Effect of turmeric powder (Curcuma longa L.) and ascorbic acid on physical characteristics and oxidative status of fresh and stored rabbit burgers

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of Curcuma longa powder and ascorbic acid on some quality traits of rabbit burgers. The burgers (burgers control with no additives; burgerswith 3.5 g of turmeric powder/100 g meat; burgers with 0.1 g of ascorbic acid/100 g meat) were analyzed at Days 0 and 7 for pH, color, drip loss, cooking loss, fatty acid profile, TBARS, antioxidant capacity (ABTS, DPPH and FRAP) and microbial growth. The addition of turmeric powder modified the meat color, produced an antioxidant capacity similar to ascorbic acid and determined a lower cooking loss than other formulations. Turmeric powder might be considered as a useful natural antioxidant, increasing the quality and extending the shelf life of rabbit burgers

Effect of different dietary tannin extracts on lamb growth performances and meat oxidative stability: comparison between mimosa, chestnut and tara.

Little information is available on the effects of different sources of tannins on ruminant product quality. Nowadays several tannin-rich extracts, produced from different plants, are available and contain tannins belonging to different chemical groups, but most of these have not been used so far as feed supplements. The present study aimed at comparing the effects of feeding three tannin extracts (one containing condensed tannins and two containing hydrolysable tannins) to lambs on growth performances and meat oxidative stability. Comisana male lambs were divided into four groups (n=9 each) and were fed for 75 days: a concentrate-based diet (CON), or CON supplemented with 4% tannin extracts from either mimosa (MI; Acacia mearnsii, De Wild; condensed tannins), chestnut (CH; Castanea sativa, Mill; hydrolysable ellagitannins) or tara (TA; Cesalpinia spinosa, (Molina) Kuntze; hydrolysable gallotannins). Only CH reduced growth rate, final weight, carcass weight and feed intake (P0.05). The TA diet increased (P<0.001) the concentration of γ-tocopherol in muscle and tended to increase that of α-tocopherol (P=0.058). Oxidative stability of raw and cooked meat, or of meat homogenates incubated with pro-oxidants, was not affected by the extracts. These results, compared with those reported in the literature, highlight that some effects of tannins cannot be easily generalized, but may strictly depend on their specific characteristics and on conditions inherent to the basal diet and the metabolic status of the animals

Effect of age and feeding area on meat quality of wild boars

The stomach content and samples of Longissimus dorsi muscle of 32 feral wild boars were collected in two different feeding areas (forest and farmland) of Umbria region (Italy). The animals from each feeding area were divided into two age classes: class 1 (12–24 months of age; 48 kg average weight) and class 2 (animals older than 2 years of age; 84 kg average weight). The major food categories consumed were hard mast and crops (89.02–75.98%). The L*(lightness) and a*(red to green colour) values of the meat were affected by the feeding area as well as the b*(yellow colour) value; the age significantly affected only the a* and the b* value of the meat. The α-tocopherol was the most abundant vitamin E homologue, ranged between 520.63 and 1881.33 ng/g and was higher in farmland areas. The index of lipid oxidation (TBARS) ranged from 0.093 and 0.140 mg MDA/kg and was higher in wild boars from farmland. The monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) ranged between 38.36 and 46.75% and were higher in wild boar of class 2. The total polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) as well as PUFAn-6 were affected by age, while PUFAn-3 was only affected by feeding area and ranged from 0.91 and 1.99 in farmland and forest, respectively. The feeding area affects the intramuscular fat contents in terms of nutritional characteristics of the meat: the n-6/n-3 ratio that was lower in meat from animals hunted in the forest area (p ≤ .001), as well as the ARA/(EPA + DHA) ratio (p ≤ .01)

Effect of genotype on estimated indexes of fatty acid metabolism in rabbits

[EN] To analyse the effect of rabbit genotype on fatty acid metabolism, 60 weaned rabbits (30 d old, sex ratio 1:1; 20 New Zealand White, 20 Leprino of Viterbo and 20 rabbits of a Local grey population) were reared in bicellular standard cages. At 80 d, 10 rabbits per group were selected and slaughtered. The muscle fatty acid composition and relative indexes of metabolism of the longissmus lumborum of these rabbits were determined. The New Zealand White and Leprino rabbits exhibited lower percentages of myristic acid and higher percentages of palmitic acid and palmitoleic acid, and the levels of monounsaturated fatty acids were significantly higher in these rabbits. The grey-coloured rabbits exhibited the highest values of total n-3 fatty acids. With respect to fatty acid metabolism, the New Zealand White and Leprino rabbits exhibited higher thioesterase and Δ9-desaturase indexes and lower elongase and Δ5- Δ6-desaturase indexes. The estimated Δ5- Δ6-desaturase activity was significantly higher in the Local grey rabbits, suggesting a genetic effect on the desaturase and elongase mechanisms responsible for the synthesis of long-chain n-3 fatty acids.Dal Bosco, A.; Mugnai, C.; Roscini, V.; Paci, G.; Castellini, C. (2014). Effect of genotype on estimated indexes of fatty acid metabolism in rabbits. World Rabbit Science. 22(1):21-28. doi:10.4995/wrs.2014.1465SWORD212822

Response of rumen microbial ecosystem to diets integrated with chestnut or quebracho tannins in dairy ewes

The aim of this study was to evaluate the response of rumen microbial ecosystem to diets integrated with chestnut or quebracho tannins in dairy ewes. The experiment was conducted as 3 X 3 Latin square design and the trial was repeated 2 times. Three fistulated ewes fed 3 diets based on chopped grass hay ad libitum administered and on 800 g / head and day of 3 experimental concentrates containing 84.5 g of soybean oil / kg of DM and 52.8 g / kg DM of bentonite (CON) or chestnut tannin extract (CHT) or quebracho tannin extract (QUE). At the end of each experimental period rumen liquor was analysed for fatty acid and microbial profiles. On the basis of the molar stoichiometric relations between rumen volatile fatty acid and CH4 production (CH4=0.45 x acetate-0.275 x propionate + 0.4 x butyrate), the CH4 emission was also predicted for each diet. A canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was performed in order to find potential connection between microbial community, fatty acid composition of rumen liquor and potential CH4 emission, and how these connections are influenced by the different diets. DGGE bands were used as "species" data, while fatty acids and potential CH4 emission as "environmental" variables. The microbial profile was affected by the presence of tannins. The bacterial community of QUE and CHT samples of rumen liquor was positively correlated to vaccenic acid, conjugated linoleic acid and C18:2 trans-11 cis-15. Moreover, the bacterial communities as affected by CHT resulted mainly positively correlated to butyric acid, acetic acid and with potential CH4 emission. In contrast, the bacterial communities as affected by CON resulted mainly correlated positively to C18:2 cis-9 cis-12 and C18:0 production

Vitamin E is the major contributor to the antioxidant capacity in lambs fed whole dried citrus pulp.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of dietary whole dried citrus pulp (DCP) on the antioxidant status of lamb tissues. In total, 17 lambs were divided into two groups and fed for 56 days: a barley-based concentrate diet (CON - eight animals), or a concentrate-based diet including 35% DCP to partially replace barley (CIT - nine animals). The CIT diet contained a double concentration of phenolic compounds than the CON diet (7.9 v. 4.0 g/kg dry matter (DM), respectively), but had no effect (P>0.05) on the overall antioxidant capacity of the hydrophilic fraction of blood plasma, liver and muscle. The CIT diet contained clearly more α-tocopherol than the CON diet (45.7 v. 10.3 mg/kg DM), which could explain the higher concentration of α-tocopherol in liver, plasma and muscle (P<0.05). The dietary treatment had no effect on the extent of lipid peroxidation, measured as thiobarbituric acid and reactive substances assay (TBARS values) in the faeces, small intestine, liver, plasma and muscle. Nevertheless, when muscle homogenates were incubated in the presence of Fe3+/ascorbate to induce lipid peroxidation, the muscle from lambs fed DCP displayed lower TBARS values (P<0.01), which negatively correlated with the concentration of α-tocopherol in muscle. These results showed that feeding whole DCP to ruminants increases the antioxidant status of muscle through an increase in the deposition of α-tocopherol

Effect of Dietary Chestnut or Quebracho Tannin Supplementation on Microbial Community and Fatty Acid Profile in the Rumen of Dairy Ewes

Ruminants derived products have a prominent role in diets and economy worldwide; therefore, the capability to control the rumen microbial ecosystem, for ameliorating their quality, is of fundamental importance in the livestock sector. e aim of this study was to evaluate the e ect of dietary supplementation with chestnut and quebracho tannins on microbial community and fatty acid pro le, in the rumen uid of dairy ewes. Multivariate analysis of PCR-DGGE pro les of rumen microbial communities showed a correlation among the presence of chestnut or quebracho in the diet, the speci c Butyrivibrio group DGGE pro les, the increase in 18:3 cis9, cis12, and cis15; 18:2 cis9 and cis12; 18:2 cis9 and trans11; 18:2 trans11 and cis15; and 18:1 trans11 content, and the decrease in 18:0 concentration. Phylogenetic analysis of DGGE band sequences revealed the presence of bacteria representatives related to the genera Hungatella, Ruminococcus, and Eubacterium and unclassi ed Lachnospiraceae family members, suggesting that these taxa could be a ected by tannins presence in the diets. e results of this study showed that tannins from chestnut and quebracho can reduce the biohydrogenation of unsaturated fatty acids through changes in rumen microbial communities

Bioactive compounds and antioxidant characterization of three edible wild plants traditionally consumed in the Umbria Region (Central Italy): <i>Bunias erucago</i> L. (corn rocket), Lactuca perennis L. (mountain lettuce) and Papaver rhoeas L. (poppy)

The leaves of three edible wild plants, Bunias erucago L. (Corn rocket), Lactuca perennis L. (Mountain lettuce) and Papaver rhoaes L. (Poppy) were analysed for their proximate composition, some nutraceutical components and total antioxidant capacity. The protein levels ranged from 2.7 to 4.1 g/100 g of the edible portion. The range of dietary fibre content was 3.8 to 6.4 g/100 g of the edible portion. The amount of ash, carbohydrate and lipid ranged from 1.7 to 1.9, 3.3 to 4.4 and 0.22to 0.45 g/100 g of the edible portion, respectively. Lipids consisted mainly of polyunsaturated fatty acids with the highest value for the Bunias erucago L. (71.8 % of total fatty acids) and Lactuca perennis L. (70.0 %). Potassium (374.0-521.0 mg/100 g) and calcium (204.8-331.8 mg/100 g) were the most representative macro-elements in the species studied. The values of vitamin E, b-carotene and total vitamin C are included in the range from 0.91 to 2.61 mg/100 g, from 1,957 to 2,631 mg/100 g and from 19.2 to 31.0 mg/100 g, respectively. Our results showed that the total antioxidant capacity performed by the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) method, which ranges from 27.2 to 63.7 μmol TE/g, is highly justifiable by the high content of phenolic compounds (159-246 mg GAE/100 g)

Modifications of fatty acids profile, lipid peroxidation and antioxidant capacity in raw and cooked rabbit burgers added with ginger

Effects of ginger powder were evaluated on fatty acid (FA) profile, lipid peroxidation (TBARS) and antioxidant capacity (ABTS, DPPH and FRAP) of rabbit burgers. Burgers were manufactured as control samples (only meat) and two additions of ginger powder (1% and 2%) and stored raw at 4 °C for 7 days. At day 1, 4 and 7 of storage burgers were analysed both as raw and cooked. Ginger powder affected all the tested parameters; both PUFAw3 and PUFAw6 were incremented in raw and cooked samples leading to decreased atherogenicity and thrombogenicity indexes and increased hypo/hypercholesterolemic index and peroxidability index. Lipid peroxidation values of raw and cooked burgers added with ginger were lower than control burgers, at the same time, ABTS, DPPH and FRAP values were incremented by the addition of ginger powder. The results obtained demonstrate the antioxidant capacity of ginger powder as rabbit meat products additive and highlight the capacity of this spice to maintain its characteristics after burgers' cooking