Two hundred broiler chickens (Ross-308) were used in a completely randomised study to evaluate the effects of supplementing the feed with different levels of dried Citrus sinensis peel (DCSP) on the gasrointestinal microbial population and immune system traits. Feed was supplemented with different DCSP amounts: 0.25% w/w (DCSP-0.25), 0.5% w/w (DCSP-0.50), 0.75% w/w (DCSP-0.75), and 1% w/w (DCSP-1). Control diet (DCSP-0), with no feed additition was used as reference. The study involved five treatments in a time frame of six weeks (four replicates per treatment and each replicate had 10 chickens). Data analysis was performed using SAS software and mean comparison was performed using the Duncan test. The results allowed to observe that the mean of Escherichia coli in caecum on day 42 was significantly different (P>0.05) but did not affect other gastrointestinal microbial population traits (P>0.05). The mean of total sheep red blood cells and immunoglobulin G and M (IgG and IgM) on day 28 (P>0.05) were also determined. Total sheep red blood cells on day 42 were significantly different (P0.05). Supplementing the feed with Citrus sinensis had no significant effect on Newcastle disease on day 42 (P>0.05). The mean value for hemagglutination inhibition on day 42 was significantly different (P<0.05). It can be then concluded that DCSP feed supplemention ameliorated the gastrointestinal microbiota and immune system traits

The water-holding capacity (WHC) is among the key factors in determining the quality of meat and its value, which is strongly influenced by the content and quality of the connective tissue proteins like collagen. Therefore, the factors that influence the proteins’ stability, e.g., pH, ionic strength, and the antioxidants which are used to increase the meat shelf-life, also affect the WHC. The interaction of collagen, whose structure is strongly influenced by the interaction with water molecules, can be studied following the behavior of water diffusion by low-resolution ¹H NMR experiments. The present study is addressed to study the collagen stability as a function of pH, ionic strength, and phenolic antioxidants like catechin. The experimental study demonstrated how the ¹H NMR time domain (TD) experiments are able to evaluate the hydration properties of collagen, not only as a function of ionic strength and pH, but also in determining the ability of catechin to interact both on the surface of the collagen fibrils and inside the fibrillar domain.

Green tea powder diet supplementation effect on some immunological parameters in broiler chickens has been evaluated. To assess both the effect and the beneficial dose, the diet of 271 day-old Ross 308 male broiler chickens has been supplemented with 0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.00% (w/w) green tea powder in addition to feed. The experiment lasted for 21 and 42 days, respectively, for each value of the green tea supplement and for separate groups of animals. Immune response against Newcastle disease, influenza viruses and sheep red blood cells, has been determined as well as lymphoid organ (bursa of Fabricius, thymus and spleen) weights. The sero-response to avian influenza ranged between 3.7 and 6.3 lg2 (33 days) and 3.9–3.8 lg2 (42 days) for all the animals treatment groups. The total sero-response to sheep red blood cells was moderate, in a range from 1.7 to 1.5 lgT after 21 and 42 days, respectively. The plots of the weight of immune organs did not show any relation between organ weight and immunoglobulin titre. While additional data would be needed to assess the optimum supplement feed dose, it can be concluded that green tea feed supplementation is not likely to be able to induce any negative effects on immunological parameters.