Meat industries across the world are constantly focusing to find natural low-cost additives for the development of novel meat products to meet consumer demand for improving the health benefits. In this study, we investigated the chemical composition and the bioactive compounds of some herbal plants, namely basil, thyme, sage, and their functionality on broiler chicken thigh meat quality. Chemical composition, as well as total antioxidant activity, polyphenols, vitamin E lutein and zeaxanthin and the fatty acids of the plants, were analyzed. According to findings, total polyphenols was 21.53 mg gallic acid/g in basil, 31.73 mg gallic acid/g in thyme and 38.87 mg gallic acid/g in sage. The antioxidant capacity was 19.91 mM Trolox in basil, 54.09 mM Trolox in thyme and 54.09 mM Trolox in sage. Lutein and zeaxanthin from basil was 267.91 mg/kg, 535.79 mg/kg in thyme and 99.89 mg/kg, and vitamin E ranged from 291.71 mg/kg in basil to 379.37 mg/kg in thyme and 148.07 mg/kg in sage, respectively. After, we developed a trial on 120 unsexed broiler chickens (n = 30) which were separated into four groups with six replications of five chickens each: control (C); 1% basil (B); 1% thyme (T) and 1% sage (S). The B, T and S groups deposited significantly higher (p < 0.05) concentration of zinc, polyphenols, antioxidant capacity and vitamin E in meat samples compared with the C group. In the experimental groups, the proportion of total polyunsaturated fatty acids, the ratio of n-6 to n-3 fatty acids, and the ratio of polyunsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids in the thigh muscles were significantly improved (p < 0.05). The tested plants exhibited a significant (p = 0.0007) hypocholesterolemic effect in the meat of the B (45.90 mg/g), T (41.60 mg/g) and S (48.80 mg/kg) experimental groups compared with the C (60.50 mg/g) group. These results support the application of the studied plants as natural sources of additives which could be effective in improving meat quality, from the human consumption perspective.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of chromium picolinate (CrPic) on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and protein and lipid quality of five anatomical parts in growing pigs. The 30-day study was conducted on eight castrated Topigs growing male pigs, with an initial bodyweight of 17.16 ± 0.62 kg. The pigs were assigned to two groups (C, E), housed in individual metabolic cages, and fed on conventional diets with 17.80% crude protein (CP) and 3078 kcal/kg metabolizable energy (ME). The diet of E was supplemented with 200 ppm CrPic. Samples of ingesta and faeces were collected in three balance periods of five days each. At the end of the experiment, blood samples were collected, all pigs were slaughtered, and meat (tenderloin, loin, ham, shoulder, and belly) samples were collected. No significant differences of productive or plasma parameters were noticed. The results of the balance study showed that CrPic did not influence the digestibility of nitrogen, but the digestibility of fat was significantly decreased for group E. The nutritional quality of the collected samples was evaluated for proximate analysis. The tenderloin and ham samples had increased protein concentrations compared with C group. For belly and ham, the fat concentrations decreased significantly. As a result of this observation, amino acids and fatty acid profiles were analysed and a significant improvement were determined for E regarding essential amino acids. The conclusion of the study was that CrPic had positive effects on protein and fat metabolism and the meat had functional food attributes. ______________________________________________________________________________________

This study evaluated the effect of some herbal plants as natural feed additives on broiler production parameters, carcass parts, and breast meat quality. A total of 150 broiler chicks, Cobb 500 hybrid, were allocated to five treatments with 30 broilers /group, for 42 days. The experimental treatments were: Control (C); a diet containing 5% alfalfa meal (A); a diet containing 5% alfalfa meal and 1% basil (AB); a diet containing 5% alfalfa and 1% thyme (AT) and a diet containing 5% alfalfa and 1% sage (AS). Bodyweight was significantly (P<0.05) affected in AS group compared with C and A groups. Feed conversion ratio was significantly higher only in A and AB groups. Experimental groups had significantly greater (P<0.05) gizzard weight. The total polyphenols content and the antioxidant capacity were significantly (P<0.05) higher in AB, AT, and AS groups versus the C group. The cholesterol concentration was significantly (P<0.05) decreased in AB, AT, and AS meat samples compared with C and A samples. Instrumental colour measurements indicated significant alterations (P<0.05) among the groups regarding the values of L*, a*, b*, H°, C*, and ΔE*. The texture analysis showed that hardness, gumminess, and chewiness were significantly (P<0.05) higher in AB, AT, and AS groups than in C and A groups.

The present study has investigated the potential of including different sources and levels of fiber (6.5% and 7.5%) in growing-fattening pigs’ diet. The nine weeks feeding trial was conducted on nine hybrids TOPIGS castrated males with an initial average weight of 25.25±2.11 kg, randomly assigned to 3 experimental groups with 3 replicates per group. The control group (C) was fed with a corn, wheat and soybean basal diet and it was characterized by 3.5% crude fiber (CF), the experimental groups E1 had 6.5% CF (4% alfalfa meal and 12.36 % sunflower meal) and E2 had 7.5% (6% alfalfa and 18.38% sunflower meal) decreasing the dietary rate inclusion of soybean meal from C (21.42% soybean meal). Bodyweight (initial, final), average daily feed intake (ADFI), leftovers were registered and average daily gain (ADG), feed conversion ratio (FCR) were calculated during the experiment. At the end of the study, the pigs were slaughtered for the determination of carcass traits and meat quality parameters. The productive performances were not influenced by the source or level of the fiber content. The saturated fatty acid (SFA) values were significantly different (P<0.05) in E1 group for shoulder and belly samples compared to C and for breast samples on E2. Higher MUFA concentrations significantly different (P<0.05) were noticed for ham, sirloin, rack, shoulder, breast on E1. PUFA, Ω:6 concentration shown significant differences (P<0.05) within E2 to all meat samples collected, except the neck. The best carcass classification results were recorded in the E1 with 6.5% cellulose (50% Class S and 50% Class E) according to the SEUROP system classification. The study concluded that the dietary percentages of alfalfa meal and sunflower meal did not compromise productive performances but the average muscle thickness and meat percentage registered lower values compared with group C. Further studies with the same raw materials but changing the inclusion percentages should have experimented with emphasis on carcass traits results.

The apparent faecal digestibility of the essential amino acids from Ω3 PUFA layer diets and feeding solutions to avoid possible adverse effects of such diets were investigated in two experiments conducted on Lohmann Brown laying hens. Experiment 1 used 72 layers assigned to three groups (C1, E1-1, E2), while experiment 2 used 96 layers assigned to four groups (C2, E1-2, E3, E4). All experimental diets have been enriched in Ω 3 PUFA by supplementing a conventional diet (C1, C2) with 5% flaxseed meal and 2% camelina meal. Diets E2 and E4 had an increased level of Cu (150 mg/kg), diets E3 and E4 were supplemented with 0.0125% enzyme mix, while diets E1-1 and E1-2 were only supplemented with 5% flaxseed meal and 2% camelina meal. The digestibility coefficients of the studied essential amino acids (threonine, valine, phenylalanine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, cystine, methionine) were lower (p≤0.05) in groups E1-1 and E2 from experiment 1, than in the control group (C1). In experiment 2, the supplemental enzyme mix (E3) increased (p≤0.05) the digestibility coefficients of phenylalanine, lysine, cystine and methionine, compared to the diet with camelina and flaxseed meals (E1-2). The simultaneous inclusion of copper and enzyme mix in the E4 diet increased (p≤0.05) lysine digestibility compared to group E1-2 and sulphur amino acids digestibility, compared to the other groups (C2, E1-2 and E3). In both experiments, only the feed conversion ratio was different (p≤0.05) in favour of the control groups (C1 and C2), compared to the other groups.