Organic vs Conventional Suckling Lamb Production: Product Quality and Consumer Acceptance

Samples of suckling lambs (n=40) of two breeds reared under conventional and organic conditions were analysed to asses physico-chemical characteristics, including instrumental texture, and nutritional quality in terms of fatty acid composition. Consumer acceptance was also studied using the home-use test. Results revealed that organic suckling lamb meat is healthier as shown by the lower saturated fatty acid levels, the higher polyunsaturated fatty acid contents and the higher 6/3 ratiko. The organic meat had lower instrumental hardness, received higher scores in all sensory parameters, and had statistically better fat sensation and higher ratings for overall liking. These results lend support to the notion among consumers that organic products are healthier and tastier

Consumer Appreciation of Carcass Quality of Organic vs Conventional Suckling Lamb Production

Carcass characteristics of sucking lambs (n= 40) of two breeds reared under conventional and organic conditions were analysed including objective and subjective parameters for fatness and conformation, meat and fat colour. Consumer acceptance was also studied using the home-use test. Results showed that the characteristics of the carcass of suckling lamb were similar for both types of production systems pointing out that organic production system did not affect fatness or muscle development. However, organic meat was darker (higher L* and a* values) probably related with the higher amount of exercise, although fat was not more yellow. In contrast consumers did not consider organic meat darker and there were not significant differences in appearance related with the similar conformation. These results reflect that consumer perceive organic meat as at least as good as conventional production not only regarding environmental quality but also regarding carcass quality

Effect of visual stimuli on the jumping ability of amateur soccer players

In soccer, high levels of strength applied in short durations are crucial for various performance-related actions such as accelerations, decelerations, sprints, jumps, and changes of direction. These actions often occur in the presence of visual stimuli that require attention and rapid reaction. Recent training methodologies propose integrating visual stimuli to enhance sport-specific physical abilities. However, limited research has investigated the impact of visual stimuli on explosive force production abilities. Therefore, this study aimed to analyse the influence of reacting to non-specific visual stimuli on seated and counter-movement vertical jump performance. Seventeen senior amateur soccer players (age: 22.9 ± 2.8 years; height: 172.0 ± 8.5 cm; weight: 71.1 ± 7.3 kg) were recruited as participants for this study. Participants performed seated vertical jumps (SJsit-90º) and counter-movement vertical jumps (CMJ) under two conditions: with reaction to a visual stimulus (REAC) and without reaction (VOL). The order of the conditions was counterbalanced across participants. The statistical analysis revealed a significant decrease in the height of SJsit-90º in the REAC condition compared to the VOL condition (HeightVOL-REAC = 1.88 ± 2.16 cm; p < .001). Although a similar trend was observed, no significant differences were found in CMJ height between conditions (HeightVOL-REAC = 0.70 ± 0.63 cm; p = .277). It is concluded that the inclusion of non-specific visual stimuli to react to significantly and negatively affects the ability to apply force measured through seated vertical jumps. These findings emphasize the importance of considering the potential detrimental effects of external visual stimuli on explosive force production when designing training protocols for soccer players

Influence of somatic cell count and breed on capillary electrophoretic protein profiles of ewes’ milk: A chemometric study

Producción CientíficaBulk tank ewe milk from the Assaf, Castellana, and Churra breeds categorized into 3 somatic cell count (SCC) groups (2,500,000 cells/mL) was used to investigate changes in chemical composition and capillary electrophoresis protein profiles. The results obtained indicated that breed affected fat, protein, and total solids levels, and differences were also observed for the following milk proteins: β-, β1-, β2-, and αs1-III-casein, α-lactalbumin, and β-lactoglobulin. High SCC affected fat and protein contents and bacterial counts. The level of β1-, β2-, and αs1-I-casein, and α-lactalbumin were significantly lower in milk with SCC scores >2,500,000 cells/mL. A preliminary study of the chemical, microbiological, and electrophoretic data was performed by cluster analysis and principal components analysis. Applying discriminant analysis, it was possible to group the milk samples according to breed and level of SCC, obtaining a prediction of 100 and 97% of the samples, respectively.Junta de Castilla y León (Proyecto SA 066/04

Aplicación de nuevas metodologías docentes al Análisis Sensorial: experiencia en situaciones reales

Memoria ID-0195. Ayudas de la Universidad de Salamanca para la innovación docente, curso 2016-2017

Flavonoid and Antioxidant Capacity of Propolis Prediction Using Near Infrared Spectroscopy

[EN] The use of propolis as a dietary supplement or as an ingredient in different food products is increasing, due to its antioxidant and bactericidal properties. These nutritional properties directly depend on its phenolic composition. For this reason, this study analysed the total contents of flavones and flavonols, flavanones and dihydroflavonols, and the antioxidant capacity by using the methods of ABTS and linoleic acid/β-carotene in 99 samples of propolis from Spain and Chile. A rapid method was developed for quantifying these parameters in raw propolis using near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy with a remote reflectance fibre-optic probe applied directly to the ground-up sample. The models developed allow for the determination of the total flavones and flavonols (0–183 mg quercetin/g propolis and 0–72 mg rutin/g propolis), of the total flavanones and dihydroflavonols (9–109 mg pinocembrin/g propolis extract), and of its antioxidant capacity by the ABTS method based on the reduction of the 2.2-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical cation(0–3212.6 nmol Trolox/mg of propolis) and of linoleic acid/β-carotene (22–86% inhibition). The NIR spectroscopy models were applied in external validation to different samples of the calibration group, which led to the conclusion that the methods developed provide significantly identical data to the initial chemical data of reference

Seguridad en las prácticas de laboratorio: percepción de docentes y alumnado

Memoria ID-0273. Ayudas de la Universidad de Salamanca para la innovación docente, curso 2015-2016