The growth of dairy sheep farming in Brazil combined with consumer´s preference for concentrated yogurts and the search for innovative products with different flavors and textures demonstrate the opportunity for diversification of sheep milk derivatives. The objective of this study was to develop two novel formulations of Labneh cheese made of sheep's milk and to verify their shelf life considering microbiological and physical-chemical quality under refrigeration storage. Formulations L1 and L2 were prepared using a similar protocol with pressing times of 4 and 3 hours respectively, and this difference caused little influence on the parameters evaluated, showing no need for this additional time. Both formulations had the desired spreadability characteristic and the final products showed moisture and fat content classified as very high moisture and semi-fat cheeses according to the Brazilian legislation. The microbiological counts in L1 and L2 after 150 days of cold storage were within legal limits for thermotolerant coliforms, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella sp. and Listeria monocytogenes. The satisfactory results in the microbiological and physical-chemical evaluations demonstrated that the Labneh formulations and processing method were efficient to produce a stable product of good quality, indicating that it can be commercialized to a specific niche market.

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The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial potential of the aqueous extract of green propolis in vitro against mastitis-causing and in vivo bacteria, evaluating the efficacy of treatment in Lacaune sheep. In the in vitro test, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was used; first, the MIC was obtained from the aqueous extract of green propolis for the strain of Staphylococcus. aureus ATCC 25523, defined as 1 mg/ml. For bacterial agents isolated from sheep with mastitis (Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus intermedius, Staphylococcus hyicus, Corynebacterium spp. and Acinetobacter spp.), The concentration of 10 mg/ml was determined, while for Streptococcus equinus, Escherichia coli, and hemolytic E. coli, also isolated from sheep with mastitis, the concentration capable of reducing bacterial growth was 100 mg/ml. In the in vivo test, ten sheep were used, distributed in two treatments, five in the control group (CG) that received 2.5 ml of saline (vehicle), and five in the treated group (GT) that received 2.5 ml of aqueous (saline) propolis extract by the mammary route. The propolis dose tested (0.1 g/ml) was not effective for the treatment of mastitis, because the sheep remained positive in the racket test (CMT). The main microorganism isolated in the cases of mastitis in this study was Staphylococcus epidermidis. These results are preliminary; however, at the tested dose, the aqueous extract of green propolis delivered by the mammary route had no curative effect of mastitis.

The objective of this study was to evaluate whether the addition of a blend based on α-monolaurin mono-, di-and triglycerides of butyric acid, and lysolecithin on the performance even on diets containing reduced inclusion of oil in the diet and without the use of growth-promoting antibiotics of broilers considering the effect on health, performance, and meat. Three treatments were defi ned: positive control (TP: with enramycin), negative control (TN: no enramycin), and blend (T-FRA: with monolaurin and glycerides of acid butyric minus 0.8% soybean oil). At 21 days, broilers treated with TP and T-FRA obtained the lower feed conversion ratio (FC); at 35 days, T-FRA broilers obtained lower FC than TN broilers. Cholesterol levels were higher in the blood of T-FRA broilers. On day 42, levels of ROS and TBARS were lower in the intestine, muscles, and liver of T-FRA broilers. Moreover, glutathione S-transferase and total non-enzymatic antioxidants were greater at the intestinal and muscular levels. The T-FRA broilers had a lower percentage of lipids in the meat. The MIC indicated that 111mg of the blend/ mL inhibited the growth of E. coli; however, the counts of total coliforms and E. coli in the feces and the broilers' litter did not differ between treatments. In conclusion, the addition of the blend T-FRA in broiler diets was able to improve the feed conversion and maintain the other performance parameters even considering a reduction of 0.8% in the inclusion of oil.