1,721,003 research outputs found
Evaluation of rheological properties of plant extracts from Mediterranean flora in goat milk
No full textThe pastoral area of internal Cilento (Campania, Southern Italy) claims many valuable cheeses and according to the oral tradition, when animal rennet was not available for goat cheeses, some wild plants were used for their curdling properties. The cheese market is in continuous evolution, looking for new cheeses but also linked to the territory and tradition. On the bases of an ethnobotanical investigation, the coagulating properties of water extracts of the wild species Teucrium chamaedrys L., Galium aparine L., Galium verum L., Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn., Chelidonium majus L., and Urtica dioica L. were evaluated on goat milk by rheological test with a Formagraph instrument at two doses (60 mu l vs. 50 mu l per 10 mL goat milk) at 36 degrees C, and at lab-scale by micro cheesemaking test at 0.5 mL/100 mL goat milk. For all plant extracts, the best Milk Rheological Properties were found at the lowest dose of extract. In the lab-scale test, all plant extracts except C. majus showed interesting clotting behaviour. The results confirmed the pastoral tradition and opened to new perspectives to produce goat cheeses with no -animal rennet using these wild species, linked to the heritage of the geographical area. Further studies will be carried out on the chemical composition, besides the antioxidant capacity and polyphenol content, to attempt explaining the MRPs
Sulla (Hedysarum coronarium L.) Response to Drought Stress during Early Vegetative Stage
Full text linkSulla (Hedysarum coronarium L.) is a Mediterranean biannual anthelmintic forage. Due to its high productivity, nutraceutical value, and suitability for harsh environments, interest in this crop is growing. Under the current scenario of climate change and water scarcity, it is important to evaluate crop drought tolerance, especially for newly bred materials. Drought stress and well-watered conditions (50 vs. 80% of the field capacity) were applied in a pot experiment to compare responses of the widespread commercial variety Bellante with those of a recently released variety named ‘Centauro’, currently registered in the Italian national register of plant varieties but not yet available on the market. Compared to the well-watered treatment, drought-stressed plants showed lower values of fresh biomass (−69%), number of leaves (−68%), and root length (−49%). The Centauro cv. showed a different architecture to Bellante with more shoots (+43% P < 0.05) and a trend for more leaves (+25% P = 0.08). These traits are possibly related to its superior palatability. Centauro also developed a higher root length (+70%, P < 0.05) across irrigation levels. Drought stress affected condensed tannin (CT) content. A significant genotype × environment interaction was found with Centauro displaying more (+50%) and less (−35%) CT than Bellante under drought stress and well-watered conditions, respectively. The higher constitutive root length density of Centauro may be exploited in breeding programs aimed at improving the root sink, given the role of this trait in resource acquisition capacity and root-derived ecosystem services
Evolution of microbial counts and chemical and physico-chemical parameters in high-moisture Mozzarella cheese during refrigerated storage
No full textThe microbiological quality, pH, colour, proteolysis and head space composition (using an electronic
nose) of several commercial brands of high-moisture Mozzarella cheese produced in Italy were evaluated
at the beginning and at the end (5 days) of refrigerated storage in order to evaluate the effect of the
acidification system (direct acid addition or use of starter cultures) and storage on the quality of the
cheese. A high variability was found for most parameters. At the end of storage all parameters were
affected by the mode of acidification and cheese produced by direct acid addition had a significantly
lower microbiological quality; counts of psychrotrophs exceeded 107 cfu/g for most samples and microbial
counts showed a significant correlation with the residual shelf life. Multivariate analysis
confirmed that samples at the beginning and at the end of storage were clearly separated but no
grouping based on the mode of acidification was found. The electronic nose was only partially successful
(80% correct classification) in classifying the cheeses on the basis of storage time or of microbial counts.
This is likely to be due to the variety of brands used in the analysis and to differences in the starter
systems or acidification mode used
Dairy sheep carbon footprint and ReCiPe end-point study
No full textSheep milk production is an important livestock sector for the European Mediterranean countries including the regions of southern Italy. The main objective of this study was to investigate the carbon footprint and the related damages generated by dairy sheep farming by using a simplified LCA approach based on the ReCiPe End-point method. We used 1 kg of Fat and Protein Corrected Milk (FPCM) as functional unit (FU). The average flock size was about 400 animals and the average farm size was about 66 ha. In addition to milk all farms produced meat and wool. Therefore, we performed an economic allocation by dividing all inputs and outputs among milk and the other two co-products (meat and wool), based on farm financial statements. The CF impact determined by 1 kg of FPCM was 3.78 kg CO2-eq. The highest CF impact was mainly due to the enteric fermentation, producing biogenic CH4 as the prevalent chemical compound, followed by the production of meadow hay. Based on the ReCiPe End-point method the impact of 1 kg of FPCM from dairy sheep farming was 7.35 E-06 Disability Adjusted Life Years, whereas the Damage to Ecosystem Diversity was 3.29 E-07 Species*year and the value of the Damage to Resource Availability 0.025 $. In conclusion, the environmental management and sustainability of sheep farms should be constantly controlled with the aim of minimizing their impacts without compromising the competitiveness of this productive sector
Comparison of fatty acid profile and antioxidant compounds in some mediterranean forages for dairy goats
No full textSensory properties of mozzarella cheese as affected by starter cultures and preservation liquid
No full textIndustrial manufacturing of pasta filata cheeses with commercial starter cultures, despite a qualitative standardisation, may cause flavour flattening. In order to improve the sensory profile of mozzarella cheese, we used two starters: ST051 (commercial) vs CL13A (natural milk culture) and two preservation liquids: TL (0.4% NaCl brine) vs IL (0.4% NaCl, 0.67% CaCl2, 0.51% lactose, 1% Lact. lactis + Leuc. mesenteroides). Sensory analyses were performed on four products (two starters x two liquids) by a 10- member panel (7 females and 3 males) in triplicate, whereas 82 consumers evaluated product acceptability. ST051 products had higher brightness, colour uniformity, eye number (P<0.001) and buttermilk release (P<0.05). CL13A cheeses showed higher milk flavour, and higher tenderness (P<0.05) and grainy (P<0.001) mouth feel intensities, whereas sourness (P<0.01), bitterness (P<0.05) flavours and mouth feel of residual (P<0.01) were lower. IL products had a lower eye number (P<0.001), buttermilk release (P<0.05) in terms of aspect, lower fruity and bitterness flavours (P<0.001), increased butter flavour (P<0.05), and increased shear strength (P<0.01), moisture (P<0.05) and grainy (P<0.001) mouth feel. Consumers expressed higher overall and taste/flavour liking for CL13A (P<0.01), whereas IL products were preferred in terms of taste/flavour liking (P<0.05). The PLS regression of 82 judges on 23 sensory variables (38% and 33% of Y variance explained by the first and second component, respectively) allowed to cluster four groups representing 5, 28, 37 and 21% of the consumers, respectively (Fig. 1). Group I preferred ST051 cheese preserved in IL liquid, with high surface uniformity, shear strength and butter flavour. Group II preferred both CL13A products with high milk and sweetness taste/flavour and grainy and tenderness textural attributes. Group III did not express a preference for a particular product, albeit showing a preference for attributes such as fruity flavour and colour intensity, while Cluster IV favoured ST051TL cheeses, characterized by brightness, eye number, and uniformity, in terms of aspect, bitterness, sourness and yogurt taste/flavour, and residual and oily mouth feel. The identification and selection of suitable cheese making technologies, involving the use of adjunct cultures or flavouring preservation liquid may be useful to the industry for product differentiation
Comparison of goat, sheep, cattle and water buffalo leptin (LEP) genes and effects of the Intron 1 microsatellite polymorphism in goats
Full text linkWe report and compare the partial genomic sequence (from part of Intron 1 to part of Exon 3) of goat,
sheep, cattle and water buffalo leptin (LEP) genes. Genomic DNA was obtained from leukocytes of 117 goats
belonging to six breeds (Angora, Alpine, Garganica, Girgentana, Maltese and Red Syrian); 30 sheep belonging to five
breeds (Altamura, Sarda, Apulian Merino, Leccese, Apennine) 50 water buffaloes and 43 Italian Friesian cattle. All
the four species had a microsatellite region in Intron 1. According to the results of a population analysis, we observed
10, 5, and 2 alleles, in cattle, water buffalo and goats, respectively, in this region. No nucleotide variation was observed
in sheep. The results of this study show that in Red Syrian goats the two alleles are associated with significantly
different effects on beta-hydroxybutyric acid (P = 0.04) and free thyroxine (P = 0.018) levels, and milk somatic cell
counts (P = 0.034). The same microsatellite region was tendentially associated with variation in insulin-like growth
factor-1 (P = 0.082) and triglycerides (P = 0.072) levels. The results of this study are further evidence for the role
of leptin as an indicator of metabolism and mammary gland health in dairy ruminants
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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