This work aims at evaluating shelf life of meat from Boer-Saanen cross goats fed on diets containing vitamin E. Thirty-five feedlot-fed goats with an initial body weight of 21.6±2.8kg were subjected to four treatments in a completely randomized design: a control treatment with vitamin E plus others containing 50, 150, and 450mg dl-α-tocopherol acetate/kg DM. Longissimus lumborum (LL) muscle samples were stored at temperatures between 4 and 6°C during 15days, and evaluated for lipid peroxidation using the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) method and for visual acceptance by consumers by different survival analysis techniques. The addition, vitamin E in diets influenced shelf life of LL muscle, indicating longer meat preservation as the levels of the vitamin in diet increased, as the results obtained in chemical and subjective visual assessments showed. TBARS analysis showed to be more accurate in predicting shelf life of meat than subjective visual assessment by consumers, which reached a saturation threshold of 2mg malonaldehyde/kg of meat earlier at all tested levels of vitamin E inclusion.

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Chemical composition and physicochemical and mechanical parameters of New Zealand White rabbit tanned skin were evaluated. Skin samples from 70-d-old males, in natura and semi-finished, were collected for evaluation. The in natura treatment comprise skins without any processing, while semi-finished treatment comprise skins after soaking, fleshing, liming, de-liming, purging, degreasing, pickling, tanning, neutralising, re-tanning and dyeing, followed by oiling, drying, stretching and softening. After tanning, samples from the dorsal and flank regions were removed for tensile and physicochemical testing in the longitudinal and transverse directions. A split plot design was used with plot treatments (leather regions: R1=dorsal and R2=flank) and subplots directions (S1=longitudinal and S2=transversal), using 10 examples per treatment. At the end of processing, the leather analysis revealed low moisture (31.76%), protein (46.48%) and fat content (24.95%), and a high ash content (8.58%). Leather presented a pH of 4.9 and contained 2.0% chromium oxide, 25.5% extractable substances in dichloromethane, and these characteristics were coupled with a higher tensile strength (10.84 N/mm 2 ) in the dorsal region. However, samples in the same region proved to have higher elasticity (64.57%) in the longitudinal direction, although there was no difference in the progressive tearing analysis (21.07-23.50 N/mm). Overall, our analyses suggest that, in this case, the tanned leather product does not have sufficient resistance for application in clothing production.

Residues that could be discarded and transformed in high biological value protein is a measure of environmental preservation combined with the sustainability of animal production. This study evaluated the effects of the addition of passion fruit seed oil (PFSO) on broiler diet under the resistance of skin, physical-chemical characteristic, fatty acid profile and lipid oxidation (under storage) of breast meat obtained from these animals. There was improvement in the condition of skin rupture and meat tenderness; apart from that, oxidative reactions decreased, as PFSO was added to the diet (P<0.05). On the other hand, no effect on colour, pH, water retention capacity and weight loss on cooking (P>0.05) was observed. There was a linear effect increasing only for the margaric (C17:0) and cis10-Heptadecanoic (C17:1; P<0,05) fatty acids. However, due to the low amount of these fatty acids in PFSO, the found content was still low in all evaluated treatments. However, the evaluated levels did not contribute to the increase of the polyunsaturated fatty acid profile (P>0.05). Thus, it can be concluded that PFSO improves the resistance of broiler skin, which becomes softer and less susceptible to oxidative effects due to the oil’s antioxidant action, suggesting that it may be an ingredient that brings substantial benefits in the poultry industry.

Although fumonisins are identified as responsible for alterations in weight gain, little information is available on their effects on expression of growth-related genes, especially for Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fingerlings. In this study, Nile tilapia fingerlings were treated with increasing levels of fumonisin B1 (FB1) and fumonisin B2 (FB2) (diets of 0, 20, 40, and 60 mg/kg) to evaluate their effects on weight gain (WG), feed intake (FI), feed efficiency (FE), growth hormone receptor (GHR) and insulin growth factor 1 (IGF-1) mRNA expression in liver of this fish. All variables were evaluated at 15 and 30 days of treatment. Diet containing 0 mg fumonisin/kg was used as control treatment. Treatment with 20, 40, and 60 mg fumonisin/kg of diet significantly reduced WG (P<0.0001) and FE (P<0.0001), while GHR and IGF-1 mRNA expression was reduced both at 15 and 30 days of treatment. Feed intake was not affected by diets in any of the evaluated periods. These results indicate that fumonisins (FB1 + FB2) affect the growth of Nile tilapia fingerlings through mechanisms that involve reduction of GHR and IGF-1 expression.

In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the ingestion of feed containing fumonisin affects the apoptosis balance in liver cells. Thus, a trial was conducted with Nile tilapia fingerlings (2.64 ± 0.06 g) fed diets containing increasing levels of fumonisin (FB) (0-control diet, 20, 40, and 60 mg/kg), and expression of caspase7 (CASP7) and sphingosine phosphate lyase (SPL) genes in liver tissue was evaluated at 15 and 30 days of treatment. SPL:CASP7 mRNA ratio was also evaluated. Relative mRNA levels of SPL decreased in tilapia treated with 60 mg FB/kg of diet at 15 days (P < .0001), while a significant increase in SPL was detected at the two highest levels of inclusion at 30 days (P < .0001). CASP7 gene expression decreased linearly as fumonisin was added, at 15 days (P < .0001). At 30 days, however, the relative CASP7 mRNA levels were only reduced in the tilapia treated with 60 mg FB/kg of diet (P = .0011). The results obtained in this study suggest a direct relationship between SPL and CASP7 expressions, so it can be inferred that as the period of consumption and level of fumonisin are increased, the numerical relationship between SPL:CASP7 mRNA is also increased.

We aimed to evaluate the effect of the inclusion of corn and citrus pulp as additives in soybean silage made in plastic (PVC) tubes. The experimental design was completely randomized, with a 2x4 factorial arrangement consisting of two additive groups (corn and citrus pulp) and four inclusion levels (no inclusion, 7, 14 and 21%). The experiment was conducted at the Forage Sector of the Lageado Experimental Farm, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, UNESP, Botucatu, SP, and chemical composition analysis was carried out at the Laboratory of Bromatology. The soybean variety used was BMX Potência RR. Mechanical harvest occurred at the R7 phenological stage, at a height of 15 cm, using a harvester equipped with a two-row platform. The material was chopped into medium particles of 3 to 6 mm. After 45 days, the silages were analyzed for dry matter, crude protein (CP), total digestible nutrients, pH, ethereal extract, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, lignin, total dry matter loss, and total carbohydrates (CHOS). The inclusion of corn (21%) and citrus pulp (14 and 21%) reduced CP values (P<0.05). Control silage contained less CHOS (P<0.05). The inclusion of corn meal is better than citrus pulp to improve the values of soybean silage.

Physico-chemical, mechanical and histological characteristics on rumen and reticulum of sheep submitted to different techniques of retanning [Características físico-químicas, mecânicas e histológicas no rúmen e retículo de ovinos submetidos a diferentes técnicas de recurtimento] "Artigo Científico/Scientific Article"