1. Antioxidant and methyl donor effects of betaine in experimental animal models have recently been demonstrated. The present study was therefore designed to examine the antioxidant effects of betaine on the antioxidant status and meat quality of breast muscles in broilers. 2. Cobb broilers were randomly divided into Control, Methionine low, Methionine low plus betaine, and Betaine groups. 3. The activity of the main antioxidant enzyme (glutathione peroxidase) in the Betaine and the Methionine low plus betaine groups significantly increased compared to the Methionine low and Control groups. Catalase and superoxide dismutase activities were significantly higher in the Betaine group compared to the Methionine low group, and lipid peroxidation was significantly higher in the Control and the Methionine low groups. 4. The present study indicates that adding betaine (1 g/kg) to a diet deficient in methionine can significantly improve antioxidant defences and meat quality, decreasing lipid peroxidation in the breast muscles of broiler chickens.

Coccidiosis is a disease of almost universal importance in Poultry production. The subclinical form of coccidiosis has most significant economic impact due to impaired growth rate and feed conversion. Some factors such as: age, size of flock, season, etc., may effect on severity of this disease. In this study, the relationships between some major risk factors and prevalence of subclinical coccidiosis were investigated. This study was done in 120 broiler farms in five different cities of Mazandaran province, north of Iran. Five chicks (3-8 weeks of ages) were taken randomly from every 120 farms and post-mortem and parasitological examinations were performed. Five Eimeria spp. were recognized: Eimeria tenella, Eimeria maxima, Eimeria acervulina, Eimeria brunetti, and Eimeria necatrix. The prevalence rate of subclinical coccidiosis among them is 75% (90 farms out of 120). E. acervulina was the most prevalent species (65.5%) followed by E. maxima (17.7%), E. tenella (15.5%), E. brunetti (10%), and E. necatrix (5.5%). According to what the results approve, the occurrence of subclinical coccidiosis is significantly related to the age and size of flock, whereas the other factors such as the season of year, industrial strains, chicken's keeping system, and anticoccidial drugs do not affect this phenomenon remarkably.

The aim of this study was correlation determination between fat putrefaction indices and antioxidative enzymes in chicken, cattle and camel meat during refrigerated storage. Longissimus dorsi muscle of three Iranian dromedary one humped camel and three Holstein cattle and breast muscle of three broiler breeder chicken were obtained from the carcasses 3 days postmortem. The samples were ground and stored at 4 °C for 0, 2, or 4 days. Peroxide, TBA, acid and iodine values, catalase and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities of the muscles were performed in each storage time. Catalase and GSH-Px activities were much higher in camel than in chicken and cattle and higher in cattle than in chicken. TBA value was lower in chicken than in camel. Camel had higher acid value than cattle. Chicken showed the highest and camel had the lowest iodine values. Catalase and GSH-Px activities and iodine values were quite stable during refrigerated storage. Acid values increased significantly over storage days in cattle. During the 4-day storage period, TBA and peroxide values increased. GSH-Px activity showed negative correlation with acid and TBA values in chicken and cattle. Acid value (for chicken and cattle) and peroxide value (for 3 animal species) showed positive correlation with TBA content. Iodine value had positive correlation with catalase activity in cattle and negative correlation with peroxide and TBA values in camel. In conclusion, our results indicate that peroxide and TBA values can be used as lipid quality indices in chicken, cattle and camel meat during 4 day storage in refrigerator.

This study was conducted to assess the pattern of changes and the relative value of acute phase proteins (haptoglobin (Hp), serum amyloid A (SAA), ceruloplasmin and fibrinogen) in bovine tropical theileriosis. The diseased group comprised 50 dairy Holstein cattle, 2-3 years old, naturally infected with Theileria annulata. Infected animals were divided into four subgroups with different parasitemia rates (<1%, 1-3%, 3-5%, >5%). As a control group, 20 uninfected cattle were also sampled. Blood samples were collected and all measurements were done using validated methods. There were significant differences in red blood cells (RBCs), packed cell volume (PCV), hemoglobin (Hb) and concentrations of Hp, SAA, ceruloplasmin and fibrinogen between healthy cattle and those infected with T. annulata with different parasitemia rates (P < 0.05). As the parasitemia rate increased in infected cattle, a significant decrease was observed in RBCs, PCV, and Hb. In contrast, with increase in the parasitemia rate, a significant increase in the mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), Hp, SAA, ceruloplasmin, and fibrinogen was evident. The optimal cut-off point was set by the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) method to >5.68 microg/ml for SAA, >0.16 g/l for Hp, >0.064 g/l for ceruloplasmin and >4.00 g/l for fibrinogen with corresponding 84% sensitivity and 100% specificity for SAA, 76% sensitivity and 100% specificity for Hp, 84% sensitivity and 80% specificity for ceruloplasmin and 40% sensitivity and 100% specificity for fibrinogen. SAA had the highest sensitivity and specificity and was diagnosed to be a suitable indicator of APPs changes in bovine theileriosis.

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