Comparison between carcasses of artificially suckled I.H.D.H. (Italian Heavy Draught Horse) foals slaughtered at 6 months and traditional carcasses obtained by foals slaughtered at 11 and 18 months

Aim of the study was the evaluation of a innovative I.H.D.H. carcass production sys- tem in order to improve the conditions for mare's milk production. In the trial were used 18 foals, subdi- vided in three randomized groups of 6 animals each. Every group was slaughtered at a different age: 6 months (artificially suckled), 11 months and 18 months (naturally suckled, following traditional rearing systems). Six months old foals carcasses were characterized by 75.59 % of lean, 12.79 % of fat and 11.64 % of bone. Six months foals carcasses showed the lean end the fact respectively higher (P<0.001) end lower (P<0.001) than 18 months ones (P<0.001), and the bone higher than 11 months foals (P<0.001). Six months hind quarter incidence was 65.00 %, more than found for 18 months carcasses (P<0.001). Moreo- ver, 6 months carcasses showed an first quality cuts incidence higher than 11 months foals (P<0.01)

Effects of legume seeds and processing treatment on growth, carcass traits and blood constituents of fattening lambs

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of faba bean, white lupin and pea seed when fed as protein supplements on growth performance, carcass characteristics and haematological characteristics of growing lambs. Forty-eight Gentile di Puglia male lambs, weaned at 38 ± 2 days old with an average initial bodyweight of 12.8 ± 0.5 kg, were divided into six homogenous groups. The six dietary treatments were RFB (diet containing raw faba bean seeds); EFB (diet containing extruded faba bean seeds); RL (diet containing raw lupin seeds); EL (diet containing extruded lupin seeds); RP (diet containing raw pea seeds); and EP (diet containing extruded pea seeds). Feeding lupin seeds reduced average daily feed intake compared with the other protein sources. Carcass conformation, loin weight as a percentage of half-carcass weight, and fat weight as a percentage of loin weight improved in the lambs that consumed both EP and RP diets. Extrusion reduced hide weight as a percentage of empty bodyweight and fat weight as a percentage of leg weight. The protein source had a significant effect on glucose and total cholesterol concentrations, albumin, α1-globulin, β-globulin, and γ-globulin percentages and albumin-globulin ratios. The processing treatment decreased total cholesterol concentrations. Thus, feeding the various legumes did not affect growth performance, but only carcass characteristics; changes which may be due to the differences in feed intake. Extrusion also had minor effects, and further work is required to investigate the use of these protein sources, both raw and extruded.Keywords: extrusion, faba bean, haematology, lupin, pea, protein source, slaughter dat

Effect of an extruded linseed diet on meat quality traits in Nero Lucano pigs

The study aimed to evaluate the effect of a diet containing extruded linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) on growth performances, carcass traits and meat quality in Nero Lucano pigs. Sixteen male piglets were weaned at about 50 days of age and divided into two homogeneous groups fed a control diet (C) or a diet containing 3% extruded linseed (EL). The trial lasted 32 weeks and pigs were slaughtered at 9 months of age. Samples from the Longissimus dorsi (Ld) muscle were analysed to assess physical and chemical parameters and intramuscular fatty acid composition. Average daily gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio were not affected by the diet. Pigs fed the C diet showed a significantly greater slaughter weight in comparison to the EL group (116.50 vs 108.25 kg) Meat pH and chemical composition were not influenced by the diet. No differences were found for shear force (WBS) in raw meat, while cooked meat of the EL group showed a lower WBS value. The EL diet significantly lowered total SFA and increased total PUFA, of both n-6 and n-3 series. Among the n-6, significant differences between dietary treatments were found for linoleic acid. As for the n-3 series, EL feeding significantly enhanced linolenic acid, EPA, DPA and DHA. Feeding EL also significantly lowered the PUFA/SFA and n-6/n-3 ratios and the AI and TI, with benefits for human health. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with 3% EL didn't affect growth performance while it improved the fatty acid profile of meat

Characterization of the cellular damage induced by Aflatoxin B1 in sea bream (Sparus aurata Linnaeus, 1758) hepatocytes

Gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata L.) is one of the most intensively farmed fish spe- cies in the Mediterranean, greatly studied for the relevant economic value, although its sensitivity to Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) has to be investigated, yet. The aim of this study was to perform an in vitro evalua- tion of cytotoxic potential of AFB1 on S. aurata hepatocytes in order to grade the range of AFB1 toxicity, and the boundary between acute and long-term toxicity. Primary monolayer cultures of hepatocytes from S. aurata juveniles were treated with a wide range of concentrations from 5x103 ng/ml to 2x10 2x10-5 ng/ml of AFB1 for a different period of exposure (24, 48, 72 hours). The cytotoxic activity was characterized by MTT reduction assay. After each exposition hepatocytes were examined for morphologic alterations and apoptosis induction. AFB1 exposure significantly reduced cell viability in a dose- and time-depend- ent manner. Dose-response curves obtained after 24, 48 and 72 hrs revealed that prolonged exposure times lead to a significant increase of the toxicpotencyofAFB toxic potency of AFB AFB1. Ourresultsdemonstratethat Our results demonstrate that S. aurata hepatocytes are highly sensitive to AFB1 exposure. Such scientific findings could provide new insights to investigate the real impact of aflatoxin on marine farmed fish

Effect of an extruded linseed diet on meat quality traits in Nero Lucano pigs

The study aimed to evaluate the effect of a diet containing extruded linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) on growth performances, carcass traits and meat quality in Nero Lucano pigs. Sixteen male piglets were weaned at about 50 days of age and divided into two homogeneous groups fed a control diet (C) or a diet containing 3% extruded linseed (EL). The trial lasted 32 weeks and pigs were slaughtered at 9 months of age. Samples from the Longissimus dorsi (Ld) muscle were analysed to assess physical and chemical parameters and intramuscular fatty acid composition. Average daily gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio were not affected by the diet. Pigs fed the C diet showed a significantly greater slaughter weight in comparison to the EL group (116.50 vs 108.25 kg) Meat pH and chemical composition were not influenced by the diet. No differences were found for shear force (WBS) in raw meat, while cooked meat of the EL group showed a lower WBS value. The EL diet significantly lowered total SFA and increased total PUFA, of both n-6 and n-3 series. Among the n-6, significant differences between dietary treatments were found for linoleic acid. As for the n-3 series, EL feeding significantly enhanced linolenic acid, EPA, DPA and DHA. Feeding EL also significantly lowered the PUFA/SFA and n-6/n-3 ratios and the AI and TI, with benefits for human health. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with 3% EL didn't affect growth performance while it improved the fatty acid profile of meat. Keywords: fatty acid profile, feeding, flaxseed, por

Effect of dietary microalgae on growth performance and health in meat-type quails

The purpose of this work was to ascertain the impact of dietary inclusion of Dunaliella salina (Ds) and Arthrospira platensis (Ap) mixture as growth promoters on growth performance, carcass traits, liver and renal function, lipid profile, immunology and economics in quail chicks. 240 Un -sexed seven-day quail chicks were separated into four treatment groups with six replicates of ten chicks per group. The treatment groups are: control: basal diet; DsAp0.5: basal diet + 0.25 g Ds+ 0.25 g Ap/kg diet; DsAp1: basal diet + 0.50 g Ds+ 0.50 g Ap/kg diet; and DsAp2: basal diet + 1.00 g Ds+ 1.00 g Ap/kg diet. The outcomes of dietary inclusion of Ds plus Ap revealed a significant difference in live body weight at 5 week and body weight gain from (1-5wk) (P=0.049) and the group DsAp1 recorded the best results (191.19g, 5.69g). The mixture of Ds plus Ap did not significantly (P&gt;0.05) change the feed intake during the experiment. The DsAp0.5 group significantly (P=0.019) presented the best feed conversion ratio during (1-5 wk of age) compared to the control and other groups. The finding showed a non-significant difference in carcass traits (P&gt;0.05). Liver and kidney function markers were affected by the supplements, and DsAp2 group recorded the highest levels of total protein and albumin. The DsAp1 group significantly (P=0.003) presented the lowest level of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and the DsAp2 group significantly (P&lt;0.001) presented the lowest levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and urea. Dietary supplementation of Ds plus Ap affected the lipid profiles of the quail. Dietary supplementation of Ds plus Ap mixture reduced the concentration of total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), triglyceride (TG) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) when compared to control (P&lt;0.001). Furthermore, the immune parameters, complement 3 (C3) and lysozyme showed a nonsignificant variation with Ds plus Ap supplementation. The net revenue and economic efficiency of treated quails was significantly increased during the experiment (1-5 wks of age); the best values were observed in DsAp0.5 group. In conclusion, the use of Ds plus Ap mixture as growth promoters in quail diets improves the growth performance, liver functions and lipid profile