Two reviews are available in published literature relating to the effects of ascorbic acid on poultry performance. The first review was written by Pardue and Thaxton in 1986 who reviewed the role of ascorbic acid in alleviating the negative effect of heat stress in poultry birds. The second review was presented by Whitehead and Keller in 2003, who detailed the general effects of ascorbic acid in poultry birds, not taking into consideration 'heat stress'. The first review is deficient in the literature published after 1986, while the second review does not describe the effect of ascorbic acid in heat stressed birds. The present review describes the past and present knowledge of ascorbic acid in alleviating heat stress in poultry birds with new aspects. Heat stress is associated with compromised performance and productivity through a decline in feed intake, nutrient utilisation, growth rate, egg production and quality, feed efficiency and immunity. Heat stress is also characterised by a reduced antioxidant status in birds, resulting in increased oxidative stress. Moreover, male fertility is decreased when birds are exposed to heat stress. Supplementation of 250 mg of ascorbic acid per kg of feed has been found to be optimum to improve feed intake, body weight gain, feed efficiency, egg production and quality, nutrient digestibility, immune response and antioxidant status in poultry birds. This work compiles past and present information about the role of ascorbic acid in heat-stressed poultry

Sheep is the second most important dairy species after cow worldwide, and especially in the Mediterranean and Middle East regions. In some countries, the difficult environmental conditions require a peculiar adaptation and, in these contexts, sheep are able to provide higher quality protein than cattle. In the least-developed countries, the amount of dairy sheep and ovine milk production is progressively increasing. In order to improve dairy productions, in particular those with local connotations, it is necessary to obtain in-depth information regarding milk quality and rheological properties. The genetic polymorphisms of milk proteins are often associated with quantitative and qualitative parameters in milk and are potential candidate markers that should be included in breeding strategies similar to those already available for cattle. Due to the current and growing interest in this topic and considering the large amount of new information, the aim of this study was to review the literature on sheep milk protein polymorphisms with a particular emphasis on recent findings in order to give scientists useful support. Moreover, the effects of different protein variants on milk yield and composition are discussed.

Milk and dairy products are very important in Mediterranean diet because of their health promoting and organoleptic properties. In many developing countries, goat rearing has a key role in livestock production. What makes goats so popular is their ability to provide high quality food under diverse climatic conditions and resilience to extreme and capricious environments. In the last years, the interest concerning caprine milk has been increasing also to find a new exploitation for local breeds. To promote the goat dairy products there is a clear need to know the quality and the technological aspects of milk produced. That being so, the purpose of this study was to review the available literature on the major goat milk proteins with a particular attention to recent findings on their genetic variability. Moreover, the main effects of different protein variants on milk yield and composition were also discussed.

There is growing interest in developing natural alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters in order to maintain both birds' performance and health. In the last decade, Turmeric has been extensively used in poultry diets. Turmeric is a natural herb of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. Wide range medicinal properties of this plant have been advocated. In poultry feed, Turmeric has been extensively used in different concentrations, dosages and durations. In this review, the beneficial effects of this plant on growth, weight gain, feed conversion ratio, ameliorative effect on liver health, immunomodulatory and antioxidative effects are reviewed

Growth, known as the relation between liveweight and age, is explained mathematically by functions that have parameters with biological meaning. These parameters are used to describe growth pattern over time and to estimate the expected weight of animals at specific ages. Animal growth generally follows a sigmoidal pattern and several nonlinear functions have been used to describe it. This study was carried out to estimate the parameters of logistic, Gompertz and Richards growth curve models in a nondescript chicken breed population from southern Italy to determine the goodness of fit. Male and female birds were weighed weekly starting from two to twenty-four weeks of age. Based on our dataset, chickens showed a slow-growth pattern. All the growth functions evaluated were easily fitted to the observed data by nonlinear regression; our findings showed that Gompertz model fitted liveweight data very well both for male and female birds being the best model for studying the growth of our animals. Nevertheless, the four-parameter Richards function provided also a good fit of the data. Success in studying the growth characteristics of our nondescript chicken breed will contribute to define appropriate feeding regimens and to develop selection programme.