Pilot Study: Does Contamination with Enniatin B and Beauvericin Affect the Antioxidant Capacity of Cereals Commonly Used in Animal Feeding?

Increasing consumption of cereals has been associated with reduced risk of several chronic diseases, as they contain phytochemicals that combat oxidative stress. Cereal contamination by the "emerging mycotoxins" beauvericin (BEA) and enniatins (ENs) is a worldwide health problem that has not yet received adequate scientific attention. Their presence in feeds represents a risk for animals and a potential risk for humans because of their carry-over to animal-derived products. This preliminary study aimed to investigate if the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of corn, barley, and wheat flours could be influenced by contamination with increasing levels of BEA and ENN B. The highest TAC value was observed in barley compared with wheat and corn (p < 0.001) before and after contamination. No effect of mycotoxin or mycotoxin level was found, whereas cereal x mycotoxin exhibited a significant effect (p < 0.001), showing a lower TAC value in wheat contaminated by ENN B and in barley contaminated by BEA. In conclusion, barley is confirmed as a source of natural antioxidants with antiradical potentials. Additional studies with a larger sample size are necessary to confirm the obtained results, and investigations of the toxic effects of these emergent mycotoxins on animals and humans should be deepened.

Dietary Polyphenol Supplementation in Food Producing Animals: Effects on the Quality of Derived Products.

The growing interest in producing healthier animal products with a higher ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acids, is associated with an increase in lipoperoxidation. For this reason, it is essential to attenuate oxidative deterioration in the derived products. Natural antioxidants such as polyphenols represent a good candidate in this respect. The first part of the review highlights the occurrence, bioavailability, and the role of polyphenols in food-producing animals that, especially in intensive systems, are exposed to stressful situations in which oxidation plays a crucial role. The second part offers an overview of the effects of polyphenols either supplemented to the diet of monogastric and ruminants or added directly to meat and dairy products on the physicochemical and sensorial properties of the product. From this review emerges that polyphenols play an important, though not always clear, role in the quality of meat and meat products, milk and dairy products. It cannot be ruled out that different compounds or amounts of polyphenols may lead to different results. However, the inclusion of agro-industrial by-products rich in polyphenols, in animal feed, represents an innovative and alternative source of antioxidants as well as being useful in reducing environmental and economic impact.

Mineral essential elements for nutrition in different chocolate products.

In this work, the essential mineral nutritional elements in cocoa beans, in chocolates at different cocoa percentage (60,70,80 and 90%) and in milk chocolate are evaluated. Dark chocolates are confirmed as an excellent source of magnesium (252.2 mg/100 g) and iron (10.9 mg/100 g): in chocolate containing 90% cocoa, their content corresponds to, respectively, 67.0% and 80.3 of Nutrient Reference Values (NRV) in the European Union. The chocolate containing 90% cocoa is also a good source of zinc (3.5 mg/100 g), which is important for the immune system, and selenium (0.1 mg/100 g). Three main components suitable to explain the mineral concentrations are analyzed by factor analysis. The component 1 can be interpreted as the contribution from the cocoa beans, owing to the mineral characteristics of the soil in which they have grown; the component 2 is mainly due to the manipulation and transformation of the cocoa in chocolate, while the component 3 represents the milk powder.

Control of dietary energy level and dl-alpha-tocopheryl acetate treatment can improve the lipid composition of lamb meat.

A diet rich in saturated fatty acids promotes plasmatic cholesterol levels and coronary disease in humans, whereas a high intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids reduces atheromatous plaque thickness. This study aimed at establishing a dietary energy level, which combined with intramuscular vitamin E treatment, would improve the nutritional lipid quality and shelf-life of lamb meat. Twenty male lambs were evaluated in a 2 x 2 factorial experiment: they were fed a low- and normal-energy diet (0.85 and 1.00 UFV NE/kg DM, respectively), and were injected intramuscularly with 0 and 150 IU dl-alpha-tocopheryl acetate/weekly for eight weeks. Thereafter, total fat, cholesterol, fatty acid profile, and lipostability were measured in meat samples. Meat total fat was significantly reduced by low energy intake diet and vitamin E administration. Cholesterol was significantly lower in meat from lambs fed the 0.85 UFV NE/kg DM diet. Vitamin E treatment increased linoleic acid percent values and decreased myristic acid levels. Moreover, linoleic acid percentage was inversely correlated with muscle total fat concentration. Meat sensitivity to lipoperoxidation was inversely correlated with muscle vitamin E concentration. This study demonstrates that nutritional characteristics and shelf-life of meat benefit from a low-energy diet and intramuscular vitamin E treatment.