The effects of feeding supplementation on the nutritional quality of milk and cheese from sheep grazing on dry pasture

Nutritional Quality and Socio-Ecological Benefits of Mare Milk Produced under Grazing Management

This review discusses the scientific evidence that supports the nutritional value of mare milk and how its properties are essentially achieved when mares are managed under grazing conditions. Mare milk's similarity with the chemical composition of human milk makes this food and its derived products not only suitable for human consumption but also an interesting food regarding human health. The contribution of horse breeding under grazing management to other socio-ecological benefits generated by equine farms is also highlighted. Both the high added value of mare milk and the socio-ecological benefits derived from pasture-based systems could be explored to improve the performance of equine farms located in arid and semi-arid areas or in regions with moderately harsh environmental conditions as equids have a strong adaptation capacity.

Inulin Functionalized "Giuncata" Cheese as a Source of Prebiotic Fibers

The development of functional foods in the dairy sector represents a flourishing field of technological research. In this study, an Italian fresh cheese as "giuncata" was enriched with inulin, a dietary fiber, with the aim of developing a product with improved nutritional properties in terms of prebiotic action on intestinal microbiota. An inulin concentration of ~4% w/w was determined in the fresh cheese after the fortification process, enabling the claim of being a "source of dietary fiber" (inulin > 3 g/100 g) according to the European regulation. The addition of inulin has no effect on the pH of cheese and does not relevantly influence its color as well as the total fat content (fat reduction ~0.61%) in comparison to the control. Mechanical properties of the cheese were also not markedly affected as evidenced from rheological and tensile testing analyses. Indeed, the incorporation of inulin in "giuncata" only exerts a slight "softening effect" resulting in a slightly lower consistency and mechanical resistance in comparison to the control. Overall, this study demonstrates the feasibility of producing a fiber-enriched dairy functional food from a large consumed fresh and soft cheese as "giuncata".

Effect of Plasma Activated Water on Selected Chemical Compounds of Rocket-Salad (Eruca sativa Mill.) Leaves

Plasma activated water (PAW) has proven to be a promising alternative for the decontamination of rocket leaves. The impact of PAW on the volatile profile, phytosterols, and pigment content of rocket leaves was studied. Leaves were treated by PAW at different times (2, 5, 10, and 20 min). Compounds of the headspace were detected and quantified using GC–MS analysis. A total of 52 volatile organic compounds of different chemical classes were identified. Glucosinolate hydrolysis products are the major chemical class. PAW application induced some chemical modifications in the volatile compounds. Changes in the content of the major compounds varied with the increase or decrease in the treatment time. However, PAW-10 and -2 were grouped closely to the control. A significant decrease in the content of β-sitosterol and campesterol was observed after PAW treatment, except for PAW-10, which showed a non-significant reduction in both compounds. A significant increase in β carotene, luteolin, and chlorophyll b was observed after the shortest treatment time of PAW-2. A reduction in chlorophyll content was also observed, which is significant only at longer treatment, or PAW-20. Overall, PAW has proven to be a safe alternative for rocket decontamination.

Vitamin A Update: Forms, Sources, Kinetics, Detection, Function, Deficiency, Therapeutic Use and Toxicity

Vitamin A is a group of vital micronutrients widely present in the human diet. Animal-based products are a rich source of the retinyl ester form of the vitamin, while vegetables and fruits contain carotenoids, most of which are provitamin A. Vitamin A plays a key role in the correct functioning of multiple physiological functions. The human organism can metabolize natural forms of vitamin A and provitamin A into biologically active forms (retinol, retinal, retinoic acid), which interact with multiple molecular targets, including nuclear receptors, opsin in the retina and, according to the latest research, also some enzymes. In this review, we aim to provide a complex view on the present knowledge about vitamin A ranging from its sources through its physiological functions to consequences of its deficiency and metabolic fate up to possible pharmacological administration and potential toxicity. Current analytical methods used for its detection in real samples are included as well.

Development of functional whey cheese enriched in vitamin D3: nutritional composition, fortification, analysis, and stability study during cheese processing and storage

"Ricotta" cheese is a traditional and popular Italian fresh whey cheese commonly produced from cow's milk. Food fortification is an efficient strategy to reduce the high global prevalence of vitamin D deficiency. This study aims to study the chemical-nutritional analysis of ricotta cheese and to assess its suitability as a dairy matrix for vitamin D fortification. The chemical-nutritional analyses revealed that ricotta cheese is a good source of proteins (7.8 g/100 g) with high levels of branched-chain amino acids (1.8 g/100 g). Moreover, ricotta contains high levels of calcium (0.4 g/100 g) and phosphorus (0.2 g/100 g). 50 mg of vitamin D₃ were added to 95 kg of cheese reaching a mean fortification level of 41.4 ± 4.0 µg/100 g of ricotta cheese. The fortification study showed that vitamin D homogenously distributes in ricotta cheese after the homogenisation process. Moreover, vitamin D₃ has high heat stability (93.8 ± 1.8%) and remains stable throughout the shelf-life of the fortified food. This study demonstrates that ricotta cheese represents an ideal alternative dairy matrix for vitamin D₃ fortification.

Seasonal Variation of Chemical Composition, Fatty Acid Profile, and Sensory Properties of a Mountain Pecorino Cheese

This study aims to assess the compositional traits and sensory characteristics of a traditional pecorino cheese associated with management and feeding system seasonality. The study was carried out on two mountain dairy farms using an outdoor, pasture-based system from April to October (OutS), and an indoor system (InS) during the rest of the year. Outdoor-produced milk had higher fat content and a tendency for protein and somatic cell count to be higher. The OutS cheeses showed higher dry matter and fat content, higher percentages of unsaturated fatty acids, C18:3, cis-9, trans-11 conjugated linoleic acid, and trans-11 C18:1, and lower percentages of C14:0 and C16:0. These modifications in fatty acid composition determined the reduction of the atherogenic index. The OutS cheeses also displayed higher intensity of almost all sensory attributes, including odor, flavor, taste, and texture descriptors. The outdoor system partly reduced the liking of consumers for pecorino. However, changes in the productive process leading to an increment in the water content and softness of the cheeses (i.e., controlled humidity and temperature during ripening) may increase the overall liking of pasture-based products, thus promoting the consumption of healthier foods.

An Untargeted Metabolomic Comparison of Milk Composition from Sheep Kept Under Different Grazing Systems

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of different feedings on main traits and polar and semi-polar metabolite profiles of ovine milk. The milk metabolome of two groups of Sarda sheep kept under different grazing systems were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and multivariate statistical analysis (MVA). The results of discriminant analysis indicated that the two groups showed a different metabolite profile, i.e., milk samples of sheep kept under Grazing System 1 (GS1) were richer in nucleosides, inositols, hippuric acid, and organic acids, while milk of sheep under Grazing System 2 (GS2) showed higher levels of phosphate. Statistical analysis of milk main traits indicates that fat content was significantly higher in GS1 samples while milk from GS2 sheep had more urea, trans-vaccenic acid, and rumenic acid. MVA studies of the associations between milk main traits and metabolite profile indicated that the latter reflects primarily the long chain fatty acid content, the somatic cell count (SCC), and lactose levels. All together, these results demonstrated that an integrated holistic approach could be applied to deepen knowledge about the effects of feeding on sheep’s milk composition.