Fucoxanthin is a major carotenoid found in marine brown algae. This study investigated the impact of fucoxanthin on the growth performance, antioxidant metabolism and meat quality of broilers. Overall, 180 one-day-old male broiler chicks (Ross 308) were assigned to one control group (CONT) and 2 treatment groups (FUCO1 and FUCO2), with six replicates of 10 birds each. The CONT, FUCO1 and FUCO2 birds were fed a basal diet supplemented with 0, 100 and 200 mg/kg of fucoxanthin, respectively. Average body weight gain (BWG), feed intake (FI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were similar among the groups. Fucoxanthin increased catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities and glutathione (GSH) levels (p<0.01), and reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) levels (p<0.01) in the liver, breast and drumstick tissues. The effects of fucoxanthin on drumstick yellowness (b*) on day 3 and water activity (a w) on day 5 and breast lightness (L*) on day 3 b* values days 2 and 5 were limited and variable. While fucoxanthin showed antimicrobial effect against Staphylococcus spp. in the breast meat on days 5 and 6 of storage (p<0.05), its effects at different time periods and against other microorganisms varied. In conclusion, fucoxanthin did not affect performance parameters, but had a significant impact on antioxidant metabolism, and showed a limited effect on the microbial quality of meat.

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In this study, the effects of the supplementation of lamb rations with Yucca schidigera powder (YSP) on water activity, pH, lipid peroxidation, oxidation of colour parameters and microbial counts in the Musculus gluteo biceps and Musculus longissimus dorsi were investigated. Three groups were established, namely, the Control group fed on a basal ration and Groups YSPI and YSPII given a basal ration added 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg of Yucca schidigera powder, respectively. YSP affected pH and lipid peroxidation in the gluteo biceps and longissimus dorsi muscles, L* (Lightness) in the former and L* and a* (redness) in the latter. YSP reduced Enterobacteriaceae and total mesophilic aerobic bacteria counts in both muscles, while its effects on total psychrotrophic aerobic bacteria, Micrococcus/Staphylococcus, Staphylococcus aureus, yeast and mold counts varied. Prolonged storage negatively affected the quality of both muscles, but YSP provided significant amelioration. Dietary supplementation with YSP improved meat quality and shelf life.Asian J. Med. Biol. Res. March 2018, 4(1): 86-94

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between maternal, placental and newborn parameters. Methods: The study was conducted in the delivery unit, Ordu province, Turkey. The sample consisted of 104 women who had agreed to participate in the research and whose pregnancy had reached 37 weeks or over. Only singleton births were included. The placental and newborn parameters were measured after delivery. Results: We found that the mean placental weight was 563.6±135.65 grs, and the mean of newborn weight was 3358±487.58 grs. The placental weight was significantly positively correlated with infant's birth weight (p=.000), infant's length (p=.024), maternal weight before pregnancy (p=.021), maternal weight on last day of pregnancy (p=.002) and maternal Body Mass Index (BMI) (p=.015) The placental weight of smoker during pregnancy was 628.82±107.40 grams; placental weight of non-smoker during pregnancy was 550.91±137.44 grams, and the difference was statistically significant (p=.007).

This study examines the effect of different doses of hesperidin added to quail diets on growth performance of birds as well as on lipid peroxidation, some microbiological and physicochemical properties, and fatty acid profile of thigh tissue. In total 300 (male and female) Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) were divided into three groups: control (C) group fed only a basal diet, HES1 and HES2 groups fed basal diet with the addition of 1 and 2 g/kg hesperidin, respectively. It was observed that hesperidin addition to quail diets had no effect on the growth performance parameters, such as live weight, feed consumption and feed conversion ratio, regardless of examined dose. It was determined that hesperidin dose did not affect meat water activity (P > 0.05) but influenced pH or colour parameters [brightness (L*), redness (a*), yellowness (b*)] of meat (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the antibacterial effect of hesperidin supplementation was observed as counts of total mesophilic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, Lactobacillus spp., Lactococcus spp., Micrococcus/Staphylococcus and total psychrophilic aerobic bacteria were limited and variable (P < 0.05). It was determined that hesperidin had a statistically significant effect on lipid peroxidation in meat on day 1 and 4 of storage. In addition, it was observed that the added hesperidin had a positive effect on n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA; such as α-linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid) in terms of the lipid profile in thigh tissue (P < 0.05). So, it can be concluded that the hesperidin addition to quail diets exerted influence on microbiological properties and lipid peroxidation of meat, which can influence shelf life quality of quail meat; but also hesperidin addition had a health-promoting effect on the fatty acid profile of thigh meat increasing n-3 PUFA content.