Nutritional characterization and the antioxidant properties of sweet orange and red grapefruit peels

Sweet oranges (Citrus sinensis) and red grapefruit (Citrus paradisi) are fruits consumed frequently in the world, being part of the human diet for decades due to high nutritional and medicinal values. These are excellent sources of vitamin C, a powerful natural antioxidant that builds the body's immune system. Their consumption (natural or processed) generates more quantities of shells and wastes that cause pollution of the environment under incorrect handling conditions. The study was conducted to analyze the potential of orange and grapefruit peels, from a chemical point of view, to determine the nutritional value for inclusion in broiler feed. The orange peels were characterized by a 5.42% crude protein and 1.04% crude fat vs. 5.78% and 0.80% grapefruit. The total content of polyphenols (mg acid galic /g) determined was higher with 36.01% in grapefruit peels compared to those of oranges. Antioxidant capacity was determined by two in vitro methods. The grapefruit peels were characterized by a high antioxidant capacity (288.49 mmol /kg equivalent ascorbic acid) with 51.39% higher than the values of the orange peels, in the first method. For the second method, the determined antioxidant capacity was with 61.20% higher than the orange peels (95.46 mmol/ kg equivalent vitamin E). Based on these results, the analyzed byproducts fulfill the necessary conditions to be integrated into the animal feed, and they will be tested in an experiment on broiler chickens in order to improve the nutritional quality of the meat

Feeding Strategies and Nutritional Quality of Animal Products

Feeding strategies play a crucial role in determining the nutritional quality of animal products [...

Dietary Supplementation of Some Antioxidants as Attenuators of Heat Stress on Chicken Meat Characteristics

The study evaluated the effect of dietary chromium and vitamin C, Zinc, and sorrel wood powder supplements on chicken health and the nutritional, textural, and sensorial quality of chicken meat. A total of 120 Cobb 500 chickens (heat stress, 32 °C) were assigned into four treatments: control diet (C) and three test diets including 200 µg/kg diet chromium picolinate and supplemented with: 0.25 g vitamin C(VC)/kg diet (E1), 0.025 g Zn/kg diet (E2), and 10 g creeping wood sorrel powder (CWS)/kg diet (E3). Crude protein concentration increased in the breast meat from the E3 group; crude fat decreased in E1 and E3 compared to those fed the C diet. Dietary combinations of CrPic with VC, Zn, and CWS increased redness and decreased the luminosity parameter of breast meat compared with the C group. Dietary combinations of CrPic with VC and CWS lowered the hardness of breast meat. Significant positive correlation was found between hardness–gumminess (r = 0.891), gumminess–cohesiveness (r = 0.771), cohesiveness–resilience-EE (r = 0.861; r = 0.585), ash-L* (r = 0.426), and a negative one between ash–a* (r = 0.446). In conclusion, a dietary combination of CrPic with VC, Zn, and CWS as antioxidant sources could have a beneficial effect on quality without affecting sensory attributes

Determination of Optimum TBARS Conditions for Evaluation of Cow and Sheep Milk Oxidative Stability

Having a complex fatty acid profile, milk is the subject of several oxidation processes that are different to those in other food matrices. Considering this, is important to appreciate the degradation status of milk using rapid and simple methods to quantify the main degradation products. The aim of this study was to adapt a simple and rapid method for determination of milk oxidative stability and to quantify malondialdehyde, one of the lipid oxidation products. Four parameters (trichloroacetic acid concentration—TCA, antioxidant type, incubation time, and thiobarbituric acid—TBA concentration) were modified to establish the best experimental sequence. It was concluded that the relevant results were obtained by precipitating milk proteins using 20% TCA; incubating samples for 90 min with 0.8% TBA, without adding antioxidant; and registering absorbance at three different wavelengths (450, 495, and 532 nm). This method was successfully applied to cow and sheep milk samples and the absorbance values obtained provided information about degradation of fatty acids for both milk types. The Pearson correlation showed a positive relationship between the fatty acid profiles of milk samples and the absorbance values that characterized their oxidation pattern during storage

Comparative Analysis of Black Chokeberry (<i>Aronia melanocarpa</i> L.) Fruit, Leaves, and Pomace for Their Phytochemical Composition, Antioxidant Potential, and Polyphenol Bioaccessibility

The study aims to compare the nutrient composition, antioxidant potential, and polyphenol bioaccessibility of the fruit, leaves, and pomace of black chokeberry. Phytochemical characterization, antioxidant activity, and the effect of in vitro gastrointestinal digestion on the individual phenolic compounds of fruit, leaves, and pomace of black chokeberry were assessed. Results showed that leaves had a higher content of polyphenols (61.06 mg GAE/g dw), flavonoids (8.47 mg QE/g), and tocopherols (1172.20 mg/kg) than fruit (27.99 mg GAE/g dw polyphenols, 5.23 mg QE/g flavonoids, 38.48 mg/kg tocopherols) and pomace (22.94 mg GAE/g dw polyphenols, 1.89 mg QE/g flavonoids and 157.19 mg/kg tocopherols), with superior in vitro antioxidant activity. Chlorogenic acids were the dominant phenolic compounds in black chokeberry undigested samples (2.713 mg/g in fruit, 17.954 mg/g in leaves, and 1.415 mg/g in pomace) but are poorly absorbed (bioaccessibility index in intestinal phase of 28.84% for fruit, 8.81% for leaves, and 31.90% for pomace). Hydroxybenzoic acids were highly stable in leaves and fruit during simulated digestion and had high bioaccessibility. In conclusion, residues from black chokeberry processing are also valuable sources of bioactive compounds, but the pomace had higher polyphenol bioaccessibility than leaves and might be a promising supplement for the food industry

Effect of dietary orange and grapefruit peel on growth performance, health status, meat quality and intestinal microflora of broiler chickens

In our experiment we studied the effect of dietary orange peel (OP) and grapefruit peel (GP) on broilers health and thigh meat quality. The experiment was conducted on 126 Cobb 500 broiler chicks, assigned to three dietary treatments with 42 broilers per group. Each treatment was conducted in 3 experimental growth boxes, corresponding to 6 replicate pens per treatment and 7 broilers per pen. The growth boxes had identical size with a capacity of 3.5 m2 per box. Experimental dietary treatments differed from control diet (C) by addition of 2% OP or 2% GP supplement. A significant increase in body weight was exhibited in OP group compared to GP group (p < .05). Serum energetic profile (glucose, cholesterol and triglyceride) were lowered in both OP and GP supplemented groups compared to C birds (p < .05). Among fatty acids in thigh meat, OP group has increased the sum of PUFA compared to GP group. Dietary OP and GP have effectively reduced the oxidation process occurring during storage measured by the thiobarbituric acid–reactive substances (TBARS) values in thigh meat. Therefore, lipid oxidation was delayed by incorporating the two citrus peels in broiler diet. Monitoring the antimicrobial effect of OP and GP on intestinal and caecal microbiota population, the supplements reduced the growth of pathogenic Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus spp., proving their antimicrobial effect, while the beneficial bacteria, Lactobacillus spp. was significantly improved.Highlights The use of vegetable residues in the animal diets is an important economic and environmental factor. The positive effects were observed on thigh meat lipid oxidation, serum energetic profile and intestinal microflora of broiler chickens. Citrus peel in broilers feeding can act as natural antioxidant and feed additive

Blackcurrant (Fruits, Pomace, and Leaves) Phenolic Characterization before and after In Vitro Digestion, Free Radical Scavenger Capacity, and Antioxidant Effects on Iron-Mediated Lipid Peroxidation

Blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum L.) is a berry bush widely cultivated in Europe for producing juices, jams, jellies, and syrups. In addition to berries, blackcurrant leaves and pomace, as byproducts, have also been shown to have health-promoting effects. Static digestion, simulating oral, gastric, and small intestinal digestion, was applied, and blackcurrant leaves, fruits, and pomace and the polyphenol bioaccessibility were evaluated in terms of recovery index. The results were related to sample type, and the recovery index presented higher values in the case of fruits, indicating this morphological part of blackcurrant as the most bioaccessible. The antioxidant potential of blackcurrant was evaluated using four different methods, with the leaves proving to be a significant and powerful antioxidant compared to fruits and pomace. The counteracting potential of inhibiting the oxidation process was evaluated using in vitro-induced lipid peroxidation and the inhibition potential of superoxide and hydroxyl anions. The antioxidant evaluation and the inhibition of biological and non-biological radicals indicate the leaf extract is the most powerful antioxidant studied. Also, the results proved that not only fruits but also the blackcurrant byproducts (pomace and leaves) are promising sources of bioaccessible antioxidants with potential benefits in animal nutrition

Rosehip (Rosa canina L.) Meal as a Natural Antioxidant on Lipid and Protein Quality and Shelf-Life of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Enriched Eggs

Eggs are a common food of animal origin, inexpensive, and rich in bioactive substances with high biological value. Eggs enriched in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are extremely desired by the progressive consumer. However, during storage, eggs undergo some physiochemical changes, which decrease their value. In this regard, the effect of dietary rosehip meal and flaxseed meal on hens&rsquo; egg quality characteristics, amino acids, fatty acids, health-related indices, antioxidant capacity, total polyphenols content, and shelf life was examined. For this study 120 Tetra SL laying hens, 29 weeks of age, were fed, for 4 weeks, three diets that included control (basal diet&mdash;RF0), basal diet + 1.5% rosehip and 7% flaxseed meal (RF1), and basal diet + 3% rosehip and 7% flaxseed meal (RF2). Productive performance of hens were recorded. The content of essential amino acids (EAA), antioxidant amino acids (AAA), and sulfur amino acids (SAA) was higher in RF1 and RF2, compared with RF0. Eggs belonging to the RF1 and RF2 groups had significantly (p &lt; 0.05) higher content of n-3 PUFAs, especially linolenic and docosahexaenoic acids. Total antioxidant capacity and polyphenol content increased in both rosehip supplemented groups, but especially in RF2. Moreover, eggs from RF1 and RF2 groups maintained significantly higher egg quality parameters after storage for 14 and 28 days in the refrigerator (5 &deg;C) and ambient temperature (21 &deg;C), compared with those from the RF0 group. In the Haugh unit, yolk and albumen pH presented better values in RF1 and RF2 eggs compared to the RF0 eggs

Effect of Basil, Thyme and Sage Essential Oils as Phytogenic Feed Additives on Production Performances, Meat Quality and Intestinal Microbiota in Broiler Chickens

As the use of antibiotics has been banned or reduced in certain countries in animal industries, the search for new alternatives to antibiotics has been and will continue to be a research subject in poultry for several years. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of basil, thyme and sage essential oils (EO) in broiler chickens’ diets. A total of 120 Cobb 500 broiler chickens aged 12 days were distributed into four homogeneous groups of thirty chickens with six replicates of five broilers each, raised until 42 days of age. For the diets, corn, soybean meal, corn gluten and wheat were used as the main ingredients for the control diet (CON), and three experimental diets were formulated as follows: a diet containing 0.05% essential oil from basil (EOB), a diet containing 0.05% essential oil from thyme (EOT), and a diet containing 0.05% essential oil from sage (EOS). The results showed that production performances, European Production Efficiency Factor (EPEF), European Broiler Index (EBI) and carcass weight were improved (p p Escherichia coli, Coliforms and staphylococci in the small intestine and caecum and an increased lactobacilli count in the experimental groups compared with the control. Overall, all EO-supplemented diets showed the potential to improve meat quality; however, EOS was more effective in altering the chicken microbiota in the small intestine and caecum