Dietary oregano (Origanum vulgare L.) aqueous extract improves oxidative stability and consumer acceptance of meat enriched with CLA and n-3 PUFA in broilers.

The effect of a dietary oregano aqueous extract on meat fatty acid profile, quality, and consumer acceptance in chickens fed a diet rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) was evaluated in 3 consecutive trials.For each trial, 171 day-old Ross 308 chicks were randomly divided in replicates of 19 birds each and assigned to one of 3 experimental diets: 1) basal control diet, 2) basal diet supplemented with 0.2 g/kg of oregano aqueous extract, and 3) basal diet supplemented with 150 ppm of vitamin E (as positive control). To better analyze the antioxidant activity of both oregano and vitamin E, all the experimental diets were enriched with a fatty acid supplement consisting in a mixture of PUFA at the same dose (1.16 %) in both starter and finisher feeds. Oregano supplementation positively influenced (P < 0.05) broiler live performance. No differences were observed in physicochemical or proximal composition or in total fatty acid composition of breast meat. Dietary oregano influenced meat composition in terms of total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity, and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances, improving meat resistance to oxidation, compared to both other groups. During consumer tests, meat from the 3 dietary groups obtained the same liking score in a blind session. Under informed condition, consumer perception was positively influenced by labeling for all the considered attributes. Furthermore, consumers showed a higher expectation for meat derived from chickens fed the oregano extract when compared to that deriving from the other 2 groups.Results obtained in the present study allow stating that using oregano aqueous extract in diets enriched with PUFA can represent a valid solution to increase live weight of chickens, improve resistance to oxidation of meat, and positively influence consumer perception of poultry meat.

Changes in the Fatty Acid Profile and Phospholipid Molecular Species Composition of Human Erythrocyte Membranes after Hybrid Palm and Extra Virgin Olive Oil Supplementation.

This work aims to evaluate and compare, for the first time, the effects of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and hybrid palm oil (HPO) supplementation on the fatty acid profile and phospholipid (PL) molecular species composition of human erythrocyte membranes. Results supported the effectiveness of both HPO and EVOO supplementation (3 months, 25 mL/day) in decreasing the lipophilic index of erythrocytes with no significant differences between HPO and EVOO groups at month 3. On the other hand, the novel and rapid ultraperformance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method used for PL analysis reveals an increase in the levels of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine species esterified with polyunsaturated fatty acids. This work demonstrates the ability of both EVOO and HPO to increase the degree of unsaturation of erythrocyte membrane lipids with an improvement in membrane fluidity that could be associated with a lower risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.

Palm oil and cardiovascular disease: a randomized trial of the effects of hybrid palm oil supplementation on human plasma lipid patterns.

This study examines, for the first time, the effect of hybrid Elaeis oleifera × E. guineensis palm oil supplementation on human plasma lipids related to CVD risk factors. One hundred sixty eligible participants were randomized and assigned to one of the two treatments: 25 mL hybrid palm oil (HPO group) or 25 mL extra virgin olive oil (EVOO group) daily for 3 months. Fasting venous samples were obtained at baseline and after 1, 2 and 3 months for measurement of plasma lipids (TC, LDL-C, HDL-C and TAGs). Changes in body mass index and waist circumference were also assessed. Although there was an overall reduction in TC (7.4%, p < 0.001) and in LDL-C (15.6%, p < 0.001), no significant differences were found between the treatment groups in a repeated measures analysis of variance for TC (p = 0.0525), LDL-C (p = 0.2356), HDL-C (p = 0.8293) or TAGs (p = 0.3749). Furthermore, HPO consumption had similar effects on plasma lipids to EVOO, thus providing additional support for the concept that hybrid Elaeis oleifera × E. guineensis palm oil can be seen as a "tropical equivalent of olive oil".

[The role of eggs in the diet: nutraceutical and epigenetic aspects]. / Il ruolo delle uova nella dieta: aspetti nutraceutici ed epigenetici.

The use of eggs in human diet has been object of many prejudices which are not yet completely disappeared The evolution of knowledge in the field of nutrition has, partially, countered these prejudices by highlighting the biological importance of several compounds present in the eggs. The nutritional and commercial revaluation of the eggs are passed through the enrichment of the lipid fraction in omega3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA omega3) which, have shown positive effects against cardiovascular diseases and development of the central nervous system and retina. The enrichment of eggs lipid with omega3 fatty acids is carried out by the integration of feeding hens with oils rich in omega3 fatty acids such as plant or marine oils. The results showed that the accumulation of omega3 in the egg yolk lipids is strongly affected by the type of oil used as supplement and by the amounts of oils administrated to the hens.

Determination of phospholipid molecular species in pork meat by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and evaporative light scattering detection.

Normal phase high performance liquid chromatography has been optimized for both evaporative light scattering detection and tandem mass spectrometry in order to characterize the natural phospholipids (PL) (classes and molecular species) of raw and cooked pork meat. The PL fraction included phosphatidylcholine (PC) (42.9%±4.5 for raw vs 42.6%±8.0 for cooked meat), plasmalogen-phosphatidylethanolamine (pPE) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) (26.7%±3.1 vs 28.5%±2.3), cardiolipin (CL) (8.3%±2.9 vs 6.3%±0.7), sphingomyelin (Sph) (7.5%±0.9 vs 8.3%±2.1), phosphatidylinositol (PI) (6.8%±0.7 vs 6.5%±2.1) phosphatidylserine (PS) (4.9%±0.5 vs 4.6%±1.4) and lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) (2.9%±1.3 vs 3.3%±2.6). Arachidonic acid (absent in Sph) was mainly present in pPE and PI and formed molecular species with a saturated fatty acid, such as stearic (as in PI, PS, PE and PC) or palmitic acid (as in PE and PC), or the respective vinyl ethers in pPE (p18:0 and p16:0); however, in PC, arachidonic acid also formed combinations with oleic and linoleic acid. Palmitic acid formed the most abundant molecular species in PC, but not in CL, PE, PI and PS. Unexpectedly, the cooked pork meat showed an increased content of the molecular species of PI and LPC with more unsaturated fatty acids (18:0/20:4 and 18:2, respectively) with respect to raw meat.