effect of rearing system and season on the performance and egg characteristics of ancona laying hens

Productive performance and egg characteristics of Ancona laying hens reared under three different rearing systems (conventional, organic and organic-plus) were compared during an experimental period of one year. Three-hundred-sixty Ancona female chicks at 28 days of age were divided in three groups and assigned to different rearing systems. The organic group had 4m2 pasture/hen according to the requirements imposed by the EC Regulation 1804/99, whereas the organic-plus group had a larger grass paddock (10m2/hen). The Control group was reared in cages under standard housing conditions. The following egg characteristics were recorded and analysed during the year-long cycle: egg weight and egg mass laid/d, weight of egg components, shell thickness, Haugh index and yolk colour. Egg quality was affected by the pasture available. The hens that ingested grass (organic-plus), produced eggs with higher shell weight and percentage, darker yolk colour and higher α-tocopherol, carotenoid and polyphenol contents. The other egg traits were not affected by rearing system

Comparison of two chicken genotypes organically reared: oxidative stability and other qualitative traits of the meat

The effect of genotype on the oxidative stability and other qualitative traits of chicken meat was studied. Two groups of 200 chicks (Ross 205 and Kabir) were reared according to the organic farming system. At 81 d of age 20 birds per group were slaughtered and after refrigeration (24 h at 4°C) of the carcasses, Pectoralis majormuscles were excised for anal- yses. Samples were analysed after 0, 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours of storage at 4°C under continuous fluorescent illumina- tion (2300 lux). The analyses concerned the chemical composition and the shear force (only at time 0) and the progress of several traits as pH, CIELAB values, Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances (TBARS), panel test and fatty acid com- position (at 0 and after 96 h). Genotype greatly affected the physico-chemical characteristics and the sensory evalua- tion. The meat from Ross chickens showed high TBARS values, perhaps due to selection for growth rate that reduced their adaptability to greater space allowance and to poorer environmental conditions; these higher TBARS values were also negatively correlated to lightness and yellowness. The initial level of TBARS affected the oxidative stability of breast meat during storage. The amount of TBARS showed significantly negative relationship with the sensory evaluation; breast meat of Kabir had higher scores for liking when the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) was less than 2.5 mg kg-1

Serum level of hormone and metabolites in pregnant rabbit does

The aims of this study were to compare the hormones and metabolites serum levels and the reproductive performances of nulliparous (n=100) and primiparous pregnant does submitted to artificial insemination (AI) 11 days post-partum. On the day of AI, all the does were weighed and the sexual receptivity was evaluated. The kits were weaned at 26 day. Blood samples were collect by punc- ture of the marginal ear vein from one day before AI until few days before the kindling and assayed for hormones and metabolites. The higher sexual receptivity and the fertility in nulliparous than in primiparous does confirmed the negative effect of lactation. Nulliparous does showed higher blood con- centration of leptine than primiparous, and in both the groups such level lowered during pregnancy, probably reflecting the reduction of the fat reserve. The insuline level increased during pregnancy in either groups as a consequence of the growing of the foetuses. In nulliparous does the cortisol, NEFA and T3 concentrations were higher than primiparous does. The glucose levels were similar in both the groups probably due to the homeostatic mechanisms controlling the glycemia. Hormonal and metabo- lite analyses represent a good tool for understanding the physiological mechanisms required to meet higher reproductive performance

Natural additive (aqueous extract) in rabbit diet: effects on performance and oxidative and innate immunological status

Abstract - Natural antioxidants are receiving increased attention in human and animal nutrition because of their association with food quality characteristics and immune responses 1, 2. Aromatic plants and their essential oils are good sources of natural antioxidants, such as phenolic compounds, e.g., eugenol, thymol, carvacrol 3. Plant such as Oregano (Origanum vulgare) has attracted great interest as its essential oil is rich in the monoterpenes, thymol and carvacrol, which exhibit good antioxidant and antimicrobial activities in vitro and in vivo, together with stimulating animal digestion 4. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation with an Oregano aqueous extract on performance and oxidative and innate immunological status of growing rabbits. The experimental protocol was planned according to University of Perugia Animal Committee guidelines and the trial was carried out at the experimental farm of the Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Science (University of Perugia, Italy). At weaning (30 days of age) 240 weaned New Zealand White rabbits of both sexes were randomly allocated to three dietary groups, homogeneous for live weight and gender (40 rabbits/group), and housed in single wire net cages (600 x 250 x 330 mm) until 80 days of age, when they were weighted and slaughtered. The study was replicated with identical experimental designs during two consecutive cycles, for a total of 80 animals/group. Dietary groups were: Standard diet - with no supplementation (S); Standard diet + 150 ppm Vit E - positive control (E); Standard diet + 0.2% oregano (Origanum vulgare) aqueous extract (O). All diets, provided by Mignini&Petrini (Petrignano di Assisi, Perugia, Italy) were isoproteic and isoenergetic and the main ingredients were alfalfa meal, sunflower seed meal, wheat bran, barley and sugar beet pulp. The oregano extract was provided by Phenbiox (Calderara di Reno, Bologna, Italy) after an enzyme-aided extraction from leaves using water as solvent. The extracts were added to the diets by spraying during the mixing of ingredients. Feed and water were available ad libitum. The temperature and lighting schedule in the rabbitry were 15–18 °C and 16L:8D, respectively. In order to calculate the feed conversion ratio (FCR) and average daily gain (ADG), feed consumption were recorded daily and rabbits weight weekly. At the slaughter, blood samples (2 mL for each rabbit) were collected from the marginal ear vein of 30 rabbits/group at 80 day of age and the natural immune responses were evaluated by analyzing lysozyme (Lys), Serum Bactericidal Activity (SBA) and Haemolytic Complement Assay (HCA) in serum 5. The oxidative status was evaluated using commercially available kits (Diacron International Srl, Grosseto, Italy) that evaluates the serum’s ability to oppose the massive oxidative action of a hypochlorous acid (HClO) solution (AOP values) or the reactive oxygen metabolite concentrations (ROMs). The extent of muscle lipid peroxidation of raw Longissimus dorsi muscles (LD) was evaluated by spectrophotometer as reported by some authors 6. Oxidation products were quantified as malondialdehyde equivalents (mg/kg of muscle). Muscles were obtained from eight rabbits/group at 80 days. The data were analyzed by SPSS Dietary treatments significantly affected the live weight (LW) and ADG at the end of the trial; particularly, O fed animals had higher LW (2344 g vs 2296 and 2277 g, respectively; P<0.05) and ADG (30.7 g/d vs 29.7 and 29.2 g/d, respectively; P<0.05) compared to E and S groups; whereas, FCR was not influenced by the experimental diet. The blood oxidative status (AOP and ROMs) did not significantly varied among the different animal groups, however, the oxidative stability (TBARs) of the LD meat for all supplemented diets led to a lower TBARs content compared to the control (S) group. Indeed, the inclusion of extra vitamin E reduced TBARs of LD meat, as did supplementation with oregano extract (0.17 and 0.18 vs 0.24 mg MDA/kg meat, respectively. P<0.05). A better natural immune response was observed in O and E vs S groups which showed significantly higher HCA (74.9 and 69.6 vs 45.4, respectively; P<0.05) and SBA (26.4 and 28.5 vs 15.8, respectively; P< 0.05) values. The HCA assay is very useful for assessing the onset risk of infections or the gravity of ongoing diseases [7]. SBA, in particular, expresses the serum capacity to counteract the GRAM- bacterial growth [8]. This study showed that an adequate phytogenic additive dietary supplementation in growing rabbits can exert a positive effect on productive performance, natural immune responses and give protection against meat lipid oxidation

Evaluation of intestinal bacterial flora of conventional and organic broilers using culture-based methods

The major bacteria colonizing the intestinal tract (ileum and caecum) of organic (O) and conventional (C) chickens were counted, isolated and identified by conventional methods. Chickens were obtained from 7 conventional and 7 organic chicken farms (n=203). Intestinal sampling was performed at different ages, every 10 days, starting at 20 days until 40 and from 20 days to 80 days of age, respectively, for conventional and organic birds. Statistical analysis was performed on two separate data sets (40 days of age and all ages).The comparison of C vs O systems was analyzed with univariate and multivariate procedures. There were large differences in bacterial counts in relation to the portion of intestine, the rearing system and the farms. In the ileum of conventional birds Enterobacteria were higher than in organic birds (7.03 vs 6.09 CFUxlog/g; P<0.05), whereas the contrary was observed for Lactobacilli (6.75 vs 7.07 CFUxlog/g; P<0.05). With respect to the other microflora, the effect of farm probably masked possible differences. The effect of rearing system was more visible in the caecum than in the ileum: Enterobacteria levels were higher in C than in O chickens (7.42 vs 7.05 CFUxlog/g; P<0.01), whereas Enterococci (7.65 vs 6.55 CFUxlog/g; P<0.05), Lactobacilli (7.85 vs 7.31 CFUxlog/g; P<0.05) and total aerobia (8.12 vs 7.66 CFUxlog/g; P<0.01) counts were higher in organic chickens. Multivariate analysis of caecum microflora showed the possibility of discriminating the rearing system. In the ileum of conventional birds Enterobacteria and total aerobia increased with age, while Lactobacilli decreased. In the O system, Enterobacteria, Lactobacilli and total anaerobia showed a similar trend, whereas total aerobia and Enterococci showed the opposite trend. A similar situation was observed in the caecum. Further investigations are necessary to better assess the role and effect of the enteric flora on the productive performance and on the health status of reared chickens

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

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 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

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