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A study on the physical and mechanical properties of beeswax (BW), candelilla wax (CW), paraffin wax (PW) and blends was carried out with the aim to evaluate their usefulness as coatings for cheeses. Waxes were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), permeability, viscosity, flexural and tensile tests and scanning electron microscopy. Cheeses were coated with the waxes and stored for 5 weeks at 30 °C. Measured parameters were weight, moisture, occurrence and degree of fractures, and dimensional changes. The crystal phases identified by XRD for the three waxes allowed them to determine the length of alkanes and the nonlinear compounds in crystallizable forms in waxes. FTIR spectra showed absorption bands between 1800 and 800 cm−1 related to carbonyls in BW and CW. In DSC, the onset of melting temperature was 45.5 °C for BW, and >54 °C for CW and PW. Cheeses coated with BW did not show cracks after storage. Cheeses coated with CW and PW showed microcraks, and lost weight, moisture and shrunk. In the flexural and tensile tests, BW was ductile; CW and PW were brittle. BW blends with CW or PW displays a semi ductile behavior. Cheeses coated with BW blends lost less than 5% weight during storage. The best waxes were BW and the blends.

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The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Lactobacillus plantarum strain 44A doses on growth performance, feed utilization, blood serum parameters, and digestive enzyme activities in Common Carp Cyprinus carpio fingerlings. This bacterium was isolated from healthy Striped Mullet Mugil cephalus. Lactobacillus plantarum was added to the diet in three levels (1.5 × 10 6 , 3 × 10 6 , and 4.5 × 10 6 colony-forming units [CFU]/mg of feed). A control diet was used as a reference. The results indicated that feed conversion ratio (FCR), specific growth rate, daily growth coefficient, protein efficiency ratio, condition factor, thermal-unit growth coefficient, and survival rate of Common Carp fingerlings were best for the treatment group fed with L. plantarum at the 4.5 × 10 6 CFU/mg level. In general, all L. plantarum treatments had better hematological parameters relative to the control, including red blood cell count, total leucocytes, hematocrit, hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration. A significant increase in the total protein and globulin concentration in blood serum was found in all probiotic-treated fishes compared with the control group, whereas no significant difference was observed in albumin levels. Other observed changes included lower cortisol and glucose contents in serum blood from probiotic-treated fingerlings than in the control group. Serum lysozyme activity was also considerably greater in fish fed a higher level of L. plantarum compared with the control fish. Mean protease and amylase activities of all probiotic treatment groups were significantly higher than those in the control fish. There was no significant difference in lipase level. In conclusion, the improved enzyme activities obtained with the L. plantarum diets suggest that the addition of probiotics improved diet digestibility, including protein, starch, and fattiness, and resulted in better growth performance and feed efficiency (FCR) in Common Carp.

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