Development of hepatic steatosis in male and female mule ducks after respective force-feeding programs.

Male and female mule ducks were subjected to a force-feeding diet to induce liver steatosis as it is generally done only with male ducks for the production of foie gras. The different biochemical measurements indicated that the course of hepatic steatosis development was present in both sexes and associated with a huge increase in liver weight mainly due to the synthesis and accumulation of lipids in hepatocytes. In livers of male and female ducks, this lipid accumulation was associated with oxidative stress and hypoxia.

Evolution of liver fattening and foie gras technological yield during the overfeeding period in mule duck.

In foie gras production the technological yield after the cooking process is one of the main issues of processors as it is closely linked to the cooking melting rate. This rate is subjected to strict laws and regulations since it directly affects the organoleptic and technological qualities of this gourmet product. The objective of the study was to better understand the liver fattening and the technological yield decrease during the overfeeding kinetics.

Influence of the corn form in the diet and length of fasting before slaughter on the performance of overfed mule ducks.

The aim of this trial was to study the effect of the corn form fed during the overfeeding period and of the length of the fasting (LF) before slaughter on the performance of overfed mule ducks. A total of 180 ducks were distributed into 9 groups of 20 birds each, according to a 3 × 3 factorial design that differed according to the LF (9, 12, or 15 h) and the ratio of whole corn/corn flour in the overfeeding diet (OD): constant ratio of 30/70 [C diet]; progressive change from 0/100 to 30/70 [P diet]; or constant ratio of 0/100 [F diet]). At the end of the overfeeding period, the birds were slaughtered to measure the weight and chemical composition of the fatty liver.

Effects of dietary protein level during rearing period and age at overfeeding on magret and foie gras quality in male mule ducks.

The aim of this trial was to study the effects of dietary protein content during the rearing period on the performance of mule ducks, according to age at overfeeding (O). Ducks (n = 612) were divided into four groups differing in the protein content in the diet offered during the starting period (S, 0-20 days; S vs. S : 150 vs.

Deciphering mechanisms underlying the genetic variation of general production and liver quality traits in the overfed mule duck by pQTL analyses.

Background: The aim of this study was to analyse the mechanisms that underlie phenotypic quantitative trait loci (QTL) in overfed mule ducks by identifying co-localized proteomic QTL (pQTL). The QTL design consisted of three families of common ducks that were progeny-tested by using 294 male mule ducks. This population of common ducks was genotyped using a genetic map that included 334 genetic markers located across 28 APL chromosomes (APL for Anas platyrhynchos).