The effect of plant-associative bacteria (Azospirillum and Pantoea) on the fruit quality of sweet pepper under limited nitrogen supply

This study investigates the influence of a commercial product, Biopron^®, consisting of the bacteria Azospirillum brasilense and Pantoea dispersa on sweet pepper fruits (Capsicum annuum L.) under limited N supply. When the N supply was reduced from 12 (control) to 7 mmol L⁻¹, the concentration of total-N in the fruits was significantly reduced in both inoculated and non-inoculated plants. The N supply or inoculation did not affect the dry matter content or fruit firmness, but non-inoculated fruit with low N showed a decrease in pericarp thickness and a significant increase in the color parameter a^* compared with the control. Under limited N, inoculation increased the concentration of citric, ascorbic and succinic acids in green fruit compared with non-inoculated fruit, which showed lower values than control fruit. At a later (yellow) stage of development, only succinic acid showed a response to inoculation. Fruit peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.7) activity in fruit of inoculated plants was lower than that observed for non-inoculated fruit grown at both high- and low-N. In contrast, in yellow fruit, total phenolic compounds were increased under N limitation, with no inoculation effect. Our study shows that the effect of plant associative bacteria is not directly related with the increased potential availability of nutrients for uptake, especially for fruit quality characteristics.     

不同海拔高度牛蒡根营养成分分析

对不同海拔高度牛蒡根中的氨基酸、蛋白质、脂肪、淀粉、可溶性糖、粗纤维和无机元素含量进行分析,并探讨各种成分含量与气候因子的关系。结果表明,牛蒡根中含有丰富的氨基酸（9.89 %~12.19 %）、无机元素（10种）、蛋白质（1.9 %~3.1 %）、可溶性糖（11.6 %~13.9 %）等营养成分;随着海拔的增高,牛蒡根中蛋白质、氨基酸、淀粉含量增加,而可溶性糖及脂肪含量则降低。     

狍肉营养成分分析研究

本文分析了狍肉的营养价值,为狍肉的深入研究提供基础。试验中共有4组样品,每组均分别于背部、腹部、前腿部和后腿部4个部位进行取样。主要以干燥法、灼烧法、索氏提取法、气相色谱法等试验方法对狍肉的营养成分、氨基酸含量以及脂肪酸含量进行了测定。结果表明,狍肉的水分含量为73. 02%—81. 26%,脂肪含量为1. 66%—2. 87%,蛋白质含量为20. 49%—23. 95%。狍肉中有16种氨基酸,其中含有赖氨酸、缬氨酸、异亮氨酸等多种必需氨基酸,必需氨基酸含量占总氨基酸含量的45. 56%。样品狍肉中含有10种脂肪酸,ω-6系与ω-3系脂肪酸的比值为12. 87∶1. 00。     

Effect of gender on breast and thigh turkey meat quality

1. The influence of gender on chemical composition, physicochemical parameters, fatty acid profile, amino acid and mineral composition of turkey breast and thigh meat was studied in order to assess nutrient requirements.

2. Chemical composition showed that only intramuscular fat in breast meat was significantly affected by gender (p < 0.05). The results showed a higher percentage of intramuscular fat in male samples, almost double the amount found in females (0.73% vs. 0.38%).

3.For meat colour parameters, only a* showed different results between sexes, with male samples (breast: p < 0.01; thigh: p < 0.001) having the highest values.

4. Fatty acid profiles showed that medium chain unsaturated fatty acids were the most abundant. The significant differences (p < 0.05) found in both breast and thigh muscle could be linked to a difference in metabolism between males and females.

5.There were higher levels of C16:1n-7 in females (breast: p < 0.001; thigh: p < 0.01) compared with male muscle sample (5.05 vs. 2.67 g/100 g in breast and 4.95 vs. 3.27 g/100 g in thigh). Nutritional indices (n-6/n-3 and thrombogenic index) were more favourable in female samples demonstrating that female turkeys had better fatty acid profile than the others.

6. Turkey meat is an important source of dietary amino acids, and female samples had the highest contents both of essential and non-essential amino acids. Furthermore, gender had a numeric effect (p > 0.05) on amino acid composition.

7. Mineral composition showed that Na, Zn and Fe were the minerals most affected by turkey gender.     

Effects of extruded flaxseed on layer performance,nutrient retention and yolk fatty acid composition

1. This study was conducted to determine the effects of feeding an extruded flaxseed (EF) on layer performance, apparent total tract nutrient retention (ATTR) and egg yolk fatty acid concentrations.

2. Seventy-two White Leghorn laying hens (58-week-old; three per cage) were randomly allotted to one of four dietary treatments: 0%, 7.5%, 15.0% and 22.5% of EF-supplemented diets for 8 weeks.

3. Supplementation with EF had no effect on feed intake, egg production, feed conversion ratio and egg weight. Egg components (yolk, albumen and shell percentages) were similar among treatments, except that shell percentage was greater for layers fed 22.5% EF than those fed 7.5% and 15% EF. The ATTR of dry matter and organic matter were highest for 0% and 7.5% EF, intermediate for 15% EF and lowest for 22.5% EF. Similar reductions on ATTR of crude protein and nitrogen-corrected apparent metabolisable energy were observed for layers fed 22.5% EF relative to those fed 0% or 7.5% EF.

4. Feeding EF at 7.5%, 15.0% and 22.5% of the diet markedly increased (by 92%, 198% and 271%, respectively) egg yolk concentrations of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) and reduced saturated fatty acid and n-6 PUFA concentrations.

5. It was concluded that omega-3 labelled eggs (300 mg/60 g of egg) may be produced with low (7.5% of diet) levels of dietary EF without compromising egg production parameters. However, feeding moderate to high levels of EF (i.e. 15% and 22.5% EF) may reduce total tract nutrient and energy utilisation.     

Effect of particle size distribution of maize and soybean meal on the precaecal amino acid digestibility in broiler chickens

1. Herein, it was investigated whether different particle size distributions of feed ingredients achieved by grinding through a 2- or 3-mm grid would have an effect on precaecal (pc) amino acid (AA) digestibility. Maize and soybean meal were used as the test ingredients.

2. Maize and soybean meal was ground with grid sizes of 2 or 3 mm. Nine diets were prepared. The basal diet contained 500 g/kg of maize starch. The other experimental diets contained maize or soybean meal samples at concentrations of 250 and 500, and 150 and 300 g/kg, respectively, instead of maize starch. Each diet was tested using 6 replicate groups of 10 birds each. The regression approach was applied to calculate the pc AA digestibility of the test ingredients.

3. The reduction of the grid size from 3 to 2 mm reduced the average particle size of both maize and soybean meal, mainly by reducing the proportion of coarse particles. Reducing the grid size significantly (P < 0.050) increased the pc digestibility of all AA in the soybean meal. In maize, reducing the grid size decreased the pc digestibility of all AA numerically, but not significantly (P > 0.050). The mean numerical differences in pc AA digestibility between the grid sizes were 0.045 and 0.055 in maize and soybean meal, respectively.

4. Future studies investigating the pc AA digestibility should specify the particle size distribution and should investigate the test ingredients ground similarly for practical applications.     

Effect of marine by‐product meals on hen egg production parameters,yolk lipid composition and sensory quality

The effect of including 5% marine by‐product meals in feeds of laying hens on egg production, composition and sensory characteristics was tested. Marine by‐product meals were prepared using two methods: (i) cooking (100°C/10 min) followed by drying (60°C/24 hr) or (ii) grinding followed by drying. The raw materials used for meal production were scallop or squid viscera, shrimp heads or whole mackerel. A total of 108 laying hens were allocated to nine diet treatments; one control diet (corn and soya bean based) and eight experimental diets, containing 95% of the control feed and 5% of the experimental meal for three weeks. Daily intake was higher in hens fed the dried mackerel and cooked shrimp meals. All the experimental treatments showed significantly higher concentration of n‐3 HUFA in yolk reserves and phospholipids compared to the control (0.12–0.13 g per 100 g), especially those with scallop or squid prepared by both methods (0.53–0.95 g per 100 g). Scallop, squid and shrimp meal inclusion in the feed produced eggs with more astaxanthin (0.22 mg per 100 g) while this carotenoid was absent in the control and mackerel treatments. Visual evaluation of raw yolk colour increased with the inclusion of marine by‐product meals with higher values in hens fed shrimp heads (13), followed by scallop viscera (11), squid viscera (9), and with similar values for mackerel and control (4). The taste, aroma, texture and colour of cooked eggs from different treatments were not statically different when evaluated by a panel of 60 untrained people. These results suggest that meals from marine by‐products are a better alternative for improving egg yolk composition by increasing n‐3 HUFA when compared to fishmeal as they also increase astaxanthin and yolk pigmentation without affecting egg sensory characteristics.     

Renal energy excretion of horses depends on renal hippuric acid and nitrogen excretion

The prediction of renal energy excretion is crucial in a metabolizable energy system for horses. Phenolic acids from forage cell walls may affect renal energy losses by increasing hippuric acid excretion. Therefore, the relationships were investigated between renal energy, nitrogen (N) and hippuric acid excretion of four adult ponies (230–384 kg body weight (BW)) consuming diets based on fresh grass, grass silage, grass cobs (heat‐dried, finely chopped, pressed grass), alfalfa hay, straw, extruded straw and soybean meal. Feed intake was measured; urine and faeces were quantitatively collected for three days. Feed was analysed for crude nutrients, gross energy, amino acids and neutral‐detergent‐insoluble crude protein (CP); faeces were analysed for crude nutrients and cross energy; urine was analysed for N, hippuric acid, creatinine and gross energy. Renal energy excretion (y; kJ/kg BW^0.75) correlated with renal N excretion (x₁; g/kg BW^0.75) and renal hippuric acid excretion (x₂; g/kg BW^0.75): y = 14.4 + 30.2x₁+20.7x₂ (r = .95; n = 30; p < .05). Renal hippuric acid excretion was highest after intake of fresh grass and lowest after intake of soybean meal. The ratio of hippuric acid to creatinine in urine and the excretion of hippuric acid per gram of dry matter intake was significantly higher for fresh grass than for all other rations. There was no relationship between aromatic amino acid intake and renal hippuric acid excretion. The results of the present study and literature data suggest that feed can be categorized into four groups with regard to the energy losses per gram CP intake: (i) protein supplements (e.g., soybean meal): 4.2–4.9 kJ/g CP intake (ii) alfalfa hay, grains, dried sugar beet pulp: 6.4 kJ/g CP intake, (iii) hay, preserved grass products, straw: 5.2–12.3 kJ/g CP intake (mean 8) and (iv) fresh grass. For group (iii) a negative relationship was observed between renal energy losses per gram of CP and the content of CP or neutral‐detergent‐insoluble CP in dry matter.     

The effect of pomegranate seed oil and grapeseed oil on cis‐9, trans‐11 CLA (rumenic acid), n‐3 and n‐6 fatty acids deposition in selected tissues of chickens

The aim of this study was to determine whether diet modification with different doses of grapeseed oil or pomegranate seed oil will improve the nutritive value of poultry meat in terms of n‐3 and n‐6 fatty acids, as well as rumenic acid (cis‐9, trans‐11 conjugated linoleic acid) content in tissues diversified in lipid composition and roles in lipid metabolism. To evaluate the influence of applied diet modification comprehensively, two chemometric methods were used. Results of cluster analysis demonstrated that pomegranate seed oil modifies fatty acids profile in the most potent way, mainly by an increase in rumenic acid content. Principal component analysis showed that regardless of type of tissue first principal component is strongly associated with type of deposited fatty acid, while second principal component enables identification of place of deposition—type of tissue. Pomegranate seed oil seems to be a valuable feed additive in chickens’ feeding.     

Effect of fermented total mixed rations on the growth performance,carcass and meat quality characteristics of Hanwoo steers

This study was conducted to assess the effects of fermented total mixed ration (FTMR) on the growth performance, carcass and meat quality traits of Hanwoo steers. The present study evidenced that the FTMR had a strong effect on dry matter intake, body weight, daily gain, slaughter weight and carcass characteristics compared with control animals. The results showed that the dry matter intake (7.17 ± 0.13 kg), average body weight (615.20 ± 112.82 kg), and daily gain (0.56 ± 0.16 kg) were greater in animals receiving FTMR than in control animals (P < 0.05). The meat quality characteristics indicated that cooking loss and the pH values did not vary between control and FTMR treated animals; however, animals in the treated groups (FTMR) had higher meat quality grades, carcass weight (396.13 ± 18.35), fat thickness (13.25 ± 1.75), marbling score (5.63 ± 0.56), meat color (40.06 ± 1.23), crude fat (18.39 ± 1.32) and sensory characteristics (flavor 5.03 ± 0.17; tenderness 4.42 ± 0.33; juiciness 5.10 ± 0.16). Nevertheless, the shear force values decreased significantly in FTMR‐treated animals compared with control group steers. Overall, FTMR may not only improve the growth performance, biochemical metabolites, and fatty and acetic acid profiles of steers, but may also enhance the carcass and meat quality characteristics of Hanwoo steers. Regarding economics, our research findings suggest that FTMR‐based feeds may enhance Hanwoo steer meat quality at a low cost.