The effect of pasture on the fatty acid profile of milk was evaluated using 30 pluriparous goats, which were divided into two homogeneous groups (H and P) of 15 goats each after kidding. Group H (control) goats were housed in a stall and received alfalfa hay, while group P was led to pasture. The goats of both the groups received the same concentrate. Average milk yield did not differ statistically between the groups. The goats of the P group had significantly higher fat content in milk than those of group H (53.7 vs. 61.5 g/day, p < 0.01), while lactose content was significantly higher for group H (66.2 and 61.4 g/day, for groups H and P, respectively, p < 0.05). Among milk fatty acids, pasture significantly affected the percentages of C18:1 cis9, C18:1 trans11, octadecadienoic acid, mono-unsaturated fatty acid and polyunsaturated fatty acid. Pasture highly influenced the c9 t11 conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) (0.778 and 0.513 g/100 g of fat, for group P and H, respectively, p < 0.01), t10 c12 CLA (0.046 vs. 0.029 g/100 g of fat: p < 0.01, for group P and H, respectively, p < 0.01) and SigmaCLA (0.84 vs. 0.56 g/100 g of fat for group P and H, respectively, p < 0.01) concentrations of milk.

Few studies have been published on the normal intestinal biota of canines unlike the wealth of information regarding livestock animal species. The in vitro gas production technique (IVGPT) including measurements of accumulating gas during fermentation and end-product determinations allows obtaining a complete picture of microbial activity kinetics. The aim of this study was to study the in vitro fermentation characteristics of different carbohydrate sources using inocula from two dog breeds (German Shepherd and Neapolitan mastiff). Faeces sampled from rectum of two GS and NM adult dogs, fed the same dry food, were used as inocula. The samples, diluted and filtered, were incubated at 39 degrees C under anaerobic condition with nine substrates different for carbohydrate composition (rice, corn, potato, spelt, pure cellulose, beet pulp, wheat bran, inulin and fructo-oligosaccharide). Gas production was recorded 17 times using a manual pressure transducer. After 48 h, the fermentation was stopped and fermenting liquor was analysed for pH and volatile fatty acids (VFA). Organic matter digestibility (OMD) was calculated as difference after burning the residuals. OMD, gas production and end-products were significantly correlated with chemical composition of substrates, in particular carbohydrate fractions (total dietary fibre and starch), confirming the effectiveness of the IVGPT in evaluating dog feeds. Concerning the comparison between breeds significant differences (p < 0.01) were found for OMD, gas production, fermentation kinetic parameters and end-products, suggesting a different pathway of fermentation and consequently, a different anaerobic population.

In order to find an alternative source of inoculum to caecal content for studying the fermentation activity of rabbit hindgut, caecal content and faeces of 25 hybrid Hyla rabbits were used as inocula for an in vitro gas production trial. About 1 g of three substrates (dehydrated alfalfa meal, dehydrated beet pulp, barley) was weighed, in quadruplicate per inoculum, in 120 ml bottles; 75 ml of anaerobic medium and 4 ml of reducing solution were added and bottles were placed at 39°C. Caecal content and faeces were diluted respectively 1:2 (CI) and 1:8 (FI) with anaerobic medium and were introduced in the respective bottles (10 ml). Gas production was recorded 20 times at 2-24 h intervals throughout fermentation (96 h). The fermentation characteristics (i.e. degraded organic matter, OMd; potential gas production, A; fermentation rate, Rmax; time at which it is reached, Tmax; pH, volatile fatty acid, VFA) were studied by inoculum and feedstuffs. The feedstuffs, according to their chemical composition, showed very different fermentation characteristics. In particular, OMd, A and Rmax allowed feedstuff classification as follows: barley>beet pulp>alfalfa. The inocula differ (p<0.05) in Tmax, were higher for CI (15.53 vs. 11.96 h) and in VFA production. In particular, CI produced higher levels of acetate (38.9 vs. 33.4 mM/g OM incubated, p<0.01) and isobutyrate (0.72 vs. 0.42, p<0.01) but less propionate (7.1 vs. 10.3, p<0.01) and butyrate (11.3 vs. 14.0, p<0.01). However, the trend of gas production, similar for the inocula according to the fermented substrate, and the good regression equation to estimate some caecal fermentation parameters from faeces suggest that, after standardisation, the faeces could be used as an alternative inoculum for gas tests in rabbit.

Streptococcus mutans is considered the primary etiologic agent of dental caries and contributes significantly to the virulence of dental plaque, especially in the presence of sucrose. To avoid the role of sucrose on the virulence factors of S. mutans, sugar substitutes are commonly consumed because they lead to lower or no production of acids and interfere with biofilm formation. This study aimed to investigate the contribution of sugar substitutes in the cariogenic potential of S. mutans biofilms. Thus, in the presence of sucrose, glucose, sucralose and sorbitol, the biofilm mass was quantified up to 96 h, the pH of the spent culture media was measured, the expression of biofilm-related genes was determined, and demineralization challenge experiments were conduct in enamel fragments. The presence of sugars or sugar substitutes profoundly affected the expression of spaP, gtfB, gtfC, gbpB, ftf, vicR and vicX in either biofilm or planktonic cells. The substitution of sucrose induced a down-regulation of most genes involved in sucrose-dependent colonization in biofilm cells. When the ratio between the expression of biofilm and planktonic cells was considered, most of those genes were down-regulated in biofilm cells in the presence of sugars and up-regulated in the presence of sugar substitutes. However, sucralose but not sorbitol fulfilled the purpose of reducing the cariogenic potential of the diet since it induced the biofilm formation with the lowest biomass, did not change the pH of the medium and led to the lowest lesion depth in the cariogenic challenge.

The aim of this trial was to study the influence of two protein sources (faba bean-FB vs soybean meal s.e.-SBM) and two energy levels of diets given to young Marchigiana bulls on meat quality: water holding capacity (WHC), chemical composition, hydroxyproline and cholesterol contents, fatty acids profile of intramuscular, subcutaneous and perirenal adipose tissues. While chemical composition and WHC was determined only on muscle Longissimus thoracis (LT), hydroxyproline and cholesterol contents were evaluated also on muscles Semitendinosus (ST) and Ileopsoas plus Psoas minor (IP). Eighteen young bulls were divided into three groups. Until the slaughter weight (620 kg) was achieved, two groups, FB and SBM, were fed diets with similar protein and energy contents but differing in protein sources, and the third group was fed high energy (HE) diets. Protein sources did not affect meat nutritional characteristics; but meat of group SBM had high hydroxyproline content: 62.6 vs 60.0 mg 100g-1, respectively, for SBM and FB groups (P<0.05), while compression losses were higher for FB group (7.6 vs 5.7%, respectively, for FB and SBM groups; P<0.01). As respects the comparison among content of hydroxyproline in the different muscles: IP, corresponding to the tenderloin, showed significantly lower concentrations than the other muscles (55.2 vs 60.7 and 63.5 mg 100g-1 for IP, LT and ST, respectively; P<0.01). Feeding regimes did not affect muscular cholesterol content (average values of 53.6, 55.5 and 52.1 mg 100g-1 of fresh muscle for FB, SBM and HE, respectively) which was similar to the levels found in meat from specialised Italian beef breeds and lower than those from other breeds. As respects the differences in cholesterol contents among the muscles, IP showed lower contents than other muscles (50.9 vs 54.1, 56.0 mg 100g-1, respectively for IP, ST, LT; P<0.05). The higher energy diets induced higher concentration of saturated fatty acids, in particular of palmitic and of stearic acid, in intramuscular fat which worsened significantly atherogenic (AI) and thrombogenic (TI) indexes (AI: 0.67 vs 0.55, 0.50; P<0.05; TI: 1.98 vs 1.61, 1.32; P<0.01; for HE, FB and SBM groups, respectively), and lower content of hydroxiproline (60.0, 62.6 vs 56.8 mg 100g-1, P<0.01 for FB, SBM and HE groups, respectively). The fatty acid profile of subcutaneous and perirenal adipose tissues was not affected by any of studied factors. A part of feeding scheme adopted, from these results it is possible to formulate a favourable assessment of the nutritional characteristics of Marchigiana meat