The rate and extent of consumer’s demand for safe and quality meat products depend on the processing methods that will not alter the nutritional and eating qualities of the finished products. The study evaluated physicochemical properties and consumer’s acceptability of cooked breast muscle of indigenous ducks raised in different zones in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The study was conducted at the Laboratory of Department Animal Science, Faculty Agricultural Science, of Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. Twenty four matured indigenous ducks aged 24 months comprising 12 drakes and 12 ducks raised under extensive system were randomly selected from three different geo-graphical locations in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Animals were weighed, stunned and exsaguinated, defeathered, eviscerated, breast muscles separated, wrapped in a polythene bags and chilled at 4°C for 24 hours. The breast muscles were divided into two portions, labeled according to sex and locations. The thaw loss and pH were evaluated after 24 hours. The meat samples were cooked by two methods (pan and deep fry). The cook loss, water holding capacity, shear force, lipid stability and yield of cooked breast meat were evaluated. A six- member taste panelist rated the organoleptic characteristics of cooked samples using nine-point hedonic scale. The results showed that water holding capacity, % cook loss, % cook yield, shear force, Thiobarbituric Acid Reacting Substance (Tbars) values and sensory properties were significantly (p<0.05) influenced by cooking methods. Both sexes of location B recorded similar shear force values (8.0 kg/cm2) cooked by pan fry. The overall acceptability of cooked breast meat by deep fry method was recorded from location A ducks of either sex while pan fried breast muscle were observed in location B samples of the drake meat. The study showed that drake breast muscles cooked by either method had better yield, quality and shelf stability than female counterpart.
A ten-week study was carried out to determine the effect of inclusion levels of dietary rumen filtrate-fermented rice offal on the haematology and sensory characteristics of rabbits. Twenty five (25) growing crossbred rabbit bucks weighed between 625.34 g-631.21 g were divided into five (5) treatment groups of five (5) rabbits each with each rabbit serving as a replicate in a completely randomized design experiment. The control group was fed with a diet containing maize as the main energy source while the remaining four groups were fed with diets in which the maize was replaced with 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% rumen filtrate fermented-rice offal meals respectively. Values obtained for measured parameters in all treatment groups for haematological and serum biochemical indices were within the normal range for rabbits. However, the experimental diets had significant effect (P<0.05) on haemoglobin, white blood cell count, monocytes, eosinophiles and blood cholesterol. The diets showed no significant effect (P>0.05) on the sensory properties of rabbit meat. It was concluded that inclusion of rumen filtrate-fermented rice offal at 20% levels in the diets of growing rabbits maintained a good health and better meat quality as shown by results of haematological and organoleptic properties of the rabbits. It was therefore recommended that feed manufacturers and rabbit farmers can incorporate up to 20% of bovine rumen filtrate-fermented rice offal meal in the diets of rabbits without compromising on the health of the rabbits and the quality of rabbit meat.
Freshwater snails are intermediate hosts of some trematode diseases including Schistosomiasis. This study was designed to study the interactions between Bulinus species and the larval stages of Schistosoma haematobium specifically the amino acid levels of the infected freshwater snails. Bulinus species were collected from their natural habitats, reared in the laboratory, and exposed to the larval stage of Schistosoma haematobium. Using the method described in Association of Official Analytical Chemists in determining Amino acid profile the amino acid profile of both the infected and non-infected Bulinus species was determined. Histidine, valine, methionine, phenylalanine, lysine levels of the Bulinus species decreased amongst the infected starved snails than in the control. The amino acids profile decreased significantly across the different challenges that the snails Bulinus were exposed to. This study has opened research windows for the control of urinary schistosomiasis through the control of the intermediate hosts using some biochemical approach.
This study was conducted at Al-Fjaj station using of 2262 records to evaluate some non-genetic factors affecting Awassi lambs body weight and growth rate in Jordan. Data were analyzed by SAS program using General Linear Model (GLM). Least Square Means of body weight at birth (BW), at weaning -60 days (W60), at the age of 180 days (W180) and yearling age (W360), were 4.43±0.04, 18.07±0.21, 35.96±0.35, 59.71±0.94 kg, respectively. Growth rates from birth to weaning (GR1), from weaning to 180 days of age (GR2) and from 180 days to yearling age (GR3), were 0.216±0.03, 0.141±0.03, 0.131±0.002 (kg/day), respectively. All studied traits were significantly affected (p<0.01) by year of production (YP) and interaction between birth type (BT) and (YP). Sex of lamb (SL) had a highly significant effect (p<0.01) on BW, W60 and GR1. The BW, W60 and GR2 were significantly affected (p<0.01) by (BT) and also W180 and GR2 were significantly affected by (BT) and age of ewe (AE), respectively. The results of the present study suggested that lamb body weight and growth rate could be increased by improved management of Awassi lambs under rearing condition in Jordan.
goats is managed by a variety of antibiotics. Due to the emergence of antibiotic resistance, there is need for development of new antimicrobial agents. In the current study, the in vitro activity of nanoencapsulated bromelain, using bromelain extracted from the pineapple fruit, Annanus comosus was investigated against bacteria isolated from milk of dairy goats with sub-clinical mastitis. Nanoencapsulation of bromelain was done using the ionic gelation method of chitosan nanoparticles with sodium trypolyphosphate as the cross linking agent. In this study, the agar well diffusion method was used to test for antimicrobial activity while the broth microdilution method was used to test for the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC). The isolates used were Staphylococcus aureus, Coagulase Negative Staphylococci, Serratia spp., Klebsiella spp., Enterobacter spp., Citrobacter spp. and Escherichia coli isolated from milk of dairy goats with sub-clinical mastitis in Thika East Sub-county, Kenya. The agar well diffusion method showed that bromelain and nanoencapsulated bromelain had antimicrobial activity. All of the tested bacteria were sensitive to extracted bromelain at 5 mg/ml and less. The tested bacteria were less sensitive to commercial bromelain (57.1%) at 5 mg/ml and less. The MIC of nanoencapsulated bromelain against Enterobacter spp., Citrobacter spp., Serratia spp. and Coagulase Negative Staphylococci was 25 µg/ml, while that of Escherichia coli was 50 µg/ml. The MIC of nanoencapsulated bromelain against Klebsiella spp. and Staphylococcus aureus was 200 µg/ml. The low MICs recorded in this study shows that nanoencapsulated bromelain has high antimicrobial potential which warrants further in vivo studies in dairy goats to determine its efficacy against sub-clinical mastitis.
