Enhancing bioactive fatty acids of the meat from lambs reared in intensive systems through nutritional modulation

Tese de Doutoramento em Ciências Veterinárias, especialidade de Produção Animal

To eat or not to eat meat: that is the question

Meat is a well accepted food with appreciable appealing. Due to its high nutritional value it plays a central role in human development. Meat/meat derivates are important sources of proteins, minerals and vitamins. Their nutritional importance is paralleled to their economic impact. Paying attention to the social alarm originated by a recent publication of WHO about the relationship between red and/or processed meat consumption and cancer, this paper reviews the following aspects: a) the present consumption of meat/meat products in Spain; b) the contribution of their macro/micronutrients to the recommended dietary allowances; c) the obliged use of additives (e.g. nitrites and nitrates) to warrant the food safety, and their daily intake. In addition health risks derived from a high consumption, as well as the most appropriate culinary uses in order to reduce the formation of toxic products (e.g. N-nitrosocompounds) are commented. Due to the huge variety of available meat products, this paper concludes that any generalization should be avoided. We also emphasize about the advantages of consuming meat/meat products in the frame of a Mediterranean diet, rich in vegetables, fruits, and bioactive compounds.

Fruit juice label: what matters to the consumer?

2014

Fast HPLC method for anthocyanins determination in pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) juice.

2012

A survey of the meat goat industry in Queensland and New South Wales. 1. General property information, goat and pasture management.

This study aimed to survey farmers knowledge and practices on the management of pastures, stocking rates and markets of meat goat-producing enterprises within New South Wales and Queensland, Australia. An interview-based questionnaire was conducted on properties that derived a significant proportion of their income from goats. The survey covered 31 landholders with a total land area of 567 177 ha and a reported total of 160 010 goats. A total of 55% (17/31) of producers were involved in both opportunistic harvesting and commercial goat operations, and 45% (14/31) were specialised seedstock producers. Goats were the most important livestock enterprise on 55% (17/31) of surveyed properties. Stocking rate varied considerably (0.3?9.3 goats/ha) within and across surveyed properties and was found to be negatively associated with property size and positively associated with rainfall. Overall, 81% (25/31) of producers reported that the purpose of running goats on their properties was to target international markets. Producers also cited the importance of targeting markets as a way to increase profitability. Fifty-three percent of producers were located over 600 km from a processing plant and the high cost of freight can limit the continuity of goats supplied to abattoirs. Fencing was an important issue for goat farmers, with many producers acknowledging this could potentially add to capital costs associated with better goat management and production. Producers in the pastoral regions appear to have a low investment in pasture development and opportunistic goat harvesting appears to be an important source of income.

Allele- and parent-of-origin-specific effects on expression of the KCNJ11 gene: a candidate for meat tenderness in cattle.

2016

The role of combinations between fasting intervals and lairage times on pigs welfare, stomach content and carcass and meat quality.

2016

Ractopamine stability in meat and bone meal samples store under freezing and ambient conditions.

2016

Ractopamine depletion through urine in swine fed increasing doses of contaminated meat and bone meal.

2016

Genomic structure and marker-derived gene networks for growth and meat quality traits of brazilian nelore beef cattle.

Nelore is the major beef cattle breed in Brazil with more than 130 million heads. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are often used to associate markers and genomic regions to growth and meat quality traits that can be used to assist selection programs. An alternative methodology to traditional GWAS that involves the construction of gene network interactions, derived from results of several GWAS is the AWM (Association Weight Matrices)/PCIT (Partial Correlation and Information Theory). With the aim of evaluating the genetic architecture of Brazilian Nelore cattle, we used high-density SNP genotyping data (~770,000 SNP) from 780 Nelore animals comprising 34 half-sibling families derived from highly disseminated and unrelated sires from across Brazil. The AWM/PCIT methodology was employed to evaluate the genes that participate in a series of eight phenotypes related to growth and meat quality obtained from this Nelore sample.

The Brazilian grape juice: market and prospects.

This article aims to analyze the market of Brazilian grape juice.

Analytical characteristics and discrimination of Brazilian commercial grape juice, nectar, and beverage.

The production and commercialization of Brazilian grape juice is increasing annually, mainly due to its typicality, quality, and nutritional value. The present research was carried out in view of the great significance of Brazilian grape juice for the grape and wine industry. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to assess its composition as well as the discrimination between grape juice and other beverages. Twenty four samples of whole, sweetened, and reprocessed grape juices, grape nectar, and grape beverage were evaluated. Classical variables were analyzed by means of physicochemical methods; tartaric and malic acids, by HPLC; methanol, by gas chromatography; minerals, by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. These products were discriminated by the Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Results show that whole and sweetened grape juices were discriminated from other grape products because they featured higher values of total soluble solids, tartaric and malic acids, most minerals, phenolic compounds, and K/Na ratio, whereas grape nectar and grape beverage presented higher values of ºBrix/titratable acidity ratio. Reprocessed juice was discriminated due to its higher concentrations of Li and Na and lower hue.

Genome-wide detection of CNVs and their association with meat tenderness in Nelore cattle.

Brazil is one of the largest beef producers and exporters in the world with the Nelore breed representing the vast majority of Brazilian cattle (Bos taurus indicus). Despite the great adaptability of the Nelore breed to tropical climate, meat tenderness (MT) remains to be improved. Several factors including genetic composition can influence MT. In this article, we report a genome-wide analysis of copy number variation (CNV) inferred from Illumina1 High Density SNP-chip data for a Nelore population of 723 males. We detected >2,600 CNV regions (CNVRs) representing 6.5% of the genome. Comparing our results with previous studies revealed an overlap in 1400 CNVRs (>50%). A total of 1,155 CNVRs (43.6%) overlapped 2,750 genes. They were enriched for processes involving guanosine triphosphate (GTP), previously reported to influence skeletal muscle physiology and morphology. Nelore CNVRs also overlapped QTLs for MT reported in other breeds (8.9%, 236 CNVRs) and from a previous study with this population (4.1%, 109 CNVRs). Two CNVRs were also proximal to glutathione metabolism genes that were previously associated with MT. Genome-wide association study of CN state with estimated breeding values derived from meat shear force identified 6 regions, including a region on BTA3 that contains genes of the cAMP and cGMP pathway. Ten CNVRs that overlapped regions associated with MT were successfully validated by qPCR. Our results represent the first comprehensive CNV study in Bos taurus indicus cattle and identify regions in which copy number changes are potentially of importance for the MT phenotype.

Influence of lactation stages and rain periods on subclinical mastitis in meat producing ewes.

Mastitis negatively influences the survival and weight gain of ovines for meat production. The purpose of this study was to investigate, in sheep for meat production, the occurrence of subclinical mastitis in ewes at the end of lactation and beginning of the consecutive lactation and to assess the composition and cellular characteristics of milk as a function of different rainfall indices. Mammary halves (821) of Santa Ines (479) and Morada Nova (342) ewes were examined. Milk samples were collected in two different moments of lactation: at weaning and postpartum of the consecutive lactation. Sample collection periods were called ?dry? or ?rainy? according to the rainfall index in the month immediately before the month of collection. The occurrence of subclinical mastitis at weaning in the Santa Ines and Morada Nova ewes were 16.4 and 12.6% in the dry period, and 17.7 and 23.5% in the rainy period, respectively. In the consecutive lactation period, the occurrences were 26.7 and 27.7% in the dry period and 41.8 and 39.1% in the rainy period, for the Santa Ines and Morada Nova ewes, respectively. Postpartum stage was critical for the occurrence of subclinical mastitis, as compared to that at the end of the previous lactation. Occurrence of the disease negatively influenced the SCC in the milk at the beginning of lactation and changed its composition, mainly in the rainiest periods, probably due to a difficulty in maintaining hygiene in the environment where the animals remained.

Development of methodology for the determination of organic acids in must, grape juice and wine by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

2012