llama meat nutritional properties

The aim of this study was to determine the chemical composition of the muscle Longissimus thoracis taken from 20 llama males, reared in the Andean region, slaughtered at an age of 25 months and at a mean final body weight of 74kg. Llama meat showed a low fat (3.51%) and cholesterol content (58.16mg/100g), a good protein content (22.42%) and an ash content of 3.06%. The Warner-Bratzler shear force values determined in llama meat was 6.56 kg/cm2. This study confirmed that llama meat is healthy and nutritious, and represents a good source of proteins for Andean population

Wool quality in Gentile di Puglia sheep breed as measure of genetic integrity

The Gentile di Pugliais a breed created in the 15th century by crossing Merino Spanish rams and "gentile" ewes reared in some areas of Southern Italy, mainly Apulia and Basilicata. The crisis of the wool industry, the poor quantity of milk, the inadequacy of Gentile di Pugliato be milked by machine and the passage from transhumant to permanent rearing caused a dramatic reduction of this population, which was largely crossed with other breeds and declined from about one million heads in the sixties to 5,000 at the present time. In order to save the ancient typical Gentile di Pugliabreed, the aim of this work was to estimate the "genetic integrity" of the remaining Gentile di Pugliapopulation by means of an analysis of wool quality measured through the diameter of the fibre and the homogeneity of the fleece. Our hypothesis was that the animals originated from outcrosses to other Merino derived breeds specialised for meat would show larger diameters of the fibres and a reduced homogeneity of the fleece. The research was carried out using Herd Book registered animals from 9 farms: 1 from Isernia, 2 from Campobasso and 6 from Foggia province. The statistical analysis on the diameter of the fibre was carried out on a dataset of 38,200 observations (200 records x 191 animals) divided in four classes (ultrafine, fine, croisè, ordinary). The high frequencies of ultrafine and fine fibre classes show that the quality of the wool is still good in the population. This consideration can be extended to all the farms involved in the study that could therefore be suitable in the conservation programs for this breed. The homogeneity of the fleece was also good in provid- ing further evidence of the genetic integrity of the population. Other analysis carried out on the quality of the wool in relation to the body size confirmed that the observed Gentile di Pugliais well representative of the ancient breed

Ca, Mg, Zn, Fe, Cu and Mn content of ass’s milk

Abstract - The aim of this study was to determine Ca, Mg, Zn, Fe, Cu and Mn content of ass’s milk. Twenty four individual milk samples were collected from 4 lactating asses. During the experimental period milk samples were collected every 3 weeks interval, using a milking machine; asses were housed with the foals that were separated from the jennets 3 hours before milking. Milk was analysed for Ca, Mg, Zn, Fe, Cu and Mn content by atomic absorption spectrometry. The concentration mean (±SD) of Ca Mg, Zn, Fe, and Cu were respectively 334.61±39.80, 58.46±8.43, 1.99±0.51, 1.15±0.52, 0.16±0.06 mg/kg. Mn was found only at trace level. Iron content of ass’s milk was the most variable ranging from 0.43 to 1.88 mg/kg. Correlation coefficients were positive and significant between Ca and Mg (r=0.63), Zn and Mg (r=0.45), Zn and Fe (r=0.49) and Zn and Cu (r=0.50). In this study, except for Fe, mean concentration of Ca, Mg, Zn, and Cu in ass’s milk was similar to those reported in literature for human milk