Two feeding systems trials were carried out to determine the antioxidant activity of soft goats' milk cheeses, and also to evaluate the presence of bioactive polyphenolic compounds. Two groups (A and B), each one with 20 (BW 50+/-5 kg) French Alpine goats were employed. All animals had between 70 to 80 milking days and were milked once a day. Group A included daily grazing on shruby rangeland vegetation, and group B was kept in full indoor confinement. Thirty kg of goats' milk from each group were collected; 15 kg from each were pasteurized and the remaining 15 kg were not pasteurized (raw), resulting in four treatments (two feeding system x two milk treatments). Soft goat's cheese antioxidant activity can be modified by the animals feeding system; grazing management represents a better option than indoor feeding to produce a healthy profile of bioactive compounds; providing an increase of total polyphenol, hydroxycinnamic acids and flavonoid concentrations. Pasteurization did have a significant effect on these metabolites, and diminished total polyphenol concentration. More research is needed to elucidate the potential of soft goat's cheese as a functional food.

-Sixty New Zealand rabbits aged 40 days were divided into 4 groups of 15 animals. The control group received a free diet of antibiotic growth promoter (AGP) and inulin. The second group was supplemented with 2.5 g/kg of inulin. The third was administered AGP with 0.1 g/kg of flavomycin. Finally, the fourth group received a 2.5 and 0.1 g/kg inulin/AGP diet. Body weight gain was higher in the control group. Rabbits supplemented with inulin had lower values of triglycerides compared with the control and AGP groups, and their glucose level was significantly lower than those treated with AGP. Additionally, serum calcium and magnesium concentrations were higher than the other groups, particularly with regard to AGP. The bone content with regard to calcium, phosphorus and magnesium in the groups treated with inulin was higher compared with the control; moreover, phosphorus and magnesium were higher than in the AGP group. The thickness of the mucosa and crypt depth in the caecum were significantly higher in rabbits treated with inulin than in the other groups, but especially compared with the AGP group. Also, triglyceride values were lower for rabbits treated with inulin/AGP than for those treated with AGP and the bone magnesium concentration was significantly higher compared with the control group. In addition, inulin was shown to have positive effects on the rabbit, promoting increase in bone and serum calcium, magnesium and phosphorus, decrease in triglyceride levels, and improvement in the caecum (changes in morphology, crypt depth and mucosal thickness).

Benefits of fish consumption are widely known, but there is little information about nutrient values of raw and cooked fish. The aim was to study the impact that six cooking techniques have on the nutritional composition of two fish species with low content of adverse nutrients in renal diet. Raw and steamed, foiled with aluminum, foiled with banana leaf, gas oven-baked, microwave oven-coked and fried lightly samples were chemically analyzed to determine their protein, phosphorus and lipid content. Crevalle jack: all methods increased lipid and protein content and fatty acids (FA) varied in all cooking methods. Phosphorus decreased in the steamed and microwave oven-cooked samples. Red drum: foiled and fried lightly increased lipid content compared to the raw sample. FA concentration changed in all cooking methods. Protein increased with every technique and phosphorus decreased in the steamed and gas oven-baked samples. Renal patients should preferably consume crevalle jack steamed or microwave oven-cooked and red drum steamed or gas oven-baked.

A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of feeding management and seasonal variation (summer and winter 2007) on fatty acid composition of Mexican soft raw goats’ milk cheese. Four groups were formed. During the summer, group A grazed on a natural semiarid rangeland. group B was kept in confinement, fed with concentrate grains and lucerne hay. Through the winter group C grazed on the same rangeland with supplementation and group D was fed as the group B. Thereafter, four kinds of cheeses were manufactured from milk of each animal group: grazed-summer (GS), indoor- summer (IS), grazed-winter (GW) and indoor-winter (IW). Results of this study indicated that fat content in cheese was affected by season. Moreover, during the summer period, pasture-based regime increased monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acid concentrations; however, winter season could diminish the cheese desirable fatty acid profile

Biochemical, endocrine and growth performance variables were evaluated and compared in the Mexican hairless (MHP) and in Landrace Yorkshires pigs (LYP) from first to ninth month of age in order to establish if the MHP could be a better model for the study of obesity than the LYP. Serum concentrations of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoproteins (HDL), low-density lipoproteins (LDL), glucose, free fatty acids (FFA), and insulin were measured. Feed intake, body weight and backfat thickness were also monitored. The results showed that the MHP partitioned more energy to backfat than the LYP (P<0.01), and had higher fasting serum concentrations of insulin, TC, TG, LDL, and FFA than the LYP (P<0.05). Based on the high capacity of the MHP to deposit body fat, and its higher serum concentrations of insulin, TG, CT, LDL, and FFA, we conclude that the MHP is a better model for the study of obesity than the Landrace-Yorkshire pigs and could be used under experimental conditions as a model for obesity, particularly the observed in metabolically healthy but obese humans.