Search Results (9)

The aim of the study was to model lactation curves and assess the physicochemical properties, amino acid, and fatty acid profiles of milk from two Mediterranean donkey populations, Masri (n = 14) and North African (n = 14), using the Wood model. Over a lactation period of 205 ± 12.5 days, North African donkeys produced more milk (188.66 ± 7.19 kg) than Masri donkeys (163.42 ± 7.21 kg, p < 0.05). Peak milk yields occurred on day 57 for North African donkeys (1.212 kg/day) and day 59 for Masri donkeys (0.991 kg/day), with similar persistency indices of 7.19 and 7.21, respectively. North African donkey milk had significantly higher protein (1.45 ± 0.03 g/100 g) and β-lactoglobulin (4.75 ± 0.06 mg/mL) contents, while Masri donkey milk contained more fat (1.16 ± 0.05 g/100 g). Amino acid analysis revealed higher glutamate (0.27 ± 0.12 g/100 g) in North African donkey milk, while Masri donkey milk had more aspartate (0.16 ± 0.04 g/100 g). North African donkey milk had higher palmitic acid (20.1 ± 0.07 g/100 g), while Masri donkey milk had more oleic acid (21.4 ± 0.42 g/100 g). Lactation curve fitting yielded R² values of 93.8% for Masri donkeys and 95.7% for North African donkeys. These findings suggest that both populations are well-suited for milk production, particularly for human consumption or food applications. North African donkeys exhibited superior yields and nutrient profiles suitable for functional food applications. Full article

The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of horse and donkey meat in the production of kaddid—a traditional dish typically not made with these meats—from a physical and chemical perspective. The results showed that both meats exhibit similar water retention during cooking, contributing to comparable tenderness and juiciness, with no significant differences in pH values, indicating similar quality (p > 0.05). However, their amino acid profiles differ: horse meat contains lower levels of glutamate (p < 0.05), methionine (p < 0.01), isoleucine (p < 0.05), and leucine (p < 0.05), but higher levels of proline (p < 0.05), histidine (p < 0.01), and lysine (p < 0.001) compared to donkey meat. Both meats provide essential amino acids. Horse meat is richer in saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids (32.44% and 39.58%, respectively), while donkey meat has a higher content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (31.51%), with a more favorable PUFA/SFA ratio, suggesting better cardiovascular health benefits. In terms of dried meat, donkey kaddid has a higher protein (17.45 g/100 g) and lower fat content (2.1 g/100 g) compared to horse kaddid (16.7 g/100 g, and 3.5 g/100 g, respectively) (p < 0.05). These findings inform consumer choices and production practices, promoting the use of horse and donkey meat for kaddid production. Full article

This study aimed to evaluate carcass and meat quality traits in Masri (n = 14) and North African (n = 14) male donkeys, raised in a semi-intensive breeding system, grazing on mountainous areas, with supplementation of 1 kg of barley per day per animal, slaughtered at 5 (±0.48) years old. Compared to Masri, the North African population exhibited higher (p < 0.05) final body weights (181.7 ± 2.1 and 212.5 ± 7.6 kg) and cold carcass weights (101.7 ± 1.3 and 116.2 ± 4.5 kg), but lower (p < 0.05) cold dressing percentages (56.0 ± 0.4 and 54.6 ± 0.4%). Meat quality analyses showed higher (p < 0.05) cooking loss values in Masri meat (43.9 ± 0.8 vs. 39.9 ± 1.2%). Among the meat color parameters, the hue value was higher (p < 0.05) in North African samples (0.42 ± 0.01 vs. 0.39 ± 0.1). Meat from North African donkeys had higher (p < 0.05) dry matter, fat, and protein contents. Meat amino acid analysis revealed abundant levels of lysine, leucine, and methionine, in both populations. Donkey meat from both populations presented a high polyunsaturated fatty acids content, resulting in polyunsaturated fatty acids/saturated fatty acids and omega 6/omega 3 ratios for all breeds close to the recommended values for human health. Atherogenic and thrombogenic indices were also suggested to have positive effects on consumers’ artery health. The characteristics of donkey meat present intriguing nutritional aspects compared to ruminant meat, and its production should be encouraged in the rural development of inner-Mediterranean areas. Full article

Under climate change, animal breeding faces severe nutritional challenges, exhibiting their resilience and efficiency to survive and produce. The animals’ robustness can be evaluated through the use and reconstitution of body reserves (BR). This study investigated the dynamics of ewes’ BR, measured through body weight (BW) and the body condition score (BCS), and their effect on production performances of 480 ewes belonging to fat-tailed Barbarine (BB) and thin-tailed Queue Fine de l’Ouest (QFO) ewes over two consecutive years. The BW and BCS were recorded across physiological stages. Reproductive parameters and lambs’ growth were calculated. For both years and breeds, the decrease in the BCS between mating and lambing showed BR mobilization to balance nutritional restrictions, which continues until suckling; after weaning, a BR accretion was noted. The lambs’ birth weight was similar regardless of the dams’ BCS at lambing, though it was lower in the second year (3.5 vs. 4 kg). Lambs’ growth parameters depended on ewes’ BCS at lambing and weaning. Fertility rates changed with BCS changes and the higher values (80%) were recorded for ewes with BCSs between 2 and 2.5. However, prolificacy was similar for both breeds and years (p > 0.05). In conclusion, ewes have developed adaptative capacities through BR mobilization to cope with environmental challenges and successfully rear their offspring. To maintain a high offspring growth rate, it is recommended to plan correct flock nutrition during suckling. Full article

Global climate change inflicts unambiguous risks on agricultural systems and food security. Small ruminants are known for their ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions. This paper aims to characterize sheep production systems in a vulnerable agricultural zone and the breeders’ perceptions of climate change to apprehend challenges that they are confronting, and formulate resilience actions. The data analysis is based on 94 semi-structured surveys of sheep farmers carried out in the Tunisian semi-arid region. The PCA analysis results revealed three main sheep production systems. The agro-pastoral rain-fed system (AGPRF) is dominant (55%), with large farms and common pastures integrating cereals and fodder. The agro-pastoral irrigated system (AGPI: 20%) is characterized by small-area and forage irrigation (1.8 ha) and a smaller number of ewes but a greater use of animal feed supplementation. The agro-sylvo-pastoral system (AGSP: 25%) is a system where grazing is based on common lands and using tree sub-products, while the agricultural area is exclusively used to cultivate cereal crops. Sheep breeders’ climate perceptions are summarized as unpredictable climate events, a decrease in precipitation, and an increase in temperature. Resilience actions principally consist of reducing flocks’ numbers, using alternative local feed, fodder, and water resources, and building more shelters and planting more trees in the grazing areas. Nevertheless, cost-effectiveness should be considered in such vulnerable zones to insure the sheep production systems’ sustainability. Full article

This study aimed to evaluate essential traits of donkey’s milk and cow’s milk kefir during storage for 28 days at +4 °C. The results showed that the pH decreases significantly during fermentation from 6.75 ± 0.045 to 4.22 ± 0.062 for cow’s milk and from 7.01 ± 0.011 to 4.28 ± 0.030 for donkey’s milk. Acidity values increased significantly during storage from 63 ± 2.08 °D to 170 ± 2.80 °D for cow’s milk and from 92 ± 1.0 °D to 163 ± 1.30 °D for donkey’s milk (p < 0.05). A significant variation in total solids was observed during storage. Stability in protein content was observed for kefirs during storage time. While the level of lactose decreased significantly during storage, the fat content did not vary in kefirs during storage time at 4 °C. For microbiological properties, donkey milk kefir presents a significant difference (p < 0.05) compared to bovine kefir. Donkey’s milk always contains the lowest average germs, suggesting a better microbiological quality than cow’s milk samples. The fermented milks showed an interesting antioxidant activity measured by the DPPH and ABTS assays, which were improved during storage. The Aeromonas hydrophila was the most sensitive bacterium to the action of kefir samples. Results from the sensorial test show that participants prefer kefirs freshly prepared than those stored after 28 days at 4 °C. In conclusion, related to its unique bioactive activities and microbiological properties, donkey’s milk could be an interesting kefir fermentation source materials alternative. Full article

This study aimed to investigate the effect of supplementing a wheat straw-based diet with Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S.C.) on feed intake, nutrient digestibility, nitrogen balance, body weight and reproduction performance. The experiment was conducted on 14 Queue Fine de l’Ouest rams between 3 and 4 years of age (body weight (B.W.): 54.7 ± 2.03 kg; body condition score (B.C.S.): 3.5 ± 0.5), for 80 days during the breeding season. The rams were divided into two homogenous groups (n = 7), housed individually in floor pens, and allocated to two dietary treatments. The control group was offered a basal diet of 1 kg/d of wheat straw and 700 g of concentrate. The experimental group (yeast) received the same basal diet supplemented with 10 g of S.C./head/day. The results indicated that the S.C. supplementation had no significant effect on the animal’s body weight, volume and concentration of semen, dry matter intake, crude protein digestibility and nitrogen balance. Compared to the control group, the S.C. addition improved (p < 0.05) the digestibility of dry matter by 7.3%, organic matter by 11.9% and crude fiber by 24%. In addition, the mass motility score increased for the yeast group compared to the control (3.7 ± 0.24 vs. 1.9 ± 0.27, p < 0.05). The total number of dead and abnormal spermatozoa decreased for the yeast group in contrast to the control group (9.28 ± 0.95 vs. 26.8 ± 3.85% and 25.5 ± 3.33 vs. 59.2 ± 2.78%, respectively; p < 0.05). These results showed that adding S.C. to Queue Fine de l’Ouest ram’s diet during breeding season could improve nutrient digestibility and reproductive performance. Full article

The shortage of some ingredients and, consequently, the continuous increase in the price of feed encourage the search for other alternatives to maintain animal production and enhance its products. In this line, the use of aromatic plant by-products in animal diet has been recently and widely considered, given their richness in bioactive compounds. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the inclusion of rosemary residues (RR) and protein sources on lamb meat quality. The experiment was carried out on 24 male Barbarine lambs (3 months old) with an average body weight (BW) of 17.8 ± 2.6 kg, which were divided into three homogeneous groups according to BW. The diet comprised 600 g of oat hay and 600 g of concentrate. Three types of concentrate were evaluated: commercial concentrate as the control group (C); rosemary residues (RR) plus soybean meal as the RRS group, and RR plus faba bean as the RRF group. After an experimental period of 65 days, lambs were slaughtered. The inclusion of RR in both concentrates increased the α-tocopherol and total polyphenol content in meat and protected meat against discoloration (high red index and chroma after 9 days of storage) but did not affect meat lipid oxidation, which was similar for all groups. The FA profile was affected by the inclusion of RR, with no effect from the source of protein (faba bean or soybean). The inclusion of RR in the concentrate increased the C18:2 n-6, C18:3 n-3, C20:4 n-6, C20:5 n-3, and C22:5 n-3 content (p < 0.05). Consequently, the inclusion of RR also increased the total polyunsaturated FA (p < 0.05) and the ratio of polyunsaturated FA to saturated FA (p < 0.05). The results of this study demonstrate that concentrate based on RR could be useful for lamb meat production by improving the nutritional quality of meat, especially the fatty acid profile. In addition, soybean meal can be replaced by faba bean in lamb concentrate without affecting meat quality. Full article

Facing climate change implications on feeds unavailability, unconventional resources are being considered with a growing interest such as aromatic plant distillation residues with a two-fold object, enhancing meat quality by increasing the antioxidant properties and reducing feed prices which are often imported though expensive. Hence, this study aims to assess the effects of rosemary distillation residues (RR) incorporation in concentrate associated to two nitrogen sources as a substitute for standard concentrate on lamb’s growth, carcass traits and meat quality. For this, 24 Barbarine male lambs (3 months old, 17.83 ± 2.6 kg body weight) were divided into three groups. All lambs received individually 600 g of oat hay as roughage and 600 g of standard concentrate for control group, 600 g of concentrate based on RR and soybean meal for RRS group and 600 g of concentrate based on RR and faba bean for RRF group. After 65 days of experiment, all lambs were slaughtered. Phenolic and tocopherol intakes were significantly higher for both RR groups compared to control (p < 0.05). Growth, carcass weights, dressing percentages and non-carcass component weights were unaffected by the diet (p > 0.05). Moreover, regional and tissular compositions and meat physical properties were similar irrespective of the diet (p > 0.05). All color parameters were similar among groups (p > 0.05). However, meat produced by lambs receiving RR-based concentrate was richer on vitamin E and polyphenol contents than control lambs (p < 0.05). Rosemary by-products may substitute the standard concentrate resulting in similar lamb’s growth and carcass traits, while improving meat quality by increasing vitamin E content, which could improve its antioxidant power. Full article