Assessments of productive performance, eggshell quality, excreta moisture, and incubation traits of laying breeder hens fed a proprietary blend of Quillaja and Yucca.

A study was conducted to evaluate performance, eggshell quality, nutrient metabolizability, and incubation traits of laying breeder hens fed diets supplemented with an additive containing polyphenols and saponins of a proprietary blend from Quillaja saponaria and Yucca schidigera (QY) biomass. Hens were fed 4 feeds in 5 periods of 28 days each from 30 to 49 weeks of age. Experimental feeds were a Control diet; Control + virginiamycin (33 g/ton); Control + QY (250 g/ton) and Control + virginiamycin + QY. A total of 40 White Plymouth Rock and 44 Rhode Island Red breeder hens were allocated in individual cages using a completely randomized block design with 21 replicates. Performance parameters, evaluated per period, were egg production, egg weight, FCR, egg mass, and culled eggs. All eggs were collected in the last 4 days of each period to evaluate specific egg weight, percentage of albumen, yolk and shell, and Haugh unit as well as cuticle quality, shell strength, and shell thickness. At the end of the experiment, nutrient metabolizability assessment and four incubations were conducted. There were no interactions between diet and period in all evaluated responses (P > 0.05). Experimental diets did not affect daily egg production, egg weight, and egg mass as well as Haugh unit, yolk and albumen percentage, and yolk color (P > 0.05). However, hens fed Control + QY produced eggs with better shell strength, shell thickness, and cuticle quality than hens fed the Control (P < 0.05). Hens fed Control + QY or Control + virginiamycin + QY had lower culled eggs, better FCR and higher egg specific weight, shell percentage, and yolk strength compared to breeder hens fed the Control (P < 0.05). In general, hens fed QY achieved enhanced performance and egg quality compared to virginiamycin. In conclusion, laying breeder hens fed diets supplemented with Quillaja and Yucca additive, from 30 to 49 weeks of age, maintained their productive performance, had improved eggshell and cuticle quality and reduced culled, dirty and contaminated eggs.

Ultrasound as an alternative method to increase the extraction yield from chicken mecanically separated meatresidue collagen.

The residue from chicken mechanically separated meat (MSM) is a potential source for the extraction of collagen. However, this process requires the removal of many covalent crosslinks, which makes it quite complex. Ultrasound has been successfully used to extract collagen; it reduces the process time and increases the yield. However, information regarding the effects of this treatment on the structural and functional properties of proteins is still very limited. Therefore, the aims of the present study were to obtain collagen from chicken MSM residue and to test the effects of pre-treatment with ultrasonic probe and enzymatic extraction with pepsin in its yield, as well as to evaluate the properties of extracted collagen using gel electrophoresis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, solubility, and differential scanning calorimetry. Both the ultrasound and the enzymatic extraction had a positive effect on the extraction yield of collagen from chicken MSM residue without affecting its integrity. Using ultrasound led to an increase of up to 40% in yield when compared to treatments without ultrasound application. Five extraction treatments were considered. The extracted collagen exhibited high thermal stability (43.9-47.0 °C) and mainly type I structure. The use of ultrasound as pre-treatment, together with enzymatic extraction with pepsin, were effective in increasing the extraction yield of collagen from chicken MSM residue, as well as preserving the triple helical structure of the native collagen.

A green method for determination of ethanol in homeopathic medicines using thermal infrared enthalpimetry.

In this work, a simple and fast method is proposed for the determination of ethanol in homeopathic medicines using thermal infrared enthalpimetry (TIE). Samples containing alcohol in a wide concentration range (from 5% to 95% v/v) were used. Purified water or absolute ethanol was added directly into homeopathic medicine and increase of temperature was monitored using an infrared camera. Total volume, stirring speed and dispensing rate of solutions were the most significant parameters studied for method optimization. A response surface methodology (RSM) was used for optimization of the experimental conditions. The method was validated in the following parameters: selectivity, linearity, linear range, precision (repeatability and intermediate precision), limit of detection and quantification, accuracy and robustness. Linear range was obtained from 4% to 55% (ethanol, v/v). The proposed method showed accuracy in agreement with the conventional one. The proposed method it was demonstrated a good alternative for determination of ethanol in homeopathic medicines, presenting low cost, fast analysis and agreement with the principles of green analytical chemistry.

One-Shot, reagent-free determination of the alcoholic content of distilled beverages by thermal infrared enthalpimetry.

A simple and fast method is proposed for determining the alcoholic content of distilled beverages by thermal infrared enthalpimetry (TIE), in which purified water is added directly and the temperature rise caused by the heat of dilution is monitored using an infrared camera. A calibration curve was constructed with hydroalcoholic reference solutions to determine the alcoholic content of vodka, whisky, and cachaça. The influence of the total volume of solutions in the reactor, the stirring speed, the dispensing rate, and the ratio between hydroalcoholic samples and water were evaluated to reach an optimum mixture and provide low variation among measurements. Optimized conditions for those respective parameters were 2.4mL, 200rpm, 0.57mLs-1, and 1:1. To evaluate the accuracy, alcoholic content was also determined by a conventional method (AOAC method 942.06, pycnometry), with agreement ranging from 99.4% to 100.9%. No sample preparation (e.g., dilution or distillation) was required with the proposed method, decreasing the time required for analysis by at least one order of magnitude. The proposed method required less energy consumption by a factor of about three thousand in comparison with the conventional method. The proposed TIE method was robust, able to determine the alcoholic content of diverse distilled beverages. Due to these features and the high sample throughput (up to 480 samples per hour), the proposed method could be considered suitable for routine analysis and agrees with the principles of green analytical chemistry.