Effects of dietary alfalfa flavonoids on the performance, meat quality and lipid oxidation of growing rabbits.

Objective: The present experiment has tested the effect of dietary alfalfa flavonoids (AAF) supplementation on the productive performances, carcass characteristics, meat quality and lipid oxidation of growing rabbits.

Methods: One hundred and sixty crossbred rabbits (42 days old) were divided into four groups of forty animals each and were fed either a control diet (AAF0) or an AAF0 diet supplemented with 400, 800, or 1,200 mg of AAF/kg per diet (AAF4, AAF8, and AAF12, respectively) from weaning to slaughtering (102 days old). Performance data were recorded over a period of 60 days.

Optimization of Ultrasonic-Assisted Extraction of Flavonoid Compounds and Antioxidants from Alfalfa Using Response Surface Method.

Ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) was used to extract flavonoid-enriched antioxidants from alfalfa aerial part. Response surface methodology (RSM), based on a four-factor, five-level central composite design (CCD), was employed to obtain the optimal extraction parameters, in which the flavonoid content was maximum and the antioxidant activity of the extracts was strongest. Radical scavenging capacity of the extracts, which represents the amounts of antioxidants in alfalfa, was determined by using 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonicacid) (ABTS) and 2,2'-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) methods.

Waste vinegar residue as substrate for phytase production.

Waste vinegar residue, the by-product of vinegar processing, was used as substrate for phytase production from Aspergillus ficuum NTG-23 in solid-state fermentation to investigate the potential for the efficient re-utilization or recycling of waste vinegar residue. Statistical designs were applied in the processing of phytase production. First, a Plackett-Burman (PB) design was used to evaluate eleven parameters: glucose, starch, wheat bran, (NH(4))(2)SO(4), NH(4)NO(3), tryptone, soybean meal, MgSO(4)·7H(2)O, CaCl(2)·7H(2)O, FeSO(4)·7H(2)O, incubation time.

Effects of dietary taurine on egg production, egg quality and cholesterol levels in Japanese quail.

Background: Taurine is a semi-essential amino acid and has many biological properties. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of dietary supplementation with taurine on egg production, egg quality, and cholesterol level in serum and egg yolk of quails. A total of 108 quails aged 6 weeks were randomly allocated to three dietary treatments.

Effects of chestnut tannins on carcass characteristics, meat quality, lipid oxidation and fatty acid composition of rabbits.

Seventy two male Bianca Italiana rabbits were used to study the effects of the inclusion (0%, 0.5%, and 1.0%) of a natural extract of chestnut wood (Silvafeed ENC) in the diet on productive traits, carcass characteristics, meat quality, lipid oxidation and fatty acid composition of rabbit meat.