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The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of chemically and green synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) on the shelf life and sensory quality of fish meat. In this study, ZnO-NPs were synthesized by employing the colloidal chemistry (CZnO-NPs) and green synthesis (GZnO-NPs) methods, and they were also characterized to assess their morphology. The synthesized ZnO-NPs, ZnO, and zinc acetate (ZnA) were used for the preservation and fortification of fish (Pangasius hypophthalmus) meat at 20 mg/kg of Zn. In a six-day storage study at 4 °C, the fish samples were evaluated for their sensory attributes (color and odor), physicochemical quality (pH and total volatile base nitrogen), oxidative changes (thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances and peroxide value), and microbial loads at 0, 3, and 6 days of storage. The fortification of raw fish with the synthesized CZnO-NPs produced better sensory attributes (color and odor) and maintained a pH non-conducive to microbial growth throughout the entire storage period compared with the control, ZnO, and ZnA-fortified samples. The GZnO-NPs largely did not provide any added advantage over CZnO-NPs but sometimes responded better than the control, ZnO, and ZnA samples. Oxidative status and total volatile base nitrogen were lower for CZnO-NPs in refrigerated fish compared with the other treatments. The ZnO-NP-fortified fish had the lowest counts of total viable bacteria, coliforms, Staphylococcus spp., and Vibrio spp. Hence, the fortification of fish with synthesized CZnO-NPs is promising as a food additive to reduce microbial spoilage and lipid peroxidation of fish in storage.

Strategic dietary inclusion of low cost plant derived protein source in duck feed is critical for sustainability of the duck farm. Empty pea pod and azolla are two promising protein sources used as animal feed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of supplementing dried and grounded azolla (AP) and empty pea pods (PP) on growth, blood biochemical metabolites and meat quality in white pekin ducks. A total of 90 white pekin ducklings were randomly assigned to 3 treatment groups (Control, T1 and T2) comprising of three replicated pens. Inside each replicate pen, a total of 10 ducklings were housed under standard management practices. AP and PP was supplemented as top up feed @ 5% of basal diet to experimental birds under T1 and T2 groups, respectively from day 0 to 56. At the end of the trial (56 day), 3 birds from each pen were sampled for serum and breast muscle. Results reveled that AP and PP has significant influence on body growth. The effect on growth was in the order of: T2>T1>Control. It was also observed that PP had hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effect on ducks. However, AP and PP supplementation did not affect carcass traits, pH, cooking loss and Lipid Peroxidase Activity (TBA value) in duck meat.Thus, it could be concluded that supplementation of dried pea pods (PP) might be of great benefit to white pekin ducks as a source of cheap and unconventional protein.

Pomegranate peel contains substantial amount of phenolic acids responsible for its remarkable in vitro antioxidant activities. Objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of supplementing pomegranate peel infusion on antioxidant quality of broiler meat. Present study showed that supplementation of infusion can increase the antioxidant activity in meat in dose dependent manner. It is concluded that pomegranate peel infusion might be used to extend self-life of poultry meat.

Retinoic acid inducible gene I (RIG-I) is associated to the DExD/H box RNA helicases. It is a pattern recognition receptor (PRR), playing a crucial role in the system and is a germ line encoded host sensor to perceive pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). So far, reports are available for the role of RIG-I in antiviral immunity. This is the first report in which we have documented the role of RIG-I in parasitic immunity. Haemonchus contortus is a deadly parasite affecting the sheep industry, which has a tremendous economic importance, and the parasite is reported to be prevalent in the hot and humid agroclimatic region. We characterize the RIG-I gene in sheep (Ovis aries) and identify the important domains or binding sites with Haemonchus contortus through in silico studies. Differential mRNA expression analysis reveals upregulation of the RIG-I gene in the abomasum of infected sheep compared with that of healthy sheep, further confirming the findings. Thus, it is evident that, in infected sheep, expression of RIG-I is triggered for binding to more pathogens (Haemonchus contortus). Genetically similar studies with humans and other livestock species were conducted to reveal that sheep may be efficiently using a model organism for studying the role of RIG-I in antiparasitic immunity in humans.