A four-trait animal model was used to estimate genetic parameters for BRIX and the different immunoglobulin isotypes. A receiver operating characteristic analysis was carried out to evaluate the BRIX diagnostic accuracy. Results Colostral BRIX was moderately heritable (0.26) and its genetic and phenotypic correlations with IgG (0.91, 0.78), IgA (0.57, 0.57), and IgM (0.71, 0.61) were all positive and of similar order, although the genetic correlations were generally higher than the phenotypic correlations. Low-quality colostrum samples, defined as those with an IgG concentration lower than 50 g/L, were accurately identified by the refractive index on the BRIX scale, with an area under the curve of 0.90. Conclusions The use of a refractometer is recommended on dairy farms to produce a proxy for colostral Ig concentration. BRIX is a useful phenotyping tool that can be used in cattle to improve the quality of colostrum for first feeding of calves through both traditional genetic and genomic strategies. Improving colostrum quality will reduce the incidence of failure of passive transfer of immunity in young stock

Genetic aspects of colostrum quality traits including immunoglobulin G in Holstein cows

Immunoglobulins G (IgG), A (IgA), and M (IgM) account for 80% of total proteins in bovine colostrum and are important for the passive transfer of antibodies from the dam to the calf. The practical difficulties of samples collection and the high cost of gold standard analysis have so far hampered the estimation of genetic parameters of both bovine colostrum and mature milk IgG, IgA, and IgM concentrations (g/L). In the present study, 672 colostrum samples from the same number of Holstein cows were collected within 6 h after calving. The concentration of IgG, IgA, and IgM was determined through radial immunodiffusion. The pedigree included 6,714 animals, i.e., cows with phenotypes and up to 6 generations of ancestors. Linear models were used to estimate variance and covariance components through univariate and bivariate analyses, respectively. The model included the random animal additive genetic effect and the fixed effects of parity (5 levels: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 655), season of calving (4 levels), year of calving (2 levels), and herd (9 levels). Colostrum IgG, IgA, and IgM averaged 93.24, 4.89, and 5.16 g/L, respectively, and were normally distributed. Heritabilities (\ub1standard error) of IgG, IgA, and IgM were 0.14 \ub1 0.14, 0.33 \ub1 0.16, and 0.19 \ub1 0.14, with coefficients of genetic variation of 13.1, 30.8, and 19.7%, respectively. The IgG correlated phenotypically with IgA (0.52 \ub1 0.04) and IgM (0.59 \ub1 0.03), and IgA correlated with IgM (0.48 \ub1 0.04). Overall, genetic correlations were weak (<0.10) except for the association between IgG and IgA (0.37 \ub1 0.41). Results agreed with the literature and highlighted that the most important colostrum quality trait, i.e., the IgG, tended to be the least heritable Ig. Further efforts will allow to improve data size and variability and will be focused on coupling Ig data with other information to estimate the association between Ig of the colostrum administered to the calf and health and productivity in the subsequent lactations

Genetic aspects of immunoglobulins G concentration measured with gold standard and predicted from infrared spectra in bovine colostrum

The concentration of immunoglobulins G (IgG) is the criterion usually adopted to classify the quality of the colostrum adminis-tered to calves. Although the reference analysis of IgG (g/L) is time-consuming and expensive, no studies have evaluated the ability of infrared spectroscopy to predict colostrum IgG concentration so far. In this study, colostrum was collected on 693 Holsteins within 6 h after calving following a specific protocol. Samples were analysed through the reference analysis (radial immunodiffusion), which was carried out according to the manufacturer\u2019s instructions (Triple J Farm, Bellingham, US) after dilution of colostrum (1:5 v/v) in pure water. Near-infrared spectra (400\u20132500 nm) were collected on all samples using the DS2500 (Foss, Hiller\uf8d, Denmark). After spectra quality editing, the final dataset accounted for 685 samples. The calibration set included 195 samples representative of the 9 herds and cows from parity 1 to 6, and the best prediction model for IgG (RMSE =14.2 g/L; R2 = 0.84) was reached through 20-fold cross-validation and multiplicative scatter correction and second derivative as mathematical treatment. Finally, IgG was predicted in the validation set which accounted for the remaining 490 samples (RMSE =19.4 g/L; R2 = 0.73). Variance and covariance components were estimated for both reference and predicted IgG (validation set) using a linear model which included the fixed effects of parity (5 levels: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 + 6), the season of calving (4 levels), year of calving (2 levels), and herd (9 levels), and the random effects of additive genetic animal (6714 individuals in the pedigree) and the residual. Means (coefficient of genetic variation) of reference and predicted IgG were 92.4 g/L (14.8%) and 90.5 g/L (15.1%), respectively. Heritabilities of IgG were 0.18 \ub1 0.15 (reference) and 0.21 \ub1 0.15 (predicted). The phenotypic correlation between the two traits was positive and strong (0.86 \ub1 0.01), as well as the genetic correlation (0.99 \ub1 0.11). Overall, results indicated that IgG can be predicted from colostrum spectra with moderate accuracy and the genetic correlation between the reference and predicted IgG is close to 1. Therefore, IgG predictions can be potentially exploited as phenotypes to improve the IgG content of bovine colostrum, leading to potential practical positive consequences on calf health

Detailed characterization of plant-based burgers

Flexitarians have reduced their meat consumption showing a rising interest in plant-based meat alternatives with ‘meaty’ characteristics, and we are witnessing an unprecedented growth of meat substitutes in the Western market. However, to our knowledge, no information regarding the ‘simulated beef burgers’ nutritional profle compared to similar meat products has been published yet. Here we show that, whilst both plant-based and meat-based burgers have similar protein profle and saturated fat content, the former are richer in minerals and polyunsaturated fatty acids. We found that the most abundant minerals in both categories were Na, K, P, S, Ca, and Mg; being Na and S content similar between groups. Only six amino acids difered between categories, being hydroxyproline exclusively in meat-based burgers. Plant-based burgers revealed fourfold greater content of n-6 than meat-based burgers, and greater short-chain fatty acids proportion. Our results demonstrate how ‘simulated beef’ products may be authenticated based on some specifc nutrients and are a good source of minerals. We believe that there is a need to provide complete and unbiased nutritional information on these ‘new’ vegan products so that consumers can adjust their diet to nutritional needs