Use of weaning concentrate in the feeding suckling kids: effects on meat quality

The effect of a feeding supplementation with starter concentrate on “Capretto” meat production and its qualitative characteristics was investigated. The results showed that the effect of concentrate supplementation did not influence the slaughter weight, slaughter and dissection data, tissue composition and meat chemical composition of the pelvic limb. No differences were found for rheological characteristics of LD meat, except cohesiveness values, which were higher in the concentrate group kids

Transcriptional activation of endothelial cells by TGFβ coincides with acute microvascular plasticity following focal spinal cord ischaemia/reperfusion injury

Microvascular dysfunction, loss of vascular support, ischaemia and sub-acute vascular instability in surviving blood vessels contribute to secondary injury following SCI (spinal cord injury). Neither the precise temporal profile of the cellular dynamics of spinal microvasculature nor the potential molecular effectors regulating this plasticity are well understood. TGFβ (transforming growth factor β) isoforms have been shown to be rapidly increased in response to SCI and CNS (central nervous system) ischaemia, but no data exist regarding their contribution to microvascular dysfunction following SCI. To examine these issues, in the present study we used a model of focal spinal cord ischaemia/reperfusion SCI to examine the cellular response(s) of affected microvessels from 30 min to 14 days post-ischaemia. Spinal endothelial cells were isolated from affected tissue and subjected to focused microarray analysis of TGFβ-responsive/related mRNAs 6 and 24 h post-SCI. Immunohistochemical analyses of histopathology show neuronal disruption/loss and astroglial regression from spinal microvessels by 3 h post-ischaemia, with complete dissolution of functional endfeet (loss of aquaporin-4) by 12 h post-ischaemia. Coincident with this microvascular plasticity, results from microarray analyses show 9 out of 22 TGFβ-responsive mRNAs significantly up-regulated by 6 h post-ischaemia. Of these, serpine 1/PAI-1 (plasminogen-activator inhibitor 1) demonstrated the greatest increase (>40-fold). Furthermore, uPA (urokinase-type plasminogen activator), another member of the PAS (plasminogen activator system), was also significantly increased (>7.5-fold). These results, along with other select up-regulated mRNAs, were confirmed biochemically or immunohistochemically. Taken together, these results implicate TGFβ as a potential molecular effector of the anatomical and functional plasticity of microvessels following SCI

Use of weaning concetrate in the feeding of suckling kids: effects on meat quality

A study was conducted to investigate the effect of a feeding supplementation with starter concentrate on “Capretto” meat production and its qualitative characteristics. To this end, 31 Girgentana kids, slaughtered at 59 days of age from two feeding groups (concentrate group (CG) and milk group (MG)) were utilised. Carcass measurements (body components, carcass joints, pelvic limb tissue composition, meat fatty acid composition and M. longissimus dorsi (LD) physical characteristics), body weight at birth, and at slaughter, were evaluated. The effect of concentrate supplementation did not influence the slaughter weight, slaughter and dissection data, tissue composition and meat chemical composition of the pelvic limb, and no differences were found for rheological characteristics of LD meat, except cohesiveness values, which were higher (P < 0.05) in the CG kids. The effect of concentrate supplementation determined a significant variation of saturated fatty acids, which resulted higher for MG kids (41.77% versus 38.43%; P≤0.05). In fact, goat milk had an unsaturated fatty acids (UFA)/saturated fatty acids (SFA) ratio that was 0.25 lower than the fatty acid composition of concentrate (0.84). Litter size (single or twin) influenced many of the parameters studied statistically, probably because of the greater body weight of the single kids

Effect of litter size and sex on meat quality traits of kid meat

The influence of litter size and sex on meat quality traits was investigated using 40 Nebrodi kids slaughtered at 47 days of age. Carcass measurements (body components, carcass joints, pelvic limb tissue composition, meat fatty acid composition and M. longissimus dorsi (LD) colour), body weight at birth and at slaughter were evaluated. Nebrodi kids had a low body weight at birth, with significant differences between male and female (4.1 kg versus 3.9 kg) and between single and twin (4.2 kg versus 3.8 kg). Male kids were heavier at birth and at slaughter, however, females had a higher percentage of kidney and pelvic fat (2.1% versus 1.5% of the right side; P < 0.01). Both males and females, on the contrary, were similar in fat percentage for pelvic limb (11.4% versus 11.6%) and chemical composition of meat (5.1% versus 4.9%). The fatty acid composition of fat in the pelvic limb was not influenced by the animals’ sex, but single kids presented higher polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) than twin kids (5.7 g versus 5.4 g/100 g of meat fat; P < 0.05). Physical characteristics and colorimetric parameters of longissimus dorsi muscle were not influenced by sex and litter size. Female kids showed a significantly higher cooking loss (16.5% versus 14.9%) and lower pH than male kids (5.5 versus 5.69); twin kids showed light coloured meat than single kids (51.8 versus 49.3; P < 0.01). The meat of Nebrodi kids has desirable qualitative characteristics and, on the basis of this it is possible to consider it to be of high quality

The influence of age at slaughter and litter size on some quality traits of kid meat

To study variations in the carcass characteristics of Girgentana kids slaughtered at 25 or 35 days of age and litter size (single or twin), 27 male kids were slaughtered and body components, carcass joints, pelvic limb tissue composition, meat fatty acid composition and M. longissimus dorsi (LD) colour were evaluated. Girgentana kids slaughtered at 35 days had greater live weights (6.4kg versus 5.0kg; P=<0.01), carcass weights (4.5kg versus 3.6kg; P=<0.01), muscle contents (57.6% versus 54.9%; P=<0.01) but similar dressing percentages (70.1% versus 70.6%) as compared to kids slaughtered at 25 days. Twin kids had a higher muscle percentage (57.3% versus 55.2%; P=<0.05) and similar fat percentage (5.5% versus 6.0%) but a higher unsaturated/saturated fatty acid ratio (1.17 versus 1.01; P=<0.05). Meat colour was not influenced by any factors considered