Sensory characteristics and consumer preference for meat from guinea fowl fed hevea seed meal or cashew nut meal supplemented diets.

This study is part of a series of studies on the possibility of substituting alternative protein source supplements to the diet of guinea fowl in order to improve food security in the fight against poverty on the African Continent. This study assesses the identified sensory characteristics of guinea fowl meat and consumer preferences to determine if the possible alternative supplements identified result in a product acceptable to consumers and if consumer preference was evident. Indigenous guinea fowl or selected breed (Galor animals) were fed a control diet C, a commercial diet I (diet used for guinea fowl in Côte d'Ivoire), or one of 2 experimental diets N (diet C supplemented with 15% cashew nut meal) or diet H (diet C supplemented with 15% detoxified hevea seed meal). Meat samples were assessed by 120-trained people using 18 sensory attributes. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that meats from guinea fowl fed diet C or diet I were clearly distinguished from guinea fowl fed N or H diets and that meat of indigenous guinea fowl or Galor animals were also clearly distinguished. The results of the hierarchical group analysis showed that meat from guinea fowl fed diet H was the preferred guinea fowl meat. A first partial least squares regression PLSR1 identified the relationships between guinea fowl meat samples, their sensory attributes and consumer preference and showed that 82.6% of the sensory data of the first 2 principal components accounted for 95.5% of the preference. The PLSR2 identified the relationships between guinea fowl samples, their sensory attributes, and their biochemical characteristics and showed that the fat content of the meat determined the intensity of flavor, odor, juiciness, and tenderness of the meat. Our results showed that meat from birds fed diet H was preferred, and thus emphasized the existence of a place for the use of hevea seed meal in guinea fowl diet in Côte d'Ivoire.

Sensory characteristics and consumer preference for chicken meat in Guinea.

This study identified the sensory characteristics and consumer preference for chicken meat in Guinea. Five chicken samples [live village chicken, live broiler, live spent laying hen, ready-to-cook broiler, and ready-to-cook broiler (imported)] bought from different locations were assessed by 10 trained panelists using 19 sensory attributes. The ANOVA results showed that 3 chicken appearance attributes (brown, yellow, and white), 5 chicken odor attributes (oily, intense, medicine smell, roasted, and mouth persistent), 3 chicken flavor attributes (sweet, bitter, and astringent), and 8 chicken texture attributes (firm, tender, juicy, chew, smooth, springy, hard, and fibrous) were significantly discriminating between the chicken samples (P<0.05). Principal component analysis of the sensory data showed that the first 2 principal components explained 84% of the sensory data variance. The principal component analysis results showed that the live village chicken, the live spent laying hen, and the ready-to-cook broiler (imported) were very well represented and clearly distinguished from the live broiler and the ready-to-cook broiler. One hundred twenty consumers expressed their preferences for the chicken samples using a 5-point Likert scale. The hierarchical cluster analysis of the preference data identified 4 homogenous consumer clusters. The hierarchical cluster analysis results showed that the live village chicken was the most preferred chicken sample, whereas the ready-to-cook broiler was the least preferred one. The partial least squares regression (PLSR) type 1 showed that 72% of the sensory data for the first 2 principal components explained 83% of the chicken preference. The PLSR1 identified that the sensory characteristics juicy, oily, sweet, hard, mouth persistent, and yellow were the most relevant sensory drivers of the Guinean chicken preference. The PLSR2 (with multiple responses) identified the relationship between the chicken samples, their sensory attributes, and the consumer clusters. Our results showed that there was not a chicken category that was exclusively preferred from the other chicken samples and therefore highlight the existence of place for development of all chicken categories in the local market.

Dual perinatal and developmental expression of the small heat shock proteins [FC12]aB-crystallin and Hsp27 in different tissues of the developing piglet.

Expression of the two closely related heat shock proteins (HSPs), alpha B-crystallin and Hsp27, was studied in various tissues of the developing pig. Expression of alpha B-crystallin was maximum in the lens while expression of Hsp27 was absent. In non-lenticular tissues, both proteins were strongly expressed in heart and muscle. Increases in alpha B-crystallin expression were observed in brain, liver and kidney while Hsp27 was increased in kidney at later stages. Relatively constant expression was found in heart while a decrease in both stress proteins was observed between 28 days and 6 months in skeletal muscle. In the different parts of the gastrointestinal tract, increased expression of alpha B-crystallin was seen following birth and weaning while increased expression of Hsp27 was restricted to weaning. These results are discussed in terms of the protective effects of HSPs during stressful events in the different tissues of the developing pig.

Weaning affects the expression of heat shock proteins in different regions of the gastrointestinal tract of piglets.

Heat shock proteins (HSP) play a central role in the protection of cells, tissues or organs subjected to various types of stressors. Different nutrients have been recently shown to exert their protection through the induction of HSP. Because these nutrients alleviate alterations of the intestine after weaning in pigs, this study was designed to obtain basic information on the expression of HSP 27, heat shock cognate 70 (HSC 70), HSP 70 and HSP 90 along the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of young pigs and to study the effect of weaning on this expression. Pigs were weaned at 28 or 21 d and slaughtered at various times postweaning. All HSP were expressed in the GIT segments studied before and after weaning. However, the expression of HSP 27 and HSP 70 was transiently increased in the stomach and duodenum between 6 and 12 h postweaning and between 24 and 48 h in the mid-jejunum, ileum and colon. Their expressions were transiently decreased in the ileum. Expression of HSP 90 increased in the stomach and jejunum but decreased in the duodenum, ileum and colon. Similar results were obtained at both ages of weaning. We conclude that the HSP studied are present all along the gut of pigs and that their expression is modulated through weaning according to spatial-temporal patterns. The modulation by nutrients of HSP and their protective role on the GIT remain to be investigated in pigs.

The FAST method, a rapid approach of the nutritional quality of heat-treated foods.

The FAST method is based on the determination of maximal fluorescence emission when exciting at 330-350 nm, which corresponds to molecular structures formed between reducing sugars or oxidizing lipids and lysine residues of proteins. This fluorescence is dependent on heat treatment and related to protein nutritional loss. Applied to a soluble extract of the food and corrected for the protein concentration of the solution obtained, using Trp fluorescence, the method allows to calculate the FAST index (FI), an indicator of the nutritional damage during heat process. The method, firstly validated on milk samples, is demonstrated here to well correlate with lysine damage on various food products, such as heat-treated milk and breakfast cereals, essentially modified by the Maillard reaction, and roasted soybean or cooked salmon, where interactions between oxidizing lipids and proteins better take place. Independently on the food product or the type of heat process, the FAST index appears always well correlated (r2: 0.84-0.98) to the lysine loss, the latter being estimated by determination of acid-released lysine, fluorescamine-reactive lysine or infrared. Shortly, roasted corn flakes appeared to be more damaged than extrudated flour (FI 100 and lysine blockage 40% instead of 55 and 30%), condensed milk more than UHT milk (FI 150 and 85% of acid-released lysine instead of 80 and 94%), and steam-cooked salmon much less than pan-fried (FI 28 instead of 372). Roasted soy can reach FI of more than 300 corresponding to chemical lysine loss of 40% and poultry-digestive lysine loss of 100%. As a conclusion, the FAST method, once precisely calibrated with pertinent nutritional indicators, should be of great interest for controlling or adapting a process in order to ensure a better nutritional quality for the food product.

Perinatal expression of heat shock proteins HSC 70 and HSP 70 in neural and non neural tissues of the piglet.

Stress of different kinds during early perinatal life can result in severe consequences for further development. To determine possible involvement of heat shock proteins in brain development, the expression of HSC 70 and HSP 70 was determined in brain regions (cerebellum, cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus and striatum) and non neural tissues (liver, lungs and kidneys) at birth and during early development of the piglet. In brain regions, HSC 70 expression was decreased during the few hours following birth. With the exception of cortex, hippocampus and kidney where a decrease of expression was observed, HSP 70 did not show significant changes during early development. These results are discussed in terms of using the piglet model of development to study the effect of different kinds of stress like hypoxia or temperature changes on brain development.

Perinatal expression of heat-shock protein 90 in different regions of the brain and in non-neural tissues of the piglet.

Important stressful events occur at birth or within the few hours that follow. To establish a possible involvement of stress proteins, expression of heat-shock protein 90 was determined by Western blotting in several regions of the brain and in non-neural tissues of the developing piglet (fetal to 10 days and adult). Expression was found in all the tissues studied. While comparable values were found in the whole brain during development, decreased expressions were observed from 4 to 8 h to 2 days after birth in cerebellum, cortex, hypothalamus and striatum. In hippocampus, low expression was observed from 4 h postnatally onward. In non-neural tissues, low expression was observed after birth and in the adult for heart, liver and lungs. In kidney, low values were found from birth to 1 day of age. Changes in environmental parameters like temperature and/or hypoxia can be related to differential expressions of heat-shock proteins and they possibly result in severe developmental outcomes. The results are discussed in terms of using the newborn piglet as a model for the study of different forms of stress on the heat-shock protein expression during postnatal development.

Effect of hypoxia on DNA fragmentation in different brain regions of the newborn piglet.

DNA fragmentation has been studied in different regions of the newborn piglet brain following different times of normobaric hypoxia (5% O(2), 95% N(2)). After 1 hr of hypoxia, fragmented DNA was observed in cerebellum, cortex, hippocampus, and striatum but not in hypothalamus. More fragmentation occurred in these areas of the brain when the animals were kept under hypoxia for times up to 8 hr 45 min. When the animals were submitted to hypoxia for two and a half hours, integrity of DNA was recovered respectively after 3 hr of exposure to the ambient atmosphere in hippocampus and striatum, but 4 hr of recovery were necessary for cerebellum and cortex. These results are discussed in terms of the consequences of neonatal hypoxia and apnea for newborn infants and economical impact for farm animals.

Perinatal expression of heat-shock protein 27 in brain regions and nonneural tissues of the piglet.

Important stressful events occur at birth or within the few hours that follow this event. To unravel a possible involvement of stress proteins, it is important to determine their levels of expression. Expression of HSP27 protein was determined by Western blotting in several nonneural tissues and in brain regions of the developing pig (fetal to adult). Maximum levels of expression were observed in heart, liver, and lung. In kidney, the expression was reduced during the first hours of life. Brain parts included whole brain, cerebellum, cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus, and striatum. HSP27 immunogenicity was observed in all the brain regions studied. In whole brain, cerebellum, cortex, hippocampus, and hypothalamus extracts, the levels of HSP27 were decreased during the first hours of age (4 h to 2 d). In striatum, levels of expression were very low--if detectable--during the early postnatal days of life. Changes in environmental parameters, like temperature and/or hypoxia can be possibly related to differential expressions of HSPs, which can result in severe adverse developmental outcomes. The results are discussed in terms of using the newborn piglet as a model to study different forms of stress on the heat-shock protein postnatal expression.

Nutritional value of the proteins of soybeans roasted at a small-scale unit level in Africa as assessed using growing rats.

Increasing the roasting time of soybeans from 15 (RSF15) to 25 (RSF25) min led to an important decrease in the antitryptic activity and immunoreactivity of the storage globulins, but it did not seem to greatly affect the concentrations of the indispensable amino acids in the protein. The RSF15 and RSF25 flours were used as the only protein sources in balanced diets for growing rats, and they were compared to a diet based on casein in a pair-feeding experiment. When roasted as usually happens at the workshop level (RSF15), soybean flour induced a significant hypertrophy of the pancreas. Increasing the roasting time by up to 25 min considerably improved the nutritional value of the soybean protein, without apparent consequence on the levels of free amino acid pools in the plasma and muscles. The data also indicated that the tissues of the small and large intestines of the young rat were sensitive to the hyperactivity of the intestinal microflora, and also possibly to the residual activity of some antinutritional factors.

Early-life patterns of plasma gut regulatory peptide levels in calves: effects of the first meals.

The effects of the first meals on the release of seven gut regulatory peptides were studied in newborn calves fed colostrum either at serial intervals during the first day of life or at 28 h only. Fasted animals showed no significant variation of plasma peptides until the first feed, except for somatostatin, which peaked at 4-5 h and declined thereafter. As assessed before and 1 h after feeding, the first meal tended to induce rises in plasma gastrin, cholecystokinin and pancreatic polypeptide, while the other peptides were unaffected. Repeated colostrum feeds induced marked increases in plasma gastrin, cholecystokinin, secretin and vasoactive intestinal peptide from 10 h on. Pancreatic polypeptide was transiently increased from 4 to 16 h. Feeding was followed by a transitory reduction of plasma somatostatin and by a prolonged decrease of plasma motilin. We conclude that colostrum feeding potently modulates the release of several regulatory peptides shortly after birth in calves. These responses may be important for the adaptation of gut growth, secretions and motility to food ingestion in the neonatal period.

[Effect of hypoxia on plasma concentrations of gastrin and gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) in newborn calves]. / Effet de l'hypoxie sur les concentrations plasmatiques de gastrine et de polypeptide inhibiteur gastrique (GIP) chez le veau nouveau-né.

Calves were subjected to experimental hypoxia from 0.5 to 4 h after birth. The plasma level of immunoreactive gastric inhibitory polypeptide was higher (P less than 0.05) than in control calves during hypoxia and 2 and 7 h later. However, the gastrin level was not lower during treatment and was higher (P less than 0.05) 3, 6, and 13 h later. Hypoxia could have changed circulating levels or degradation rates of these peptides and could have delayed abomasal emptying.

Digestion of milk, fish and soya-bean protein in the preruminant calf: flow of digesta, apparent digestibility at the end of the ileum and amino acid composition of ileal digesta.

1. Digesta were collected from eleven preruminant calves fitted with re-entrant (four calves in Expt 1 and three in Expt 2) or single cannulas (four calves in Expt 1) in the terminal ileum. Collection periods lasted 24 h (Expt 1) or 96 h (Expt 2). 2. Two milk-substitutes (fish and soya bean) and a control diet were given to the calves. In the control diet, protein was entirely provided by skim-milk powder. In the other two diets, protein was provided mainly by a partially hydrolysed white-fish protein concentrate or a soya-bean protein concentrate prepared by extracting soya-bean meal with hot aqueous ethanol. 3. In Expt 1, flow rates of fresh matter, dry matter, nitrogen and ash exhibited two maxima between 6 and 8 h after the morning meal and between 4 and 6 h (control and soya-bean diets) or 6 and 8 h (fish diet) after the evening meal. Minimum pH values were observed at times of maximum flow rate. Variations observed in the flow rates and pH values were larger with fish and especially soya-bean diets than with the control diet. 4. The apparent digestibility of the three diets in the terminal ileum was significantly higher in Expt 2 than in Expt 1: for N, the values were 0.92, 0.83 and 0.75 (Expt 1), and 0.94, 0.87 and 0.88 (Expt 2) with the control, fish and soya-bean diets respectively. 5. The amount of N apparently absorbed in the terminal ileum represented 90-96% of the amount that disappeared from the whole digestive tract in Expt 1 and 95-99% in Expt 2. 6. In Expt 1 the amino acid (AA) composition of digesta changed little with the flow rate when the calves were given the control diet (from 158 to 179 g glutamic acid/kg AA). With the fish and soya-bean diets the AA composition was similar to that observed with the control diet when the flow rate was minimum, but differences became apparent as the flow rate increased (281 and 161 g glutamic acid/kg AA for the soya-bean and control diets respectively with maximum flow rate). In Expt 2, the mean compositions of the digesta were very similar to the means obtained in Expt 1. 7. Different comparisons with dietary, endogenous and bacterial proteins indicated that for the three diets a common mixture containing approximately 65% endogenous and 35% bacterial proteins reached the terminal ileum.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Newborn calf intestinal absorption of immunoglobulins extracted from colostrum.

In the newborn calf, colostrum immunoglobulin absorption was compared with absorption of immunoglobulins extracted from colostrum. Reduced absorption of the latter resulted in plasma immunoglobulin levels unable to protect the animals against infections. Adding complete milk powder to the immunoglobulin solution slightly improved the level of absorption. Postprandial plasma alkaline phosphatases levels exhibited changes differing with the nature of the meals. This reinforces the idea that intestinal function was probably disturbed by immunoglobulin solutions. Moreover, reduced appetite for immunoglobulin solution was evident by the second meal, when most of the animals previously subjected to this diet suffered from a variety of problems (scour, asthenia), possibly caused by harmful effects of immunoglobulin solution on their digestive tract.

Neonatal levels of plasma thyroxine in male and female calves fed a colostrum or immunoglobulin diet or fasted for the first 28 hours of life.

The effect of diet on changes in plasma thyroxine levels was studied in 83 newborn Friesian X Holstein calves. Fifty-four received four copious meals of first-milking colostrum at 4, 10, 16 and 22 neonatal hours. At the same time, 24 animals received four meals of a solution of colostrum immunoglobulins containing little energy, and 5 calves were kept fasted. The last two treatments resulted in lower plasma thyroxine levels than those in colostrum-fed calves. At the same time, plasma thyroxine level was higher in females than in males during the first neonatal week.

Metabolic consequences of induced hypoxia in newborn lambs.

Metabolic and nutritional consequences of making newborn lambs breath a 5% oxygen, 95% nitrogen atmosphere during six hours after birth were studied. Blood samples were collected at the end of the treatment and two hours after every meal given 6 h 30, 12 h 30, 18 h 30 and 24 h 30 after birth. Rectal temperature, blood pH, packed cell volume and plasmatic glucose, lactate, triglycerides, non-esterified fatty acids, inorganic phosphorus, uric acid and iron were measured. Comparison with control lambs established that all these parameters were strongly altered except packed cell volume and non-esterified fatty acids disturbed to a lesser extent. Nevertheless, in the last sample, taken after 26 h 30 of aerial life, no significant differences remained detectable, concerning the parameters quoted above. The exception was triglyceridemia, which was still higher in treated lambs, and could be due to lack of utilization of alimentary lipids.

[Effect of a diet rich in rape fodder on the health status of a dairy cow herd]. / Influence d'une ration riche en colza fourrager sur l'état sanitaire d'un troupeau de vaches laitières.

The influence on sanitary condition, of feeding dairy cows a high level of fresh rapeseed, has been observed. No clinical disorders have been induced by this diet, compared with corn silage. Nevertheless, some blood parameters have been disturbed. Haematocrit was strongly decreased while cholesterol, glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, alkaline phosphatase and haptoglobin were slightly increased. From the beginning of the diet, plasma and milk thiocyanate concentration exhibited an average five fold increase without this enlargement being important enough to be harmful to eventual consumers except for babies reared with milk yielded from a dairy herd fed a high level of rapeseed.

[Choice of antiseptics for use in footbaths for cattle (author's transl)]. / Le choix des antiseptiques pour les pédiluves destinés aux bovins.

Eight antiseptics to be used in footbaths for cattle, were compared : formol, cuprum sulphate, formol associated with cuprum sulphate, Javel water, Crésyl and some other products more recently introduced into practice. For each one, evolution of antibacterial activity connected with utilization on animals, moistening power and possible injury caused were observed. The best results have been obtained with formol, formol associated with cuprum sulphate and Cresyl which have exhibited persistent high level antibacterial activity without related injury in spite of numerous applications. On the other hand, weak organic matter resistance which seems to characterize Javel water, synthetic phenols, amphoteric amino acids and iodophores makes them unsuitable for use in footbaths.