Between April 2006 and February 2008 plasma long chain fatty acids (LCFA) profiles were assessed every 8 weeks on individual blood samples from 27 Simmental cows, with lactation number from 1 to 6 selected from a dairy herd. Body condition score (BCS) and back fat thickness (BFT) were measured on the same day as the blood was taken. Assessment of the variability of plasma LCFA in relation to the influences of stage of lactation and season of the year was the main objective of this study. All of the fatty acids analysed presented differences (p0.05) due to the stage of lactation as a factor. Plasma total LCFA amounts (μg/ml) were higher in early lactation (1,641.4±513.85) in comparison with late lactation (1,473.67±336.05) and with dry Simmental cows (1,208.5±396.55). The sum of plasma MUFA (% of total fatty acids) was higher in the period of negative energy balance in early lactation (14.39 ± 4.00) in comparison with mid (11.79 ± 1.99) and late (11.93 ± 2.14) lactation. Moreover, the sum of SFA was significantly higher in dry than lactating cows. Season had an impact on the sum of SFA (% of total fatty acids) which was higher in winter than summer, while the sum of ω-3 PUFA was higher in summer than winter. Also some individual plasma LCFA were significantly affected by the season and some individual plasma LCFA were affected by the interaction between stage of lactation and season of the year. In conclusion, the fatty acids profiles of Simmental cows were affected mainly by the stage of lactation and to a lesser extent by the season of the year.

To evaluate the transfer of deoxynivalenol (DON) and its de-epoxy metabolite (de-epoxy-DON) in the plasma of chicken, mashed oats naturally contaminated with 9.5 mg DON/kg were fed to four broilers (35 days age) at a dose of 20 g/bird. Blood samples were then collected from two birds at 1 h, 3 h, and 5 h post-feeding, while from the other two birds at 2 h, 4 h, and 6 h postfeeding. Analysis of DON and de-epoxy-DON was carried out by using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry after clean-up with immunoaffinity columns. At 1 h, 3 h, and 5 h post-feeding, the average values of plasma DON were 0.35 ng/ml, 0.20 ng/ml, and 0.15 ng/ml, respectively. The corresponding average values of deepoxy- DON at these time points were 0.70 ng/ml, 0.80 ng/ml, and 0.25 ng/ml, respectively. The sum of DON and de-epoxy-DON appearing in the plasma at 1 h post-feeding in these birds was estimated to be 0.044% of the total DON fed. At 2 h, 4 h, and 6 h post-feeding, the average values of plasma DON were 0.85 ng/ml, 0.45 ng/ml, and 0.30 ng/ml. De-epoxy-DON could not be detected in the birds sampled at 2 h, 4 h, and 6 h post-feeding. The total amount of DON appearing in the plasma at 2 h post-feeding in these birds was estimated to be 0.036% of the DON fed. These data show that the absorption rate of DON is very low in broilers and that there is also a rapid transformation, and clearance from plasma. Furthermore, there appeared to be individual variability in the capacity of birds to de-epoxidise DON.

A feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of prebiotic (mannan oligosaccharide, MOS), Probiotic (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and their combination (synbiotic) on growth performance, some carcass traits and meat quality in broilers. One hundred, one day-old broiler chicks (Avian 48), were randomly assigned to 4 dietary treatments (25 birds/treatment) for 6 weeks. Treatment groups were as follow: 1. Basal diet (control); 2. Basal diet plus Mannan-Oligosaccharide (MOS) (2 g of MOS/kg of the starter diets and 0.5 g/kg of the grower diets); 3. Basal diet plus probiotic (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) 3 g/kg diet and 4.Basal diet plus the combination of pre and probiotics (synbiotic). The final BW, weight gain, carcass yield percentage and immune organ weights were significantly (p0.05) increased in probiotic and synbiotic supplemented broilers in comparison with the control and prebiotic groups. Meat from prebiotics supplemented broilers was more tender and juicy. Serum total cholesterol and triglycerides were significantly decreased in all dietary treatments compared with the control birds. Supplementation of broiler diets with pre, pro and synbiotics significantly improved body weight, weight gain and feed conversion, some carcass traits and meat quality, compared with the un-supplemented control. The feed conversion rate was significantly lower in synbiotic supplemented group. The results of the present study demonstrated that synbiotic as growth promoters appeared to be superior compared to use pre or probiotic alone in optimizing digestion to convert feed into body mass more efficiently and improve broiler chickens growth performance.

A feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of prebiotic (mannan oligosaccharide, MOS), Probiotic (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and their combination (synbiotic) on growth performance, some carcass traits and meat quality in broilers. One hundred, one day-old broiler chicks (Avian 48), were randomly assigned to 4 dietary treatments (25 birds/treatment) for 6 weeks. Treatment groups were as follow: 1. Basal diet (control); 2. Basal diet plus Mannan-Oligosaccharide (MOS) (2 g of MOS/kg of the starter diets and 0.5 g/kg of the grower diets); 3. Basal diet plus probiotic (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) 3 g/kg diet and 4.Basal diet plus the combination of pre and probiotics (synbiotic). The final BW, weight gain, carcass yield percentage and immune organ weights were significantly (p0.05) increased in probiotic and synbiotic supplemented broilers in comparison with the control and prebiotic groups. Meat from prebiotics supplemented broilers was more tender and juicy. Serum total cholesterol and triglycerides were significantly decreased in all dietary treatments compared with the control birds. Supplementation of broiler diets with pre, pro and synbiotics significantly improved body weight, weight gain and feed conversion, some carcass traits and meat quality, compared with the un-supplemented control. The feed conversion rate was significantly lower in synbiotic supplemented group. The results of the present study demonstrated that synbiotic as growth promoters appeared to be superior compared to use pre or probiotic alone in optimizing digestion to convert feed into body mass more efficiently and improve broiler chickens growth performance.

In this study, the levels of lead and cadmium in a total of 50 meat products (20 of Basterma and 30 of Luncheon) samples had been assessed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The samples were collected randomly from different retail markets in Assiut city, Egypt. The obtained results showed that the means values for lead levels were 0.922 ± 0.073 and 1.219 ± 0.105 mg/kg wet weight with a range of 0.258 to 1.523 and 0.483 to 2.952 mg/kg in the examined basterma and luncheon samples, respectively. The cadmium levels ranged from 0.01 to 0.382 with a mean value of 0.175 ± 0.025 mg/kg wet weight and from 0.004 to 0.4 with a mean value of 0.121 ± 0.022 mg/kg wet weight in the 17 positive basterma and 23 positive luncheon samples, respectively. Of the examined basterma and luncheon samples 40.00 and 53.33% showed lead levels above the maximum permissible limits (1ppm), respectively. Cadmium levels were above the maximum permissible limits (0.1ppm) in 60.00 and 36.67% of the examined basterma and luncheon samples, respectively. Assessment of the metals in basterma variables showed that the means values of lead levels in meat (M), spices (S) and mixture of both (X) from 9 of the examined basterma samples were 1.145 ± 0.102, 0.474 ± 0.063 and 0.605 ± 0.172mg/kg wet weight, respectively. The Cadmium levels means values were 0.234 ± 0.008, 0.098 ± 0.034 and 0.142 ± 0.04mg/kg wet weight for the meat, spices and their mixture, respectively. A significant difference (P0.05) was found between lead and cadmium levels means values of meat and either of the spices or the mixture variables. The hygienic and toxicological aspects of the detected metals had been discussed.

In this study, the levels of lead and cadmium in a total of 50 meat products (20 of Basterma and 30 of Luncheon) samples had been assessed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The samples were collected randomly from different retail markets in Assiut city, Egypt. The obtained results showed that the means values for lead levels were 0.922 ± 0.073 and 1.219 ± 0.105 mg/kg wet weight with a range of 0.258 to 1.523 and 0.483 to 2.952 mg/kg in the examined basterma and luncheon samples, respectively. The cadmium levels ranged from 0.01 to 0.382 with a mean value of 0.175 ± 0.025 mg/kg wet weight and from 0.004 to 0.4 with a mean value of 0.121 ± 0.022 mg/kg wet weight in the 17 positive basterma and 23 positive luncheon samples, respectively. Of the examined basterma and luncheon samples 40.00 and 53.33% showed lead levels above the maximum permissible limits (1ppm), respectively. Cadmium levels were above the maximum permissible limits (0.1ppm) in 60.00 and 36.67% of the examined basterma and luncheon samples, respectively. Assessment of the metals in basterma variables showed that the means values of lead levels in meat (M), spices (S) and mixture of both (X) from 9 of the examined basterma samples were 1.145 ± 0.102, 0.474 ± 0.063 and 0.605 ± 0.172mg/kg wet weight, respectively. The Cadmium levels means values were 0.234 ± 0.008, 0.098 ± 0.034 and 0.142 ± 0.04mg/kg wet weight for the meat, spices and their mixture, respectively. A significant difference (P0.05) was found between lead and cadmium levels means values of meat and either of the spices or the mixture variables. The hygienic and toxicological aspects of the detected metals had been discussed.