Modelling semi-natural habitat area on lowland farms in western Ireland

A significant policy objective is the need for protection of biodiversity not just within designated Natura 2000 sites, but also in areas that occur outside of these sites. However there is a lack of information on existing semi-natural habitat cover on EU farms, making it difficult to assess whether targets for halting the loss of agricultural biodiversity are being met. To achieve these targets, reliable yet easy-to-use methods are needed for accurately identifying priority areas for conservation actions and monitoring biodiversity on a large spatial scale.Remote sensing, farmland statistics and species data have been used in some EU countries to create maps to estimate the extent of semi-natural habitat cover but these are acknowledged as being too broad scale. In this study, we examined a method of fine-scale prediction of the spatial coverage of semi-natural habitats in lowland farms. A generalized additive model (GAM) was used to investigate the relationships between landscape and farm management variables and the lowland farmland habitat biodiversity on 32 farms outside of conservation designations, in a region of western Ireland. Semi-natural habitat cover on lowland farms could be predicted with a model using stocking density, soil diversity and river and stream length. It is proposed that this model could be used to predict the coverage of semi-natural habitats on farms in other regions of Ireland with similar land-use and landscape. A similar modelling approach could be adapted for application in other regions of Ireland and across Europe with different landscapes to predict semi-natural habitat coverage.     

Effects of two probiotic additives containing Bacillus spores on carcass characteristics, blood lipids and cecal volatile fatty acids in meat type chickens

The objective of this study was to evaluate effects of two commercially available probiotic additives, containing Bacillus spores, on carcass and meat characteristics, serum lipids and concentration of cecal volatile fatty acids of meat type chickens. Birds were fed regular corn-soy meal based feed (control), supplemented with additive A, containing 1.6 × 10(6) spores per gram of feed of Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus licheniformis (group A) or additive B, containing the same concentration of Bacillus cereus var. toyoi spores (group B). One hundred and twenty birds (20 per replicate) were slaughtered at the age of 55 days. Results showed that birds in group B had higher (p < 0.05) final body weight compared to birds from group A and higher carcass weights and yield percentages compared with control. Breasts and whole legs were also heavier in group B, compared to control, but not the yield. Group A had higher yield of wings and lower abdominal fat weight compared to group B (p< 0.05), but not compared with control. Total cholesterol was not affected by the dietary treatment, on contrary both probiotics elevated the LDL (p < 0.05) and lowered HDL cholesterol, thus unfavourably changed animal's blood serum cholesterol profile. Both probiotics influenced the cecal fermentation, which was observed as decrease in cecal concentrations of propionic, butyric, n-butyric and n-valeric acids, but the differences compared to control group were statistically significant for group A only. It was established that probiotic additive B was more effective regarding carcass and meat part weights than additive A, however the animals from group B also had more abdominal fat and their meat had significantly higher conductivity than control group, which is not considered as beneficial.     

Effects of dietary addition of Macleaya cordata alkaloid extract on growth performance,caecal indices and breast meat fatty acids profile in male broilers

The aim of this experiment was to investigate whether a low‐dietary application (15 mg/kg) of an alkaloid preparation containing quaternary benzo[c]phenanthridine alkaloids and obtained from Macleaya cordata (Sangrovit) influenced caecal metabolism, growth performance and long‐chain fatty acid composition of breast meat. One‐day‐old broiler chicks (Cobb 500) were fed a diet without supplement or with a 15 mg/kg dose of Sangrovit (C and A groups respectively) for 5 weeks. Although the A treatment was not accompanied by an enhanced final body weight of broilers, the intake of a diet with Sangrovit influenced the caecal microflora activity. The addition of Sangrovit to a diet decreased potentially harmful β‐glucuronidase and β‐glucosidase activities (p < 0.05 and p = 0.075 respectively), and at the same time led to a significant increase in activities of bacterial glycolytic enzymes α‐glucosidase, α‐galactosidase, β‐galactosidase in comparison to the control group. The concentration of total short‐chain fatty acids in the caecal digesta was increased in the A treatment contributing to the tendency towards lower caecal pH (p = 0.078). The analysis of breast meat fatty acids showed that the dietary application of Sangrovit evoked some changes in contents of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) contents. The applied dosage of Sangrovit caused an increase in the sum of MUFA and the tendency towards lower PUFA sum (p < 0.05 and p = 0.062 respectively) as in relation with the C group. Although the nutritionally relevant n‐6/n‐3 PUFA and the (PUFA + MUFA)/saturated fatty acids ratios remained similar in both groups, further research is postulated to establish the effect of this preparation on meat quality. To sum up, despite of a lack of the improvement in final body weight, a low dose of dietary Sangrovit was found to exert positive effects on the caecal metabolism of the broilers.     

利用鳕鱼皮制备饲用胶原肽添加剂及其抗氧化研究

以鳕鱼皮为原料,采用双酶复合法提取胶原多肽作为饲用添加剂。以水解度为指标,通过正交试验确定酶解的最适条件。结果表明:碱性蛋白酶和木瓜蛋白酶混合水解,加酶量分别为4%和4.5%,温度55℃p、H值8,时间11 h,蛋白质水解度可达到25.61%。分离得到的多肽组分,Mr<3 500 Da的占82%以上,抗氧化试验结果表明,水解产物有较好的抗氧化特性,有望作为高档水产饲料添加剂使用。     

复方中草药添加剂对仿刺参(Stichopus japonicus)幼参免疫机能的影响

试验采用不同配方和比例中草药添加剂连续饲喂仿刺参幼参,以海参体腔液细胞的抗菌能力、碱性磷酸酶(AKP)、酸性磷酸酶(ACP)、酚氧化酶(PO)、超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)和过氧化氢酶(CAT)作为免疫学检测指标,研究中草药添加剂对仿刺参幼参的免疫增强效果。结果表明:中草药添加剂能够有效提高上述免疫相关指标的活性,并且添加剂的配方不同及添加比例不同,会产生不同的免疫增强效果。     

植物提取物对育肥猪生长性能、胴体性状、猪肉品质及抗氧化能力的影响

本试验旨在研究植物提取物对育肥猪生长性能、胴体性状、肉品质及猪肉抗氧化能力的影响。选用20头体重相近[(83.75±5.83 kg)]的PIC猪,随机分为对照组(基础日粮)和试验组(基础日粮中额外添加0.04%植物提取物),每个处理5个重复,每个重复2头猪。结果表明,两组间育肥猪采食量、日增重、料肉比和胴体性状差异不显著(P>0.05)。与对照组相比,试验组肉色a*45min值显著提高(P<0.05),L*96 h值极显著降低(P<0.01);4℃下储存0、3 d和7 d猪肉,试验组肉样中丙二醛(MDA)的含量显著降低,超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)活性显著提高(P<0.05)。因此,饲粮中添加植物提取物有利于储存中猪肉品质的改善。     

大豆异黄酮在畜禽养殖中的应用及研究

大豆异黄酮是大豆中富含的一类黄酮类化合物。由于其具有较弱的雌激素活性．大豆异黄酮在治疗和预防与雌激素有关的疾病方面具有重要的功效。大豆异黄酮还具有促进畜禽日增重、提高饲料利用率和生产性能以及促进畜禽免疫机能等生理功能。介绍了大豆异黄酮的性质、作用机理、在畜禽养殖中的应用及在医学中的功效。     

中药添加剂对海南文昌鸡生长性能的影响及其安全性评价

[目的]研究中药添加剂对海南文昌鸡生长性能的影响,并对其使用安全性进行评价。[方法]将180只雌性文昌鸡随机分为5组,每组3个重复,每重复12只。第1组为空白对照组,饲喂基础日粮;第2组为抗生素对照组,在基础日粮中添加600mg/kg的金霉素;第3、4、5组分别在基础日粮中添加0.1%、0.2%和0.3%的中药添加剂。生长试验共进行6周,每周称重。采用急性毒性试验、蓄积毒性试验对其安全性进行评价。[结果]0.2%中药添加剂能显著提高鸡的末体重(P<0.05),中药添加剂的LD50>10g/(kg·bw),蓄积系数K>5。[结论]该中药添加剂为一种安全、有效的饲料添加剂。     

多肽配肥宝在甜瓜上应用效果研究

以薄皮甜瓜品种‘彩虹七号’为试材,研究多肽配肥宝75、1502、25 kg/hm2不同处理对甜瓜产量、品质及经济效益的影响。结果表明:多肽配肥宝对提高甜瓜产量和品质都有显著效果。多肽配肥宝处理能提高甜瓜单瓜平均重、单株平均坐瓜数、单株产量等产量因子。多肽配肥宝处理可提高甜瓜可溶性固形物、粗蛋白、维生素C含量,增加含糖量及降低硝酸盐含量。施用多肽配肥宝可显著增加甜瓜产量,明显增加经济效益。     

天然添加剂在肉类制品中的应用

介绍了肉类制品中常用的天然添加剂着色剂、增稠剂、调味剂、抗氧化剂、防腐剂等几个大类。并详细介绍天然添加剂所包括的常见品种及其应用概况。