Beef meat has exceptional nutritional value that distinguishes it from other types of meat and makes it a highly valued food. However, the meat of cattle as well as other ruminants, is characterized by a more complex fatty acid profile compared to the meat of monogastric animals. This complexity is a consequence of the activity of the rumen microflora. In recent decades, changes in animal breeding, feeding practices, and modern slaughtering techniques imparted significant progress in improving beef's nutritional, sensory and market value. Different proportions of concentrated feed and roughages, as well as their types, affect the composition of intramuscular fat. Excluding genetic factors and production practices, nutrition emerges as the main factor influencing the fatty acid profile of beef meat. Today, numerous studies support the nutritional approach to modifying the fatty acid composition of beef meat by using selected feeding stuffs. Therefore, this review aims to collect and systematize data as a guide for implementing such a nutritional strategy in practice, with the health benefits of the final consumers in mind.

DoiFil - Repository of Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) Issued by Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade

Eubiotic relationships in the digestive tract of broilers are one of the most important prerequisites for preserving the health of animals, and thus for increasing the production of high-quality and healthy foods of animal origin. Due to the increasing demands of the global consumer lobby, and respecting production priorities (better food utilization, longer sustainability, easier manipulation) with the ultimate goal of increasing production and improving the quality of foods of animal origin, in addition to basic nutrients, a large number of additives are added to mixtures that have different purposes. Additives are described as substances that, when added to mixtures of basic nutrients in small quantities, potentiate the beneficial and suppress the harmful effects. By adding antibiotics as an additive, manufacturers have in the past made profits based on higher weight gain with better conversion and lower treatment costs. Along with the increase in the amount of antibiotics consumed, a global problem of increasing the incidence of bacterial resistance to antibiotics has been observed. Also, the presence of antibiotic residues in foods of animal origin was determined, as well as their possible genotoxic activity. After the ban on the use of antibiotics for the purpose of stimulating growth, there has been interest in developing new nutritional strategies that will support the function of indigenous microflora in the gastrointestinal tract in the control of pathogenic bacteria. With a unique combination of acidifiers (protected benzoic acid), live probiotic cultures (Bacillus Licheniformis) and mycotoxin adsorbents (a combination of clinoptilolite and esterified mannan-oligosaccharide), designed at the Department of Animal Nutrition and Botany of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, the feed additive „Eubiotik“ was created, which stimulates growth using the physiological potentials and mechanisms of the animal itself, without creating residues. In a series of experiments organized on broilers, on registered farms in the Republic of Serbia, the use of „Eubiotik“ reduced the length of fattening, achieved a higher body weight, as well as better feed conversion rate, completely excluding the use of antibiotics. Definitely, the addition of „Eubiotik“ allows the maintenance of eubiotic relationships (balance in the micropopulation of the digestive tract), which increases the efficiency of digestion and resorption of nutrients, as well as resistance to disorders caused by enteropathogenic bacteria, thus achieving the same effect as when using antibiotics, but without described side effects.

In sustainable livestock development systems, priority is given to autochthonous species and breeds of domestic animals because they are primarily the product of specific conditions: climatic, historical, economic, and on the other hand, they are resistant to diseases and have a longer useful life. Indigenous breeds are formed in a specific geographical area and are adapted to the living conditions of that area. In Serbia, we have several indigenous breeds of cattle, sheep, pigs, and poultry that are adapted to the climatic conditions of traditional breeding in this area. On the other hand, under the pressure of society and the agricultural community itself, the production of animal-derived food is moving towards a production system that includes better treatment and welfare of animals, takes care of our, but also environmental resources, and at the same time results in products that do not contain unwanted chemical residues. The first significant consumer demand for organically produced food appeared in the mid-20th century, parallel to the promotion of organic gardens. Indigenous breeds that are effectively raised in various ecosystems (forests, pastures) combined with food production for their nutrition not only bring the possibility of preserving the genetic resources of these animals but also an economically favorable environment for profit generation and profitable production. This paper presents the botanical composition of plants in pastures in the municipality of Dimitrovgrad, Serbia, as an important resource and nutritional strategy for feeding indigenous breeds of animals. Returning to traditional methods of breeding and grazing sheep and cattle would contribute not only to the restoration of plant species and increasing their survival capacity but also to increasing the number of domestic indigenous animal species from these areas. Additionally, traditional breeding of domestic pigs in forests and on the banks of lowland rivers is one of the systems that deserve attention when it comes to preserving endangered indigenous breeds.

DoiFil - Repository of Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) Issued by Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade

DoiFil - Repository of Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) Issued by Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade