Preservation and diffusion of some native Italian chicken breeds.

The safeguard of animal biodiversity is a strong objective in developed countries. The genetic variability gives the chance to select individuals more adapted to climatic changes, diseases and potential market variations. Because of the different environments, up to decades ago, Italy showed a considerable biodiversity in native livestock breeds and populations. Within the last one hundred years, the number of endangered native breeds dramatically increased, leading to an irreversible loss of genetic resources. About 60% of chicken breeds reared in Italy until some decades ago are currently disappeared. The reason of this trend is mainly due to the selection of specialized breeds very efficient in converting feed into egg and meat. Contemporarily, the abandoning of rural breeding in favour of intensive farming system which uses few selected chicken lines exacerbates such negative trend. The extant breeds, excluded from commercial selection process, represent an important source of variability. The main critical point of local breeds is generally the low productivity which implies that a large part of body resources are used for maintenance (kinetic activity, immune response) and only the residual are assigned to production traits. This fact implies a low productivity but in the same time renders the animal adaptable to poor environment. In particular seems that such pure breed had more aptitude to elongate and desaturate essential fatty acids (linoleic acid, n-6 and \u3b1-linolenic acid, n-3) in their long chain derivates (arachidonic acid-AA, eicosapentaenoic acid-EPA, docosahexaenoic acidDHA), with a consequently greater accumulation on products. This would represent an important goal for the livestock word, since it provides a compromise: between rusticity and economic sustainability and designs a healthier chicken meat for nutritional-conscious consumers, also in accordance with a big problem of the safeguard of the biodiversity. The aim of the present PhD work was to study the adaptation response of local chicken breed to extensive farming conditions. The experimental activity is divided into different experiments where we analyzed the behavior and welfare of different poultry breeds in extensive farming system and the quality of the products (meat and eggs) with a focus on lipid content and the metabolism of Long Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (LC-PUFA). It was also studied the metabolic pathways of LC-PUFA and how different genotypes respond to feed changes testing the hypothesis that nutrition can influence the ontogenetic development. In detail the effect of extensive farming systems which implies large availability of pasture on different chicken genotypes (local breeds vs commercial hybrids) was compared. The main traits that have been evaluated are: productive performance, health and welfare, immune response and qualitative characteristics of product. Different physiological (IMMUNITY: lysozyme, complement, serum bactericidal activity; OXIDATIVE STATUS: ROS, antioxidant power), and ethological indicators (behavior, tonic immobility, body lesions) have been used for this purpose. Nutritional characteristics of eggs and meat, with particular attention to oxidative and fatty acid profile were studied through the evaluation of TBARS, tocopherols, carotenoids, polyphenols, PUFA n-3 and n-6 content. Great emphasis has been paid to the study of LC-PUFA since local strain seemed more efficient in the synthesis of these fatty acids. In particular in the experiment 1 the adaptive response of Ancona laying hens to extensive farming system in comparison to commercial hybrids has been analyzed. Ancona birds showed a specific ethological profile associated with very good welfare conditions, better immune system and oxidative status. The Ancona breed seems more adapted to less controlled environment and showed a higher percentage of "natural\u201d behavior. Such behaviors are high in energy cost, allowing the more selected birds to save energy which could be reallocated to production traits. At the same time, the lower productivity of Ancona birds resulted in a better balance with the extensive environment, as evidenced by health status and mortality rate. In the experiment 2 the meat traits of six hundred male chicks from slow-growing (Leghorn, Ancona, Cornish x Leghorn), medium-growing (Naked Neck, Kabir) and fast-growing (Ross) strains have been studied. The physiological state of the birds appears to be inversely correlated with the genetic selection, indeed the slow-growing showed more marked natural behaviors, followed by the medium-growing. They showed a good adaptation to extensive environment. Indeed the slow-growth rate is only a prerequisite for adaptability to the extensive system; other traits as the grazing attitude, kinetic activity, body structure and the immune response greatly affect such adaptation. It has been reported that the most relevant role of grass in organic poultry is represented by the intake of several bioactive compounds (i.e. PUFA, vitamins and pigments) with a direct effect on the quality of meat and eggs. For these reasons, it is important to determine the intake and the nutritional relevance of pasture to develop suitable free-range diets and to investigate the transfer of the above-mentioned compounds into the poultry products. In the experiment 3 eggs quality was been assessed. Ancona hens produced a lower number of eggs than commercial line but markedly different from the qualitative point of view. Indeed, Ancona eggs compared to Hy-line had higher carotenoid, polyphenol and tocopherol contents that in turn have a relevant effect on human health. Even the fatty acid profile improved (lower n-6/n-3 ratio; higher C18:3n-3 and LC-PUFA n-3); this latter fact confirms the ability of the hen to elongate/desaturate linolenic acid and to transfer n-3 LC-PUFA to the egg where exert important role during the chick growth. These differences were mainly due to the availability of green pasture and to the higher pasture attitude of Ancona hens. In experiment 4 we analyzed the fatty acid and antioxidant profile of breast meat from chickens reared according to the organic system. The slow-growing strains are egg-type lines which seem to have a higher efficiency in LC-PUFA deposition respecting to meat-type, being that elongation is partly affected by the estrogen level. Concerning the content of saturated fatty acids (SFA), the highest value was observed in fast-growing genotype. However, the meat of slow-growing chickens had lower lipid stability despite higher antioxidant content probably due to the kinetic behavior and the resulting pro-oxidative metabolism. The results of this study indicate that in extensive farming chicken genotypes play an important role in the fatty acid composition of meat. This finding assumes great importance because health concerns over human fat intake are one of the main factors contributing to the decline of meat intake. The observed differences among poultry genotypes indicate that a suitable compromise between rusticity and economic sustainability could be found and a healthier chicken meat for nutrition-conscious consumers could be designed. With the aim to improve the nutritional value of products a relationship between genotype and desaturating ability was evidenced with a significant impact on the PUFA content in the meat. In the experiment 5 we have estimated the lipid indices of six chicken genotype organically reared. We can said that the differences in meat lipid content are affected by breed, and that the pure breed had a two time higher \u3945/\u3946-desaturase index value than medium and fast-growing strains. To confirm our previously estimated, we have evaluated the direct measure of different enzymatic activity and gene expression of the above-mentioned complex in liver mitochondria in the experiment 6. Three groups of laying hens for each genotype (slow-, fast- and slow x fast-growing crossing) were fed with a standard diet. To hatch, 5 chicks/genotype were sacrificed and the liver was taken for enzyme activity and gene expression of \u3946-desaturase. Slow-growing chicken in comparison to fast-growing strain showed a higher desaturase activity. Data showed that the mRNA expression of FADS2 gene is strongly correlated with genetic selection. It seems to be higher in mediumgrowing strains although their enzyme activity was intermediate. Finally, in the experiment 7 we have tested where possible to modified lipid metabolic pathway with dietary supplementation of precursor (linolenic acid) or directly LC-PUFA (EPA and DHA). Three groups of laying hens for each genotype (slow-growing vs fast-growing) were fed with three different diets: control (standard diet), LCPn-3 (standard diet with 3% fish oil) and LNA (standard diet with 10% of linseed). Enzyme activity and gene expression of \u3946-desaturase were assessed to chicks liver as previously mentioned. The results showed that diets slightly affected lipid metabolism whereas the genetic effect was confirmed. Data reported in these last experiments showed that the expression and activity of \u3946-desaturase is strongly correlated with the genotype, so reaching an important objective for the food industry, since dietary modifications do not seem able to change the lipid metabolism. Concluding, my PhD work has the aim to assess the use of Italian local strains in extensive farming system, not just to safeguard the breeds from extinction, but also to exploit them economically, given the higher adaptability to poorer environment and the particular PUFA metabolism. They could represent an important source of gene bank, indeed selection processes and crosses of such strain with other more productive strains, could be a good alternative. In particularly, these genotypes could be exploited as suitable strains for the production of meat and eggs having higher nutritional value

Nutritional composition of raw and fried big-scale sand smelt (Atherina boyeri) from Trasimeno lake

The aim of this research was to investigate the nutritional composition of raw and fried big-scale sand smelt (Atherina boyeri) from Trasimeno Lake. Four hundred big-scale sand smelts were caught with nets and analysed immediately. We created a total of 20 batches with 20 whole fish in each batch. Ten batches were analysed as raw samples, while the other 10 batches were analysed after being fried in sunflower oil at a temperature of 190 °C for 3 min (deep fat frying). The pH, proximate composition, fatty acid profile, oxidative stability and nutritional indexes of both groups were assessed. As expected, cooking strongly influenced the characteristics of the meat, mainly in terms of lipids, which were seven times greater in the fried product due to the oil. Frying also affected the fatty acid profile of the meat because oil absorption caused a significant increase in oleic and linoleic acids. Furthermore, we found a slight reduction in long chain n-3 fatty acids (eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids). Frying increased oxidative processes and decreased the nutritional value of sand smelt. The obtained results can be considered preliminary because the effects of the fishing season and different physiological phases of sand smelt require further analytical confirmation.Highlights The aim of the research was to investigate the nutritional composition of raw and fried big-scale sand smelt (Atherina boyeri) from Trasimeno Lake. The fried big-scale sand smelt had a meat lipids content 7-times greater than the control, due to the oil adsorbition. Frying increased oxidative processes and decreased the nutritional value of big-scale sand smelt

Can Dietary n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Affect Apelin and Resolvin in Testis and Sperm of Male Rabbits?

Apelin and other novel adipokines have been associated with normal and pathological reproductive conditions in humans and animals. In this paper, we used a rabbit model to investigate if apelin and resolvin (RvD1) in testis and sperm are associated with the oxidative status of semen and serum testosterone of rabbits fed different diets enriched with flaxseed (alpha-linolenic acid, ALA) or with fish oil (eicosapentaenoic acid, EPA, docosapentaenoic acid, DPAn-3, and docosahexaenoic acid, DHA). Apelin and RvD1 were detected by ELISA and apelin and the apelin receptor by immunofluorescence. Increased levels of apelin in testes from both enriched diets were shown, particularly in the interstitial tissue of the FLAX group. The FLAX diet enhanced serum testosterone, and both enriched diets showed higher levels of malondialdehyde and RvD1 in the testis. In ejaculated sperm, apelin and its receptor were localized in the entire tail of the control and both treated groups. The ryanodine receptor was investigated in rabbit testis; the fluorescent signal was increased in mature elongated spermatids of the FLAX group. In conclusion, this data seems to indicate that FLAX increases the amount of apelin in testis, suggesting an involvement of this adipokine in male reproduction and probably a role in the resolution of the inflammatory status

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)

Influence of Dietary Supplementation with Prebiotic, Oregano Extract, and Vitamin E on Fatty Acid Profile and Oxidative Status of Rabbit Meat

The effect of dietary supplementation with vitamin E, oregano, and prebiotic on fatty acids and oxidative profiles of rabbit meat (loin and hind leg) was evaluated. New Zealand white rabbits weaned at 30 days of age were fed with one of six diets until 80 days of age: standard diet includingω3 polyunsaturated fatty and conjugated linolenic acids sources (S) and five diets adding vitamin E (150 ppm, E), oregano water extract (2 g/kg feed diet, O), prebiotic (THEPAX® 1.5 g/kg feed diet, T), vitamin E plus prebiotic (TE), and oregano water extract plus prebiotic (TO), respectively. The lipid oxidative status (TBARS) showed lower values with respect to S, mainly when vitamin E was administered. In particular, all the experimental diets decreased TBARS values with respect to the control group in the loin, but no effect was found in the hind leg. In all feed samples, the amounts of fatty acid classes increased in the following order: polyunsaturated fatty acids > monounsaturated fatty acid > saturated fatty acid. The dietary supplementations did not affect the fatty acid composition of meat. The experimented diets compared to the control were not able to provide a selective increase of bioactive fatty acid in meat samples; however, the six nutritional strategies led to highly nutritional rabbit meat with an interesting value of theω6/ω3 ratio

Impact of ozone and UV irradiation sanitation treatments on the survival of Salmonella and the physical–chemical characteristics of hen eggs

Summary: Salmonella is the second main cause of foodborne illness in poultry production. It is one of the most problematic zoonoses in terms of public health worldwide because of the difficulty in controlling it and its significant morbidity and mortality rates. Recent surveys have shown that small flocks of laying hens have the same or higher prevalence of salmonellosis than larger flocks, mainly due to a lack of control actions, that is, the control of mice and wild animals, employees, and poor management practices. In this regard, different physical and chemical procedures have proven efficacious for reducing external and/or internal Salmonella contamination. This research evaluated the effect of ozone and UV-C rays on Salmonella growth and hen egg quality. Microbiological evaluation was performed on 120 eggs: negative control (C−), eggs not contaminated with Salmonella; positive control (C+), eggs contaminated; contaminated ozonate-treated (O, 600 mg/h for 2 h); and contaminated UV-C–irradiated (ʎ, 254 nm for 15 s) eggs. Moreover, 30 eggs were used (10/group) for the quality assessments of the C, O, and UV-C groups. A 2 log10 CFU/g reduction in Salmonella on contaminated eggs was found in the UV-C group compared with the C+ and O groups. Compared with UV-C treatment, ozonization reduced the amount of yolk tocols and carotenoids (by 2 times). The lipid oxidative status decreased (−1.5 times), similar to the cholesterol level (−28.5%), whereas the amount of cholesterol and its oxidized products increased (+82.1%) in the O group compared with the C group. UV-C irradiation is an effective strategy to reduce Salmonella contamination in eggs without negatively affecting the quality. Therefore, UV treatments remain among the more promising procedures

Rearing Romagnola geese in vineyard: pasture and antioxidant intake, performance, carcass and meat quality

This study aimed to assess the effect of rearing system (intensive vs. free-range under vineyard) on the qualitative characteristics of goose meat. In particular, the integration of a goose raising system with an organic grape production was evaluated. Six hundred Romagnola geese of both sexes were divided into two groups at 21 d of age: Vineyard group (V) – 480 geese (120 geese/ha) pasturing in 4 ha of vineyard, and Control Group (C) – 120 geese of the same genotype in the experimental farm of Perugia, without any access to the pasture. Live weight, feed consumption and other performance were registered weekly on 30 selected and marked animals/group. At 160 days of age, 15 geese/group were slaughtered and characteristics of carcase, breast and drumstick (physical, chemical, oxidative status, fatty acids profile) were evaluated. The chemical analysis of diet and pasture and the ingestion of crude protein, digestible energy and bioactive compounds were also estimated. Vineyard geese, showed lower productive performance than the C ones (live and carcase weight), however, due to pasture availability, the intake of bioactive compounds (vitamin E, retinol, n-3 long-chain fatty acids) was higher and positively affected the antioxidant content of breast and drumstick. The higher kinetic activity of V geese reduced the fat amount of carcase and meat, whereas increased the development of drumstick muscle (higher meat/bone ratio) and worsened the oxidative status of meat. Concluding, the free-range vineyard geese resulted in a positive payoff on the geese meat quality viewpoint.Highlights Pasture enhance the amount of VIT E in goose muscle. Pasture reduce the amount of lipid in goose carcass and meat. Pasture enhance the amount of n-3 PUFA in goose meat

Effects of Diets Enriched in Linseed and Fish Oil on the Expression Pattern of Toll-Like Receptors 4 and Proinflammatory Cytokines on Gonadal Axis and Reproductive Organs in Rabbit Buck

Infections of the genital tract can perturb the fertility in humans and animals. Pathogen recognition and activation of innate immunity onset through the pattern recognition receptor activation, such as Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), leading to the production of proinflammatory cytokines and mediators. TLR4 is expressed both on leukocytes and nonimmune cells. Rabbit TLR4 shows great similarity to its human counterpart. Moreover, the TLR4 signalling pathway could be modulated by long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA). The objectives of this study were (i) to determine the expression levels of TLR4 and proinflammatory cytokines in the reproductive hypothalamic-gonadal axis of the male rabbit and (ii) to evaluate if the n-3 PUFA-enriched diets can modify their expression levels in the tissues and LC-PUFA profiles in seminal plasma. Fifteen rabbit bucks (n=5/experimental group) were fed with different diets: Commercial standard (group C), rich in extruded linseed (10%, group L), and in fish oil (3%, group FO) for 110 days. TLR4, TNF-, and IL-1β mRNA were ubiquitously expressed throughout the hypothalamic-gonadal axis. However, TLR4 mRNA expression was lower in the hypothalamus than the epididymis (P<0.01), seminal vesicles (P<0.01), and pituitary gland (P<0.05). Dietary enrichment in PUFA did not modify the gene expression profile nor the histological characteristics of the tissues. Conversely in seminal plasma, rabbits fed with L and FO had lower n-6 (P<0.05), LC-PUFA n-6 (P<0.05), and n-6/n-3 ratio (P<0.05) but higher n-3 (P<0.001) and LC-PUFA n-3 (P<0.01) compared to the control group. Our study builds a map of the gene expression of TRL4 and proinflammatory cytokines in the reproductive hypothalamic-gonadal axis of the male rabbit, fundamental step for understanding the immune defence mechanisms. Diets enriched in LC-PUFA did not affect basal gene expression but modulated sperm fatty acid composition. Finally, rabbit may be an excellent animal model to study the relationship between inflammation and infertility, and the nutritional modulation of immune functions

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