ABSTRACT. We evaluated meat quality and color of breast during storage in ducks fed diet supplemented with different forms of Houttuynia cordata (HC) with fermented red koji (FRK). In total, 240 one-day-old Pekin ducks (160 males and 80 females) were allocated to four diet treatments (control, 1% HC powder mixed with FRK, pelleted 1% HC with FRK, and coated pellets of 1% HC with FRK). At days 3 and 7 of storage, pH values were slightly influenced (p < 0.05) by different forms of HC with FRK, but was no influence at day 0 of storage day. Diet treatments with different forms of HC and FRK had an effect (p < 0.05) on TBARS values at 0, 3, and 7 days of storage and DPPH radical-scavenging activity at 0 days of storage, except for cooking loss. Overall, in breast meat of ducks, L* values at day 3 of storage and a* values at day 0 of storage were significantly influenced (p < 0.05) by treatments with different forms of HC and FRK. In conclusion, using either 1% HC and FRK pellets or pellets coated with HC and FRK at 1% resulted in a decrease in TBARS values and an increase in DPPH radical-scavenging activity during storage.

ABSTRACT This study examined the effect of chestnut ( Castanea sativa ) meal (CNM) on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality of pigs. Thirty-two crossbred pigs were randomly allocated equally into four groups and fed one of four diets containing 0, 30, 50, or 100 g kg−1 DM CNM for 49 days. The animals were housed individually into the cage, fed the diet ad libitum , and allowed to access water freely. Feed efficiency decreased quadratically, while carcass yield decreased linearly with increasing CNM supplementation. The highest pH and the lowest drip loss were found in 30 g kg−1 of CNM supplementation, respectively, while no effects on fatty acid profiles were observed in all treatments. The addition of CNM at 30 g kg−1 into the diets could improve feed efficiency and reduce drip loss in meat.

ABSTRACT This study was conducted to estimate the effect of dietary supplementation with fermented fish meal on growth performance, blood metabolites, and fecal microflora in weaning pigs. A total of 180 weaned pigs ((Landrace ×Yorkshire) × Duroc; with average body weight of 6.0 kg) were randomly distributed among three dietary treatments (0, 0.2, and 0.5% fermented fish meal) in three replicate pens (20 heads per pen) in a completely randomized trial over three weeks. Addition of fermented fish meal to weanling pig diets had a linear effect on average feed intake and a quadratic trend on final body weight, average daily gain, and gain:feed ratio throughout the whole period (but not initial body weight). Hematocrit, monocyte, immunoglobulin G, and blood urea nitrogen levels responded linearly and quadratically with increasing levels of dietary fermented fish meal. Moreover, we found a linear correlation between the diets and lymphocyte and insulin levels among the different dietary treatments. In contrast, red blood cells, white blood cells, hemoglobin, insulin-like growth factor 1, and glucose levels were not affected by diets with different levels of fermented fish. During the experimental period, diets with 0.2% and 0.5% fermented fish meal showed a reduction in Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli populations (but not E. coli populations at week 3) that were linear, quadratic, or both, compared with controls. In particular, there was a significant reduction in S. enterica population when pigs were fed 0.5% fermented fish meal over the period of 3 weeks). Dietary supplementation with 0.2% and 0.5% fermented fish meal can be used as a protein source to improve growth performance and the parameters chosen for the blood profile, which reduces harmful microorganisms in the feces of weanling pigs.