The temperature–humidity index (THI) has been commonly used to analyse heat stress in dairy cattle, but little is known about its effects on buffaloes. In this study, daily milk yield (MY), fat percentage (FP), protein percentage (PP) and somatic cell count (SCC) data from 808 buffalo cows plus environmental temperature and relative humidity were used to investigate the consequence of heat stress. Two mixed models were used to evaluate the impact of THI on MY, FP, PP and log transformed SCC (SCS). The effect of THI was significant for PP, FP and SCS, whereas its interaction with parity was statistically significant for PP and SCS. The relationship between PP and FP and THI was positive but of different magnitude according to the parity. When THI was below 62, an unfavourable effect was observed, especially in primiparous buffalo cows. A significant interaction between SCS and THI across parities was also observed. The effect of THI on MY across parities was not definite but overall a favourable relationship was observed. Our findings depict a susceptibility of buffaloes to low values of THI, suggesting an optimal THI range for water buffaloes between 59 and 63, although some deleterious effects were observed in primiparous buffaloes at THI values lower than 62. Additional investigations are needed to better elucidate the influence of THI on buffalo species.

Treating ruminant feeds with exogenous fibrolytic enzymes may potentially increase forage cell wall degradability and thus feed efficiency. In nature, fungi biosynthesize lignocellulolytic enzymes that can break down lignocellulosic material into its sugar components, thereby providing ready fermentable substrates. This work showed the in vitro fibrolytic activity of three Trichoderma strains (T. atroviride strain P1, T. afroharzianum strain T22, T. reesei strain T67). Total protein concentration and enzymatic (e.g., glucanase, cellulase, and xylanase) activities were determined in fungal culture filtrates after 7 and 14 days of growth on different fiber-based media. The enzymatic mixtures produced by Trichoderma spp. showed the highest concentration of fibrolytic enzymes and were added to industrial feed to test their ability to hydrolyze insoluble fibers. The supplementation of industrial feeds containing medium-fiber or low-fiber concentrates with T22 enzymes produced in the presence of lyophilized mushrooms and durum wheat fiber reduced hemicellulose concentration up to 33% and 24%, respectively. These results may offer novel opportunities to develop livestock feeds with improved fiber digestibility.

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of dietary anthocyanin addition on volatile compounds of meat from goat kids during ageing. For this work, 60 male and female kids were divided into two groups: red orange and lemon extract (RLE group; n = 30), which received an RLE extract (90 mg/kg of live weight); and control (CON group; n = 30). The phytoextract in dry powder form was rich in bioflavonoids such as flavanones (about 16%) and anthocyanins (about 3%). After slaughtering, the longissimus thoracis et lumborum muscle was aged at 4 °C. The volatile organic compound (VOC) and sensorial analyses were carried out at 1, 3 and 7 days. A total of 10 chemical families were identified during the ageing process. Aldehydes were the most abundant VOC, followed by ketones and alcohols. Their contents increased during the process, showing after 7 days of ageing mean values of 20,498, 2193 and 1879 ng/g of meat, respectively. Regarding dietary effects, carboxylic acids, hydrocarbons and thiols presented significant differences between treatments, with higher carboxylic acid contents observed in RLE samples (437 vs. 467 ng/g of meat for CON and RLE batches, respectively; p < 0.05). On the contrary, hydrocarbons (436 vs. 254 ng/g of meat for CON and RLE batches, respectively) and thiols (160 vs. 103 ng/g of meat for CON and RLE batches, respectively) displayed significantly (p < 0.01) higher amounts in CON compared to the RLE group. Regarding ageing time, the tenderness, juiciness, odour and overall assessment parameters showed significantly higher scores at the end of the whole process (p < 0.05). On the other hand, only odour displayed significant differences between treatments, reaching higher scores in CON samples (p < 0.05). Therefore, ageing time improved the sensorial properties (tenderness, juiciness, odour and overall assessment) and the VOC content, whereas the inclusion of anthocyanins in the kids’ diet did not have a great impact on the properties of aged meat.

Red orange and lemon extract (RLE) is an anthocyanins-rich dietary supplement that may influence gastrointestinal bacterial community in ruminants. The aim of the present study was to investigate the RLE effects on gut microbiota composition in lambs. Twenty-eight lambs were randomly divided into a control group (CON; n = 14) and an anthocyanin group (ANT; n = 14) and fed the same diet; additionally, only the ANT received 90 mg/kg live weight of RLE at day. After lamb slaughter (40 ± 1 days), fecal samples were collected from the rectum and stored at −20 °C until analysis. Analysis of fecal microbiome was carried out by metabarcoding analysis of 16S rRNA. After reads denoising, sequences were aligned against SILVA rRNA sequence database using MALT, and taxonomic binning was performed with MEGAN. A significant increase in Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes and a decrease in Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria was observed in ANT compared to CON. Moreover, an interesting increase of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium genera and a decrease in Escherichia coli and Salmonella species were detected in ANT compared to CON. Results recommend that anthocyanin supplementation in lamb diet is able to modulate positively gut microbiota and may inhibit the growth of some potential pathogenic microorganisms.

Oxidative stress causes several pathological conditions in farm animals by inducing a reduction in animal welfare and production with major economic losses for livestock. The standardised phytoextract obtained by red orange and lemon processing has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. In this study we have investigated whether treating lambs for 40 days with red orange and lemon extract (RLE) was able to prevent the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mechanisms, typically in newborn period. For this purpose, at the end of treatment, redox status was assessed in plasma using oxidative stress markers: malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase (CAT) activities. Moreover, 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) in urine was measured as a biomarker of DNA damage and finally, the markers of inflammatory status, interleukin (IL) 1β and 6, were measured in plasma by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results showed that RLE-treated lambs improved antioxidant mechanisms as demonstrated by the increase in SOD, CAT and GPx activities and, furthermore, a significant reduction in oxidative stress-induced damage was demonstrated through MDA and 8-OHdG measurements. Moreover, RLE was also able to prevent the increase of pro-inflammatory cytokines concentration, such as IL- 1 β and IL 6. Results showed in the present paper demonstrate the potential beneficial effects of the RLE in lambs.