Sensory evaluation of meat chickens Ross 308 after application of propolis in their nutrition

The objective of the experiment was to verify the effect of propolis extract in Ross 308 broiler on the sensory quality of breast and thigh muscle modified by baking at temperature 200 ºC for 60 minutes and finish baking for a period of 10-15 minutes. In the experiment were used 180 chickens divided into 2 groups (control and experimental group) with 90 chickens (45 ♂ and 45 ♀). Fattening lasted 40 days. The chickens were fed  ad libitum with the same starter feed mixtures to 21 days and from 22 days of age through 40 days of age with the grower feed mixtures in the both followed groups. Feed mixtures were made without antibiotics and coccidiostatics. The feed mixtures used in experimental group were enriched with the feed extract of propolis in a dose of 0.2 g.kg-1. After heat treatment of breast and thigh muscle 60 pieces chickens (30 pieces ♀, ♂ 30 pieces) of each group samples were sensory analyzed (smell, taste, juiciness, softness). Statistically significant differences were found by sex (P≤0.05 to 0.001) in aroma and taste of cocks in the thigh muscle (+0.290 points, +0.300 points) and hens (P≤0.01) in flavor (+0.250 points) and softness (+0.372 points) in breast muscle. Sensory assessment of the individual characters of either gender had significant differences (P≤0.05 to 0.001) in favor of the experimental group achieved only in the evaluation of the smell in the breast (+0.207 points) as well as thigh muscle (+0.207 points). In the final evaluation the most valuable parts of Ross 308 chickens carcass were found a positive effect of propolis extract on their sensory properties, but significant differences (P≤0.01) were observed only in chickens in the breast muscle (+0.917 points) compared with control group. The results have confirmed that propolis extract in a dose of 0.2 g.kg-1 feed mixture can be applied in the diet of chickens, as it positively affects the sensory quality of Ross 308 chickens meat, which is one of the most important parts of chicken meat for use in human food chain

Assessing the effect of insecticide-treated cattle on tsetse abundance and trypanosome transmission at the wildlife-livestock interface in Serengeti, Tanzania

In the absence of national control programmes against Rhodesian human African trypanosomiasis, farmer-led treatment of cattle with pyrethroid-based insecticides may be an effective strategy for foci at the edges of wildlife areas, but there is limited evidence to support this. We combined data on insecticide use by farmers, tsetse abundance and trypanosome prevalence, with mathematical models, to quantify the likely impact of insecticide-treated cattle. Sixteen percent of farmers reported treating cattle with a pyrethroid, and chemical analysis indicated 18% of individual cattle had been treated, in the previous week. Treatment of cattle was estimated to increase daily mortality of tsetse by 5–14%. Trypanosome prevalence in tsetse, predominantly from wildlife areas, was 1.25% for T. brucei s.l. and 0.03% for T. b. rhodesiense. For 750 cattle sampled from 48 herds, 2.3% were PCR positive for T. brucei s.l. and none for T. b. rhodesiense. Using mathematical models, we estimated there was 8–29% increase in mortality of tsetse in farming areas and this increase can explain the relatively low prevalence of T. brucei s.l. in cattle. Farmer-led treatment of cattle with pyrethroids is likely, in part, to be limiting the spill-over of human-infective trypanosomes from wildlife areas