Influence of production system, age an sex on carcass parameters and some biochemical meat quality characteristics of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus L.)

Carcass composition in reindeer is affected by feed intake and the age and sex of the animal. Studies have also shown that age, sex, carcass trim fat content and total intramuscular fat content (IMF) influence lipid class composition. The aim of this study was to compare lipid class composition and IMF in relation to carcass weight, conformation and trim fat content, and to investigate how these parameters are affected by age, sex and different feed sources. Five groups of reindeer were studied. Two groups of calves were fed two grain-based pelleted feeds with different lipid compositions for approximately two months before slaughter. One of these groups was fed with conventional pellets, and the other with pellets enriched with linseed cake to increase the amount of n-3 fatty acids in the diet. Three groups of grazing reindeer were also included in the study, consisting of adult males, adult females or calves. Reindeer calves fed pellets had higher slaughter weights, higher trim fat content and better carcass conformation scores compared to the grazing calves. However, there was no significant difference in IMF between pellet-fed and grazing calves. Adult female reindeer had the highest and grazing calves the lowest slaughter weights, trim fat and IMF. There was no difference in lipid class composition in meat from calves fed with the two pelleted feeds, whereas grazing calves had a higher amount of phospholipids. Squalene was identified and quantified as a component of intramuscular lipids in reindeer meat. Effekt av produktionssystem, ålder och kön på slaktkroppskvalitet och några biokemiska egenskaper hos renköttAbstract in Swedish / Sammandrag: Slaktkroppssammansättningen hos renar påverkas av både foderintag, fodersammansättning och djurens ålder och kön. Tidigare har vi visat att renens kön, ålder, mängden intramuskulärt fett (IMF) och putsfett på slaktkroppen påverkar sammansättningen av lipidklasser. Syftet med denna studie var att jämföra lipidklassammansättningen och IMF i relation till slaktkroppens vikt, form och mängden putsfett och att undersöka hur dessa parametrar påverkas av renarnas kön, ålder och olika typer av foder (bete och pellets). Fem grupper renar ingick i studien (totalt 38 djur). Två grupper kalvar utfodrades med två sorters pellets med olika fettsammansättning under två månader före slakt. Den ena gruppen fick normala pellets (CPD) (Renfor Bas) medan den andra gruppen fick pellets som hade en tillsats av linfrökaka (LPD) för att öka mängden n-3 fettsyror i fodret. Dessutom ingick tre grupper betesdjur i studien: vajor, sarvar och kalvar. Utfodring med pellets gav slaktkroppar med bättre klassning, högre slaktvikter och mer putsfett jämfört med slaktkroppar från betande kalvar. Vajorna hade de högsta och betande kalvar de lägsta slaktvikterna, minst putsfett och lägst halt av IMF. Utfodringen med pellets gav ingen signifikant skillnad i IMF mellan betande och utfodrade renkalvar. Vi fann ingen skillnad i lipidklassammansättning mellan de två utfodrade kalvgrupperna, men köttet från de betande kalvarna hade en högre halt av fosfolipider. Vi kunde också identifiera och kvantifiera squalen som en komponent i intramuskulärt fett i renkött

Common Carp and Aquaculture

Aquaculture is the fastest growing animal-food-producing sector with a growth rate from 1970 of around 8.3% per year and with 52.5 million tons (in 2008; 68.3 including aquatic plants) and accounts for almost half of total food fish supply (SOFIA, 2010). Fish oil and fish meal have been traditionally used as ingredients in aqua-feeds for carnivorous fish culture. Fish oil has a high level of the n-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids (n-3 HUFA; 20 and more carbons and 3 and more double bonds), especially eicosapentaenoic (EPA; 20:5n-3), docosapentaenoic (DPA; 22:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3), being natural and nutritious for fish as well as for humans. As the aquaculture is expanding, fish meal and fish oil become more expensive and scarce. It consequently creates a high pressure on the aqua-feed producers to replace these ingredients with more sustainable alternatives (Pickova & Morkore, 2007). Generally, vegetable sources of oil and protein are used as “The replacement”. Vegetable oils can replace substantial amount of fish oil in the diets of many fish species without affecting growth and feed efficiency. However, the drawback of these alternatives is the lack of n-3 HUFA and therefore compromising the nutritive value of farmed fish for consumers. Several alternative oil sources, derived from unicellular algae, pelagic organisms or benthic invertebrates containing high amounts of n-3 HUFA have been identified and tested in aquafeeds. Nevertheless, their prices are still too high to be commonly used in aquafeeds. Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) is one of the most cultured fish species in the world. In 2008, the world and the European production was 2 987 433 tons and 144 747 tons, respectively (FAO, 2011). It is an established cultured species. Carp is consumed as a traditional food in central Europe. Carp is an omnivorous species feeding on plankton and benthos as well as detritus in natural conditions. Typical farming practice in Central Europe is artificial shallow earthen ponds in which the production is based on plankton and benthos production supplemented by cereals or other additional feeds. The digestive system of carp is adapted to a diet including more carbohydrates compared to carnivorous species. The production cycle in Europe usually takes 3-4 years. There are two sources of n-3 HUFA in carp produced in ponds: i) the natural feed, plankton and benthos, being rich in n-3 HUFA and ii) the n-3 HUFA synthesized by carp from alpha linolenic acid (ALA). It has been reported that carps, in contrast to marine fish, are able to bio-convert ALA to n-3 HUFA (Zheng et al., 2004; Tocher, 2003). It is therefore of interest to understand and maximize the ability of carp to synthesize n-3 HUFA from ALA in order to preserve the lipid quality of the fish as human food and for sustainable utilization of feed resources. Carp culture might therefore be suitable of becoming net producer of n-3 HUFA by selecting fish with high enzyme activities in FA elongation and desaturation. Carp has also relatively low requirements for both n-3 and n-6 FA (0.5–1%) which can be fulfilled by plant 18 carbon FA (Takeuchi 1996 ). Inclusion of fish meal in carp culture is low (5%) (Tacon & Metian, 2008) and fish oil being even absent. Thus the substitution of these ingredients will be considerably easier for carp compared to carnivorous aquaculture species. Carp culture might therefore be an example of long term sustainable production without relying on the supply of fish oil and fish meal. In addition, carp culture turns “lost” nutrients (especially N and P) in water into a highly valuable nutritious flesh by the natural food chain in the ponds. The low trophic levels are especially important source of valuable n-3 HUFA in central parts of continents where the populations have less access to marine fish from capture. In addition, omega-3 carp has been produced by changes in additives into the pond feeds such as rape- and linseed cakes. By this strategy, a production of a stable omega - 3 lipid profile carp has been enabled. Studies on beneficial effects of fish intake are very often directed towards marine fish and shellfish. EPA and DHA are therefore misleadingly called “marine” fatty acids or “fish” fatty acids. These n-3 HUFA are to a large degree synthesized by microalgae, both in fresh- and saltwater and transported via the food chain in the systems. Collaboration with the Institute of experimental medicine IKEM, to investigate the effect of carp on cardio-vascular indices of subjects in SPA treatment has been started. Influence of carp (carp with increased content of omega 3 fatty acids) consumption on patients after cardiac revascularization surgery during the follow up SPA treatment was studied. Plasma lipids, LDL cholesterol and TG levels improved significantly in the group of patients receiving carp compared to the control group receiving chicken as the animal protein dietary portion

Chemical composition of horse hooves with functional qualities for competing barefoot

Barefoot racing is a common practice within the harness racing industry, but not all horses have hooves of sufficient quality to race sustainably without shoes. There is currently no objective approach available to assess whether a horse’s hooves are suitable for barefoot racing, raising animal welfare issues if trainers misjudge the functional qualities of hooves. This study compared chemical composition of the hoof wall and fatty acid (FA) composition of the digital cushion in a group of horses that had raced barefoot often (RB) and a group of horses that could not race barefoot and therefore raced with shoes (RS). Trimmings from the hind hoof wall were collected from the lateral quarters in one sub-cohort postmortem and in another sub-cohort of live horses and analyzed for macro- and microelements, nitrogen, dry matter (DM), and total and free amino acid content. For the postmortem horses, samples of the digital cushion were also collected and analyzed for total and free FAs. RB horses had lower concentrations of copper in the hoof wall (17.5 ± 3.9 vs. 32.8 ± 4.7 mg/kg DM, P = 0.02) than RS horses. RB horses also tended (

Oleaginous yeast Rhodotorula toruloides biomass effect on the metabolism of Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus)

Sustainability issues arise when using fish oil and vegetable oils in fish feed production for aquaculture purposes. Microbial production of single cell oil is a potential alternative as a lipid ingredient in the production of fish feed. In this study, we replaced the vegetable oils with the oleaginous yeast R. toruloides biomass in the diet of Arctic char (S. alpinus) and investigated the effects on health and composition. Measurement of fish growth parameters showed a higher liver weight and hepatosomatic index in the experimental group of fish fed partly with yeast biomass compared to a control group fed a diet with vegetable oils. No significant differences in the lipid content of muscle and liver tissues were found. The fatty acid profiles in the muscle of both fish groups were similar while the experimental fish group had a higher amount of monounsaturated fatty acids in the liver. Histology of livers showed no significant difference in the number of lipid droplets. The size of hepatic lipid droplets seemed to be related to liver fat content. Quantification of metabolites in the liver revealed no differences between the fish groups while plasma metabolites involved in energy pathways such as alanine, 3-hydroxybutyrate, creatinine, serine, betaine, and choline were significantly higher in the experimental fish group

Feeding steam-pelleted rapeseed affects expression of genes involved in hepatic lipid metabolism and fatty acid composition of chicken meat

This study investigated the dietary effect of steam-pelleted rapeseed (RS) diets with different inclusion levels on the fatty acid composition of chicken meat and the expression of lipid metabolism-related genes in the liver. Experimental diets included 6 different wheat-soybean meal based diets either in nonpelleted or steam-pelleted form supplemented with 80, 160, and 240 g RS/kg feed and one nonpelleted wheat-soybean meal based diet without RS supplementation as the control. These diets were fed to newly hatched broiler chickens (Ross 308) for 34 days. Compared to the control diet, steam-pelleted diets containing 160 or 240 g/kg RS significantly increased the content of omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC-PUFA) in the breast and drumstick, while their meat yields were not affected. Moreover, the mRNA levels of fatty acid desaturase 1 (FADS1) and acyl-coenzyme A oxidase 1 (ACOX1) in their livers increased. Therefore, steam-pelleted diets with 160 or 240 g/kg RS can be used to increase the n-3 LC-PUFA content in chicken meat without compromising meat yield

Sensory, microbiological, physical and chemical properties of cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) and broadtail shortfin squid (Illex coindetii) stored in ice

The objective of this study was to characterize whole raw cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) and shortfin squid (Illex coindetii) during storage in ice through sensory, microbiological, chemical and physical analyses. The recently developed Quality Index Method (QIM) tables for these species were used for sensory analysis. Shelf-life of whole cuttlefish and shortfin squid were estimated as around 10 and 9 days, respectively, according to QIM, which is shorter than for most species, especially fish. The numbers of microorganisms found in cuttlefish and shortfin squid surfaces until rejection were lower than in fish, which suggest predominance of enzymatic (autolytic) degradation. H2S-producing bacteria constituted a significant proportion of the spoilage flora. Physical analysis performed using the RT-Freshmeter and the Torrymeter showed these instruments can be applied to cuttlefish and shortfin squid, providing useful complementary information on the rates of change of electrical properties. Free tryptophan and VBN contents significantly changed during the first storage week indicating that low levels of these compounds could be used as indicators of fresh and high quality cuttlefish and broadtail shortfin squid. Urea can be useful as spoilage indicator for cuttlefish, as well as agmatine for broadtail shortfin squid. An overall look into data obtained shows, as expected, that spoilage of these cephalopod species can be considered a different phenomena when compared to fish and is not yet completely clarified

Stressing Algae for Biofuel Production: Biomass and Biochemical Composition of Scenedesmus dimorphus and Selenastrum minutum Grown in Municipal Untreated Wastewater

Biofuel production using microalgae is a renewable and environmental-friendly alternative to the use of fossil fuels. Microalgae storage lipids are promising resources for biofuel production. In this study, pure strains of the microalgae Scenedesmus dimorphus and Selenastrum minutum were grown in untreated municipal wastewater for six days under mixotrophic conditions. The algae strains were subjected to different stresses such as nutrient deprivation, and 5% (w/v) salinity to trigger lipid production and to study effect on FAME composition. The highest lipid concentrations were found in S. dimorphus (35 and 34%) and in S. minutum (40 and 39%) under nutrient deprivation and 5% salinity, respectively. On the one hand, salt stress decreased biomass production; on the other hand in both S. dimorphus and S. minutum salt stress significantly increased the concentration of saturated fatty acid (SFA) and it decreased the concentration of poly-unsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) contents, which are desirable for the production of good quality biofuel such as biodiesel. Hence our findings show how salt stress could clearly affect FAME composition in short time 1–3 days, greatly improving the FAME quality as source of biofuel

Identification, Quantification and Kinetic Study of Carotenoids and Lipids in Rhodotorula toruloides CBS 14 Cultivated on Wheat Straw Hydrolysate

Production of carotenoids and lipids by Rhodotorula toruloides CBS 14 cultivated on wheat straw hydrolysate was investigated. An ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) method for carotenoid quantification was developed and validated. Saponification effects on individual carotenoid quantification were identified, and lipid and carotenoid kinetics during cultivation were determined. The carotenoids beta-carotene, gamma-carotene, torularhodin, and torulene were identified; beta-carotene was the major carotenoid, reaching a maximum of 1.48 mg/100 g dry weight. Recoveries of the carotenoids were between 66% and 76%, except torulene and torularhodin, which had lower recoveries due to saponification effects. Total carotenoid content in saponified and unsaponified yeast extract, respectively, determined by UHPLC or photometer, respectively, was 1.99 mg/100 g and 4.02 mg beta-EQ/100 g dry weight. Growth kinetics showed a positive correlation between carotenoid content and lipid accumulation. beta-carotene was the major carotenoid at all time points. At the end of the cultivation, triacylglycerols (TAGs) were the major lipid class, with 58.1% +/- 3.32% of total lipids. There was also a high proportion of free fatty acids, reaching from 20.5% to 41.8% of total lipids. Oleic acid (C18:1) was the major fatty acid. The lipid yield at the end of the cultivation was 0.13 g/g of sugar consumed

Oleaginous yeast Rhodotorula toruloides biomass effect on the metabolism of Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus)

Sustainability issues arise when using fish oil and vegetable oils in fish feed production for aquaculture purposes. Microbial production of single cell oil is a potential alternative as a lipid ingredient in the production of fish feed. In this study, we replaced the vegetable oils with the oleaginous yeast R. toruloides biomass in the diet of Arctic char (S. alpinus) and investigated the effects on health and composition. Measurement of fish growth parameters showed a higher liver weight and hepatosomatic index in the experimental group of fish fed partly with yeast biomass compared to a control group fed a diet with vegetable oils. No significant differences in the lipid content of muscle and liver tissues were found. The fatty acid profiles in the muscle of both fish groups were similar while the experimental fish group had a higher amount of monounsaturated fatty acids in the liver. Histology of livers showed no significant difference in the number of lipid droplets. The size of hepatic lipid droplets seemed to be related to liver fat content. Quantification of metabolites in the liver revealed no differences between the fish groups while plasma metabolites involved in energy pathways such as alanine, 3-hydroxybutyrate, creatinine, serine, betaine, and choline were significantly higher in the experimental fish group