Behavioural aspects in ass during the end of pregnancy and ass and their foal during the first week post–partum in Martina Franca breed

AbstractThe study was carried out to investigate behavioural pattern in ass during the end of pregnancy and in asses and their foals during the first week after foaling. The study was performed on a total of 17 asses and 8 foals of Martina Franca breed reared outdoors free- ranging over the natural scrub area. In particular, for the behavioural observations on ass before the foaling 9 asses on the last month of pregnancy were considered, while, during the first post-partum week the observations were performed on 8 couples of dams and their foals. The behavioural observations were performed in a fenced area (4000 m2) from 08:00 to 20:00 using scan sampling with 5 min intervals. The data were collected by trained observers and recorded on a protocol form which considered the following main behavioural aspects: eating, drinking, walking, resting up, standing, and other behaviours. Within the class of other behaviours it was included secondary behaviours as grooming, vocalisation, playing, defecation, sniffin..

Dietary Lippia citriodora extract in rabbit feeding: effects on quality of carcass and meat

Abstract. Due to consumer demand, in recent years considerable attention has been focused on the use of natural compounds in animal feed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of dietary natural extract from Lippia citriodora (commonly named "limoncina"), titrated in verbascoside, on quality, measured as oxidative stability, fatty acid composition, alpha-tocopherol and retinol content and sensory traits of rabbit meat. Forty-five New Zealand white rabbits were randomly assigned to three age- and body-weight-balanced feeding groups of 15 animals each in which a conventional pelleted diet (CON) was supplemented with 1 or 2 kg t−1 (low natural-extract (LNE) and high natural-extract (HNE) groups, respectively) of Lippia citriodora extract for 55 days. No influence on carcass characteristics and the chemical composition of meat was observed. A trend for a positive effect on alpha-tocopherol tissue content (P = 0.07) and on thiobarbituric reactive substance (TBARS) values was observed (P = 0.063) in Longissimus Lumborum muscle from the HNE group. The fatty acid profile of the meat was affected by dietary treatment with a significant decrease (P = 0.001) in saturated fatty acids and an increase (P = 0.01) in polyunsaturated fatty acids in both treated groups compared to the CON group. The supplementation with natural extract at the highest dosage improved the tenderness and juiciness of meat, highlighting a better consistency than CON and LNE groups. In conclusion, this study shows that the natural extract used has the potential to improve rabbit meat in order to produce functional food, without altering the chemical and physical characteristics of meat

Dietary Lippia citriodora extract in rabbit feeding: Effects on quality of carcass and meat

Due to consumer demand, in recent years considerable attention has been focused on the use of natural compounds in animal feed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of dietary natural extract from Lippia citriodora (commonly named "limoncina"), titrated in verbascoside, on quality, measured as oxidative stability, fatty acid composition, alpha-tocopherol and retinol content and sensory traits of rabbit meat. Forty-five New Zealand white rabbits were randomly assigned to three age- and body-weight-balanced feeding groups of 15 animals each in which a conventional pelleted diet (CON) was supplemented with 1 or 2 kg t-1(low natural-extract (LNE) and high natural-extract (HNE) groups, respectively) of Lippia citriodora extract for 55 days. No influence on carcass characteristics and the chemical composition of meat was observed. A trend for a positive effect on alpha-tocopherol tissue content (P = 0.07) and on thiobarbituric reactive substance (TBARS) values was observed (P = 0.063) in Longissimus Lumborum muscle from the HNE group. The fatty acid profile of the meat was affected by dietary treatment with a significant decrease (P = 0.001) in saturated fatty acids and an increase (P = 0.01) in polyunsaturated fatty acids in both treated groups compared to the CON group. The supplementation with natural extract at the highest dosage improved the tenderness and juiciness of meat, highlighting a better consistency than CON and LNE groups. In conclusion, this study shows that the natural extract used has the potential to improve rabbit meat in order to produce functional food, without altering the chemical and physical characteristics of meat

Lippia citriodora (verbascoside) extract supplementation: Effect on rabbit semen quality in vivo and in vitro

Verbascoside, the main component of Lippia citriodora extract, is one of the most powerful free radical scavengers exhibiting a wide biological activity. In in vivo study 20 adult New Zealand white rabbit bucks were divided into two homogeneous groups, one control (CON) and one verbascoside-supplemented (0.1%) in feed mixture (EXP) and later in vitro effects of verbascoside on the motility aspects of rabbit spermatozoa were analysed. The spermatozoa concentration, ejaculate volume, spermatozoa motility, progressive motility, distance parameters, velocity parameters and type of spermatozoa movement were negatively affected by Lippia citriodora leaves extract after the first 4 weeks of dietary treatment, till the end of experiment (8 weeks). Four weeks after the suspension of feed additive supplementation, all spermatozoa traits values returned to the normality, and in line with CON group. For in vitro findings, ejaculates from 10 male New Zealand white bucks were collected using an artificial vagina. Then it was diluted in physiological saline solution containing different concentrations of verbascoside at the concentration of 0, 0.0024, 0.0219, 0.157, 120.0 mg/ml (Ctrl, VB1, VB2, VB3, VB4 groups, respectively), using a dilution ratio of 1: 4. The obtained data proved that verbascoside at the concentration of 0.0024 and 0.0219 mg/ml had no adverse effect on spermatozoa. Additionally, we found that verbascoside at higher concentrations (0.157 and 120.0 mg/ml) significantly altered all the motility parameters analysed in the experiment. In conclusion a possible negative effect of verbascoside supplementation into feed mixture (0.1%) on semen quality parameters in rabbit bucks as well as in vitro can be stated, obviously considering that target organs of antioxidant activities of phenylpropanoid glycosides are various. In addition it has to be emphasized that the extract showed a reversible action, since the semen traits of treated animals returned to the normality after the dietary administration period

The relationship between the preoperative systemic inflammatory response and cancer-specific survival in patients undergoing potentially curative resection for renal clear cell cancer

The relationship between tumour stage, grade (Fuhrman), performance status (ECOG), a combined score (UCLA Integrated Staging System, UISS), systemic inflammatory response (elevated C-reactive protein concentration), and cancer-specific survival was examined in patients undergoing potentially curative resection for renal clear cell cancer (n=100). On univariate survival analysis, sex (P=0.050), tumour stage (P=0.001), Fuhrman grade (P<0.001), UISS (P<0.001), C-reactive protein (P=0.002) were significant predictors of survival. On multivariate analysis with sex, UISS and C-reactive protein entered as covariates, only UISS (HR 2.70, 95% CI 1.00–7.30, P=0.050) and C-reactive protein (HR 4.00, 95% CI 1.21–13.31, P=0.024) were significant independent predictors of survival. The presence of a preoperative systemic inflammatory response predicts poor cancer-specific survival in patients who have undergone potentially curative resection for renal clear cell cancer