Chemical composition and nutritive value of hot pepper seed (Capsicum annuum) grown in Northeast Region of China

Chemical composition and nutritive value of hot pepper seeds (Capsicum annuum) grown in Northeast Region of China were investigated. The proximate analysis showed that moisture, ash, crude fat, crude protein and total dietary fiber contents were 4.48, 4.94, 23.65, 21.29 and 38.76 g/100 g, respectively. The main amino acids were glutamic acid and aspartic acid (above 2 g/100 g), followed by histidine, phenylalanine, lysine, arginine, cysteine, leucine, tryptophan, serine, glycine, methionine, threonine and tyrosine (0.8-2 g/100 g). The contents of proline, alanine, valine and isoleucine were less than 0.8 g/100 g. The fatty acid profile showed that linoleic acid, palmitic acid, oleic acid, stearic acid and linolenic acid (above 0.55 g/100 g) as the most abundant fatty acids followed lauric acid, arachidic acid, gondoic acid and behenic acid (0.03-0.15 g/100 g). Analyses of mineral content indicated that the most abundant mineral was potassium, followed by magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, sodium and manganese. The nutritional composition of hot pepper seeds suggested that they could be regarded as good sources of food ingredients and as new sources of edible oils.

Ultra-processed foods and the nutritional dietary profile in Brazil

OBJECTIVE To assess the impact of consuming ultra-processed foods on the nutritional dietary profile in Brazil.METHODS Cross-sectional study conducted with data from the module on individual food consumption from the 2008-2009 Pesquisa de Orçamentos Familiares (POF – Brazilian Family Budgets Survey). The sample, which represented the section of the Brazilian population aged 10 years or over, involved 32,898 individuals. Food consumption was evaluated by two 24-hour food records. The consumed food items were classified into three groups: natural or minimally processed, including culinary preparations with these foods used as a base; processed; and ultra-processed.RESULTS The average daily energy consumption per capita was 1,866 kcal, with 69.5% being provided by natural or minimally processed foods, 9.0% by processed foods and 21.5% by ultra-processed food. The nutritional profile of the fraction of ultra-processed food consumption showed higher energy density, higher overall fat content, higher saturated and trans fat, higher levels of free sugar and less fiber, protein, sodium and potassium, when compared to the fraction of consumption related to natural or minimally processed foods. Ultra-processed foods presented generally unfavorable characteristics when compared to processed foods. Greater inclusion of ultra-processed foods in the diet resulted in a general deterioration in the dietary nutritional profile. The indicators of the nutritional dietary profile of Brazilians who consumed less ultra-processed foods, with the exception of sodium, are the stratum of the population closer to international recommendations for a healthy diet.CONCLUSIONS The results from this study highlight the damage to health that is arising based on the observed trend in Brazil of replacing traditional meals, based on natural or minimally processed foods, with ultra-processed foods. These results also support the recommendation of avoiding the consumption of these kinds of foods.

Estudo comparativo entre silagem de milho e cana taquara na alimentação suplementar de vacas leiteiras

The A. A. compare corn silage (Zea mays L.) with sugar cane (Saccharum sinensis Roxb.) in the supplementary feeding of dairy cow. Both the feeds were studied in relation to the following points: composition and nutritive value; influence of milk production, milk fat, milk acidity and body weight; cost of production. Both corn silage and sugar cane were analysed by ordinary methods, and their digestibility was determined by means of digestibility coefficients; their composition and nutritive value are, practically, equivalent, but silage showed slight superiority. The feeding experiment was carried out with two groups of six Holstein Friesian cows each, of the Escola Superior de Agricultura "Luiz de Queiroz" herd. Both groups were fed with the same basic concentrates mixture, calculeted according to MORRISON. During the various periods of the experiment, only the roughage supplement varied. The supplementary feeding consisted of 15 kg of chopped sugar cane or corn, silage, per day and per cow, given in two daily meals in the barn. At 4,30 p.m., the cows are set free in the field, where they pass the over night. The experiment was divided into six periods, in which there was a gradative change of the supplementary feeding between the two groups. The milk was weighed every day; the analysis of milk fat and acidity and the weighing of the animals, were made only on the first three days of every week. The analysis of data showed that: a) Milk production was increased significantly by silage feeding; b) The ri was not any influence on milk fat; c) The silage caused higher milk acidity; d) The sugar cane gave a greater increase of body weight. The cost of production of corn silage was 2,12 time higher, than sugar cane, hence, although the silage gave a higher milk production, its use is not economical, compared with sugar cane, in our conditions.

Contribuição para o estudo da composição e valor nutritivo de plantas forrageiras

The authors repport in this paper, the results of trials by means of which were determined the composition and nutritive value of three grasses, that are cultivated in Piracicaba, in State of São Paulo, Brazil: Capim jaragaá, Hyparrhenia rufa, (Nees.) Stapf. (hay); capim de Rhodes, Chloris gayana, Kunth. (hay), and milho Santa Rosa, Zea mays, L. (silage). The digestion trials were carried out with sheep, following the technique of MEAD and GUILBERT. The chemical analysis of the forages were made by methods usually employed. The results are in the tables I and II, of this paper.

Contribuição para o estudo da composição e digestibilidade do capim jaraguá (Hiparrhenia Rufa (Nees) Stapf.)

The authors repport in this paper, the results of trials by means of which were determined the composition and nutritive value of Capim Jaraguá, Hyparrhenia rufa (Nees) Stop/, cultivated in Piracicaba, in State of São Paulo, Brazil. The experiments were made with hay, silage and also the grass at three different stages: before, during and after blooming. The digestion trials were carried out with sheep, following the technique of MEAD and GUILBERT. The chemical analysis of the forages were made by methods usually employd. The results are in the table XXIV e XXV of this paper.

Contribuição ao estudo da composição química e digestibilidade do feno de siratro, Phaseolus stropurpureus

This paper deals with experiments carried out at the Bromatology Laboratory, E.S.A. "Luiz de Queiroz", USP, in order to assess the chemical composition and the digestion coefficients of siratro hay, Phaseolus atropurpureus. The field cured hay was analysed by standar methods usually employed, and two wethers were used in the digestibility trials. The results are summarised in tables I through II. Data from siratro hay were compared to those obtained with several tropical legumes used as hay. The nutritive value of siratro hay is discussed.

Diet of Teius oculatus (Sauria, Teiidae) in southern Brazil (Dom Feliciano, Rio Grande do Sul)

We analyzed stomach contents of 58 specimens of Teius oculatus (D'Orbigny & Bibron, 1837) (20 adult males, 17 adult females and 21 juveniles) captured in Dom Feliciano, RS, Brazil, to evaluate diet composition and sexual and ontogenetic variations in prey consumption. Diet was composed of 15 prey categories, all arthropods. Orthoptera was the most frequent prey type. Quantitatively, termites were the most important prey item (59.5%). There were no significant differences between the diets of adult males and females. Ontogenetic differences were found, mainly concerning volume of prey consumed. Adult lizards ingested significantly larger prey than juveniles (U = 170.00; p < 0.001). Juveniles, although having a comparatively less diverse diet (10 prey types) consumed a larger number of items (45.7% of total). Diet similarity was higher between juveniles and adult males (Ojk = 0.97) and prey diversity was higher in the diet of adult females (H' = 2.65). Based on importance value index the most important item in the diet of T. oculatus was Orthoptera. We conclude that T. oculatus in Dom Feliciano has a relatively generalized diet and it is an opportunist lizard, feeding on arthropods, mainly insects.

Spatial variation of dung beetle assemblages associated with forest structure in remnants of southern Brazilian Atlantic Forest

ABSTRACT The Brazilian Atlantic Forest is one of the world's biodiversity hotspots, and is currently highly fragmented and disturbed due to human activities. Variation in environmental conditions in the Atlantic Forest can influence the distribution of species, which may show associations with some environmental features. Dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) are insects that act in nutrient cycling via organic matter decomposition and have been used for monitoring environmental changes. The aim of this study is to identify associations between the spatial distribution of dung beetle species and Atlantic Forest structure. The spatial distribution of some dung beetle species was associated with structural forest features. The number of species among the sampling sites ranged widely, and few species were found in all remnant areas. Principal coordinates analysis indicated that species composition, abundance and biomass showed a spatially structured distribution, and these results were corroborated by permutational multivariate analysis of variance. The indicator value index and redundancy analysis showed an association of several dung beetle species with some explanatory environmental variables related to Atlantic Forest structure. This work demonstrated the existence of a spatially structured distribution of dung beetles, with significant associations between several species and forest structure in Atlantic Forest remnants from Southern Brazil.

Liming influence on soil chemical properties, nutritional status and yield of alfalfa grown in acid soil

Alfalfa is an important forage crop with high nutritive value, although highly susceptible to soil acidity. Liming is one of the most efficient and prevailing practices to correct soil acidity and improve alfalfa yield. The objective of this study was to evaluate response to liming of alfalfa grown in a greenhouse on a Typic Quartzipsamment soil. The treatments consisted of four lime rates (0, 3.8, 6.6 and 10.3 Mg ha-1) and two cuts. Alfalfa dry matter increased quadratically with increasing lime rates. In general, dry matter yield was maximized by a lime rate of 8.0 Mg ha-1. Except for the control, the dry matter nutrient contents in the treatments were adequate. The positive linear correlation between root and nodule dry matter with lime rates indicated improvement of these plant traits with decreasing soil acidity. The soil acidity indices pH, base saturation, Ca2+ concentration, Mg2+ concentration, and H + Al were relevant factors in the assessment of alfalfa yield. The magnitude of influence of these soil acidity indices on yield as determined by the coefficient of determination (R²) varied and decreased in the order: base saturation, H + Al, pH, Ca and Mg concentrations. Optimum values of selected soil chemical properties were defined for maximum shoot dry matter; these values can serve as a guideline for alfalfa liming to improve the yield of this forage on acid soils.

Cultivar response to fungicide application in relation to rice blast control, productivity and sustainability

Four field trials were conducted, from 1995 to 1997, with the objective of studying the response of four upland cultivars to foliar fungicide application in relation to panicle blast control, grain yield and sustainability. Differential disease control and yield response of cultivars to fungicide treatment were obtained. Losses in grain yield of cultivars IAC 202, Caiapó, Rio Paranaíba and Araguaia due to panicle blast were 44.8%, 27.4%, 24.4% and 18.2%, respectively. Two applications of tricyclazole or benomyl controlled panicle blast, as indicated by lower values of disease progress curve and relative panicle blast severity, and increased grain yield of the cultivar IAC 202. The losses in 100 panicle grain weight and grain yield were significantly reduced by 22.3% and 25.1% in IAC 202 and 23.6% and 20.5% in Caiapó, respectively, with two sprays of tricyclazole. Sustainable value index for yield was maximum with two applications of tricyclazole (0.59), followed by one application at booting (0.46) and at heading (0.40) in cultivar IAC 202. Results showed no yield response of the cultivars Rio Paranaíba and Araguaia to fungicide applications for panicle blast control.

Apparent digestibility of ingredients in diets for Salminus brasiliensis

The objective of this work was to determine the nutritional value of different protein sources for "dourado" (Salminus brasiliensis). Thirty juveniles per group (33.51±1.4 g) were hand fed on a reference diet (70%) added of tested ingredients (30%) and chromium oxide III (0.1%). Apparent digestibility coefficients of the gross energy (ADC GE), crude protein (ADC CP) and amino acids of the tested ingredients were evaluated. Corn gluten meal yielded the best results for ADC GE and ADC CP (95.7 and 96.9%, respectively) amongst plant ingredients. Spray-dried blood meal yielded the best values of ADC GE and ADC CP amongst animal ingredients (94.1 and 96.3%, respectively). Wheat bran yielded poorest ADCs coefficients (77 for ADC GE and 88.2% for ADC CP).

Dual-purpose wheat grain and animal production under different grazing periods

The objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of different grazing periods on beef animal production and on wheat forage and grain yield. The experiment was carried out in Pato Branco, PR, Brazil. Six grazing periods were evaluated (0, 21, 42, 63, 84, and 105 days) on dual-purpose wheat cultivar BRS Tarumã. Purunã steers, with average live weight of 162 kg and ten months of age, were kept under continuous grazing using a variable stocking rate, in order to maintain the established sward height of 25 cm. Greater increases in total animal gain (TAG) occurred with longer grazing periods. However, there was little increase after 63 days (490 kg ha-1), and TAG decreased from 552 to 448 kg ha-1 between 84 and 105 days. Grain yield decreased from 2,830 to 610 kg ha-1 when the grazing period increased from 0 to 105 days, but there was little change after 63 days (750 kg ha-1). Cultivar BRS Tarumã shows excellent animal production potential, and the decision on how long wheat pastures should be grazed must be based on relative prices of grain and livestock.

Performance of dairy heifers raised on Xaraés palissadgrass (Brachiaria brizantha cv. Xaraés) pasture supplemented with two types of mineral mixture

The effects of selective (e.g. mineral supplement formulated on the basis of nutritional and clinical examination of the herd) or commercial mineral supplementation of crossbred dairy heifers (Holstein-Mantiqueira), on daily weight gain (DWG), body condition score (BCS), age at first mating (AFM) and the intake of mineral mixture (IMM) managed on Xaraés palissadgrass pasture (Brachiaria brizantha cv. Xaraés) were evaluated from February 2006 to March 2008. Structural characteristics, forage allowance and nutritional value of Xaraés palissadgrass were also evaluated. The structural variables of pasture, allowances and nutritive value of forage, besides the DWG were only affected (p<0.05) by season, with highest results for spring and summer. Throughout the experimental period (730 days), no sign of mineral deficiency was detected in heifers that ingested the selective supplement. The DWG and AFM were not influenced by the mineral mixture offered (0.52 and 0.33 kg/day during the spring/summer and in fall/winter for DWG, respectively, and 813 days of AFM). The IMM was higher for commercial mineral mixture than for selective (61.6 and 51.0g/day respectively). The BCS was slightly higher for selective (3.17) than for the commercial (3.02) mineral mixture. Thus, the selective mineral supplement was a strategy to prevent mineral deficiency in this herd and resulted in similar performance at lower costs (e.g. due to less IMM) of crossbred heifers when compared with the commercial mineral supplementation.

Effect of long-term agricultural management systems on occurrence and composition of weed species

This study aims to assess the composition of weed communities as a function of distinct selection factors, at neighboring areas submitted to distinct soil management and diverse use for sixteen years. Four areas submitted to distinct managements (conventional tillage system; no-till system; integration crop/livestock and continuous livestock) were sampled in relation to the occurrence and severity of weed species by the beginning of the planting season, being estimated the relative abundance, relative frequency and relative dominance of each weed species under each area, as well as the Importance Value Index for each species. Areas were also compared by the Sørensen's similarity coefficient. Areas where pasture and grazing were never present, exhibited a number of seedlings of weed species 250% higher than areas periodically or continuously under grazing, while the area of soil covered by weeds was 87% superior at the conventional tillage system in relation to the average of the other treatments. Grass weeds were the most important at the conventional tillage area while broadleaved weeds where more important at the no-till area, probably due also to herbicide selection factors. Under crop/livestock integration there may be the need to care about controlling seedlings of the forage species inside grain crops in succession.

Infestation of weed species in pre-planting of soybean in succession to winter crops

This study aimed to evaluate different crops and plant species planted after soybeans for one year, in terms of their potential to inhibit the occurrence of weed species. The following crops that were planted as second crop after soybeans were evaluated: (1) corn (Zea mays) planted at spacing of 90 cm between rows, intercropped with Brachiaria ruziziensis in the inter-rows; (2) sunflower (Helianthus annuus); (3) crambe (Crambe abyssinica); (4) radish (Raphanus sativus); (5) rapeseed (Brassica napus); and (6) winter fallow - no plantation after soybeans. Phytosociological characterization of weed species was carried out at the pre-planting of soybeans in the following cropping season. Estimations of relative abundance, relative frequence, relative dominance and Importance Value Index were made for each species present. Areas were also intra-characterized by the diversity coefficients of Simpson and modified Shannon-Weiner, and areas were compared using the Jaccard similarity coefficient for presence-only, by multivariate cluster analysis. In the short‑term (a single cropping season), cultivation of winter crops do contribute for lower occurrence of weed species at the pre-planting of soybeans on the subsequent cropping season. The suppressive effects depend both on the species grown in the winter and in the amount of straw left on the soil by these winter crops. Radish was more efficient in inhibiting the occurrence of weed species and rapeseed showed composition of infestation similar to that observed at the area under fallow.