Sihem Dabbou
University of Turin
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Featured researches published by Sihem Dabbou.
Italian Journal of Animal Science | 2015
Marco Belforti; Francesco Gai; Carola Lussiana; Manuela Renna; Vanda Malfatto; L. Rotolo; Michele De Marco; Sihem Dabbou; Achille Schiavone; Ivo Zoccarato; Laura Gasco
This study evaluated the effects of diets containing Tenebrio molitor (TM) larvae meal on growth performances, somatic indexes, nutrient digestibility, dorsal muscle proximate and fatty acid (FA) compositions of rainbow trout. Three hundred sixty fish were randomly divided into three groups with four replicates each. The groups were fed diets differing in TM inclusion: 0% (TM0), 25% (TM25) and 50% (TM50) as fed weight basis. Weight gain was not affected by treatment. Feeding rate was significantly higher in TM0 than TM50. Feed conversion ratio was significantly higher in TM0 than TM25 and TM50, while an opposite trend was observed for protein efficiency ratio and specific growth rate. The survival rate was significantly lower in TM0 than TM25 and TM50. The apparent digestibility of protein was significantly lower in the TM50 group than the other groups, while the apparent digestibility of dry matter, organic matter and lipids was unaffected by treatment. If compared to control, the protein and lipid contents of fillets were respectively increased and decreased following TM inclusion in the diet. The Σn3/Σn6 FA ratio of fish dorsal muscle was linearly (TM0>TM25>TM50) reduced by TM inclusion in the diet. Results suggested that TM could be used during the growing phase in trout farming; however, additional studies on specific feeding strategies and diet formulations are needed to limit its negative effects on the lipid fraction of fillets.
Italian Journal of Animal Science | 2017
Achille Schiavone; Marco Cullere; Michele De Marco; Marco Meneguz; Ilaria Biasato; Stefania Bergagna; Daniela Dezzutto; Francesco Gai; Sihem Dabbou; Laura Gasco; Antonella Dalle Zotte
Abstract The present research studied for the first time the potential application of the fat derived from the black soldier fly larvae fat (BSLF) in substitution to the soybean oil in the diet for broiler chickens: growth performances, feed-choice, blood traits, carcass characteristics and meat quality were considered in this study. A total of 150 male broiler chicks (Ross 308) at one-day of age were randomly allotted to 3 dietary treatments (5 replicates and 10 birds/pen): a basal control diet (C group), and the same diet in which the soybean oil was replaced by 50% (CH group) or 100% (H group) BSLF. Growth performances, feed-choice test, blood traits and slaughtering performances were not influenced by diets. Independently of BSLF inclusion, broiler chickens breast meat had also similar crude protein and ether extract contents and displayed similar thawing loss. Furthermore, pH, L*, a*, b* colour values, and drip loss were unaffected by dietary treatments both at 0 and 9 days of refrigerated storage. As expected, the fatty acid profile of broiler chickens breast was greatly affected by BSLF inclusion level. With increasing BSLF inclusion rate, the proportion of SFA increased (32.2, 37.8, 43.5% for C, CH and H breast meat, respectively, p < .001) to the detriment of the PUFA fraction (22.7, 23.0, 22.9% for C, CH and H breast meat, respectively, p < .001). On the contrary, MUFA fraction was unaffected. BSLF inclusion guaranteed satisfactory productive performances, carcass traits and overall meat quality, thus suggesting that BSLF could be a promising new feed ingredient for chickens.
Chemistry & Biodiversity | 2011
Samia Dabbou; Sihem Dabbou; Roberto Selvaggini; Stefania Urbani; Agnese Taticchi; Maurizio Servili; Mohamed Hammami
With the aim to select new olive cultivars with superior physical and chemical properties than the cultivar Chemlali Sfax, the present study focused on the comparison of the chemical composition and the sensory profile of the virgin olive oils (VOOs) of two wild olive trees (Oleasters K and M) with those of VOOs obtained from Chemlali Sfax and Neb Jmel olive cultivars, all growing in the coastal region of Tunisia. Despite the variability in the chemical composition (fatty acids, pigments, and phenolic and volatile compounds) and the organoleptic profile of the VOOs of the oleasters and the cultivars, the quality indices (free fatty acids, peroxide value, and spectrophotometric indices K232 and K270) as well as the fatty acid composition of all VOOs studied met the commercial standards. Both the α‐tocopherol and phenol contents varied between the genotypes. The Neb Jmel and Oleaster K VOOs had more than two times higher total phenol levels than the Chemlali Sfax and Oleaster M VOOs. Also the contents of volatile compounds differed between the olive oils studied. Chemlali Sfax and Oleaster K oils were more abundant in aldehydes, whereas Oleaster M VOO had higher contents of alcohols. These results were confirmed by a sensorial analysis showing that the later oil was deprived for consumption despite its abundance in α‐tocopherol. In conclusion, the oleasters studied revealed to be interesting, since they produced oils with good quality characteristics in terms of minor compounds (phenols and volatiles) compared to the Chemlali Sfax cultivar.
Animal | 2014
Sihem Dabbou; Laura Gasco; Francesco Gai; Ivo Zoccarato; L. Rotolo; S. Dabbou Fekih; A. Brugiapaglia; A. N. Helal; P.G. Peiretti
In this study, the effects of the inclusion of artichoke bracts (AB) in rabbit diets on the carcass characteristics and rabbit meat quality were studied. A total of 120 rabbits aged 38 days were used and divided into three groups that were fed with different isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets supplemented with AB at 0%, 5% and 10%. The animals were single housed in wire cages at a temperature of 22±2°C and had free access to clean drinking water. At 96 days of age, 12 rabbits/group were slaughtered in an experimental slaughterhouse without fasting. The carcass was weighed and the weights of the skin and full gastrointestinal tract were recorded. Carcasses were chilled at +4°C for 24 h in a refrigerated room. The chilled carcass weight (CCW), dressing out percentage (CCW as percentage of slaughter weight), and the ratio of the head and liver were determined as a percentage of CCW. The reference carcass weight was also calculated. Carcasses were halved and the two longissimus dorsi (LD) muscles were excised. The left LD muscle was divided into two parts. The fore part was used to measure pH, colour and cooking losses. The hind part of the left LD was vacuum-packed, frozen at -20°C and then freeze-dried. Proximate composition, fatty-acid profile and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances values were determined on freeze-dried samples. Results showed that carcass characteristics, LD muscle traits and its oxidative status were not affected by the AB supplementation, except for the meat ether extract content that increased from 0.68% to 0.94% on fresh matter basis with the increase of the AB supplementation (P<0.01). The α-linolenic acid proportion decreased with the increase of the AB supplementation from 3.58% to 2.59% in the LD muscle and from 4.74% to 3.62% in the perirenal fat, whereas the n-6/n-3 ratio increased significantly with increasing AB inclusion from 7.15 to 10.20 in the LD muscle and from 6.68 to 9.35 in the perirenal fat (P<0.01). Furthermore, no significant difference was found in preference among meat samples from each group. The enrichment of the rabbits diet with AB allows the production of rabbit meat with a good degree of unsaturation and low saturation, even if the n-6/n-3 ratio was slightly worse.
Chemistry & Biodiversity | 2015
Samia Dabbou; Sihem Dabbou; Hechmi Chehab; Agnese Taticchi; Maurizio Servili; Mohamed Hammami
The quality indices and chemical composition of Coratina olive oil produced in the northern region of Tunisia were evaluated, to determine the effect of three different irrigation regimes of the trees on the olive oils. The olives were sampled at two different stages of maturity, the oils were extracted, and standard methods were used to analyze the composition and quality of the oils. The fatty‐acid contents and quality parameters were only slightly affected by the irrigation regime. The contents of palmitic, oleic, and linoleic acids were above 12, 72, and 8%, respectively, for the second harvest, regardless of the irrigation level of the olive trees. Parameters such as the α‐tocopherol content and the phenolic profile were found to be significantly affected by the harvesting time; however, inconsistent changes were observed for the irrigation regimes, especially for the oil of the second harvest. It was shown that the irrigation conditions of the olive trees as well as the harvesting time of the fruits gave rise to a diverse range of olive oils in Tunisia.
Animal | 2016
A. Kovitvadhi; Laura Gasco; I. Ferrocino; L. Rotolo; Sihem Dabbou; Vanda Malfatto; Francesco Gai; P.G. Peiretti; M. Falzone; C. Vignolini; L. Cocolin; Ivo Zoccarato
In this study, 160 Hycole weaned rabbits (35 days old) were randomly divided into four groups of 40. The rabbits were studied throughout a 54-day experimentation period in order to determine the impact of dietary supplementation from herbs composed of 0.2%, 0.4% dry ground Lythrum salicaria leaves (LS) and 0.3% Cunirel(®) (CR; a commercial herb mixture containing LS as the main ingredient) on performance, digestibility, health and meat quality. The basal diet was given to the control group. No significant differences were found in performance, 10 rabbits from each group were selected for evaluation regarding apparent digestibility. The rabbits fed the control diet and the diet with the low level of LS had a higher level of CP digestibility than did the animals that were supplemented with the high LS levels and CR (85.7% and 84.9% v. 84.0% and 84.0%, respectively; P<0.05). The ether extract digestibility was lower in the treatment group with 0.4%LS addition and CR as compared with the control group (52.2% and 54.5% v. 62.6%, respectively; P<0.05). The slaughter process was performed on 89-day-old rabbits to study the carcass characteristics, meat quality, blood parameters, caecal contents and gut histology. The total leukocyte counts in the control animals were lower than they were in the rabbits fed 0.2%, 0.4%LS and CR (4.06 v. 8.25, 8.63 and 8.21×10(9)/l, respectively; P<0.05). For caecal fermentation, the caecal contents of the rabbits fed 0.4% of LS, showed higher concentrations of total volatile fatty acid (VFA; 24.1 v. 18.9 mg/kg dry matter (DM); P<0.05) and acetic acid (18.3 v. 14.4 mg/kg DM; P<0.05), but lower ammonia levels (594 v. 892 mg/kg DM; P<0.05) as compared with the control group. PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analyses were performed to evaluate the microbial community in hard faeces, collected at days 35, 42, 49, 56, 70 and 89, whereas the caecal contents were taken after slaughtering. The results demonstrated that between the treatment groups, the similarity of the microbial communities was higher as compared with the control group. Moreover, only age was shown to influence microbiota diversity. In conclusion, the results of this study indicated that supplementation of LS in rabbit diets leads to an increase in the total white blood cells, total VFA and acetic acid concentration, and a decrease in the ammonia levels, as well as the digestibility when CR and high level of LS were supplemented, without causing any adverse effects on other parameters.
Animal | 2016
A. Kovitvadhi; Francesco Gai; Sihem Dabbou; I. Ferrocino; L. Rotolo; M. Falzone; C. Vignolini; Maria Silvia Gennero; Stefania Bergagna; Daniela Dezzutto; R. Barbero; P. Nebbia; S. Rosati; L. Cocolin; Ivo Zoccarato; Laura Gasco
Echinacea pallida (EPAL), a herbaceous flowering plant with immunomodulatory properties, has been chosen to determine the pre- and post-supplementary effects on the growth performances, bacterial community, blood parameters and immunity of growing rabbits. The same Grimaud does (14-week-old) from the studied in the first part of this study were randomly divided into two groups (n=50/group). The first group was fed a basal diet without supplementation (Control group, C) while the another group was fed a basal diet supplemented with 3 g EPAL/kg diet (Echinacea group, E). From the second parturition, 80 weaned kits (40 from the C does and 40 from the E does) were randomly assigned to four groups of 20 animals each and were fed a growing commercial diet supplemented with or without a 3 g EPAL/kg diet: the CC group (rabbits from the C does fed the control diet), CE group (rabbits from the C does fed the supplemented diet), EC (rabbits from the E does fed the control diet) and EE group (rabbits from the E does fed the supplemented diet). The dietary EPAL treatment did not affect the growth performance. Ten fattening rabbits from each group were selected to evaluate the bacterial community and blood parameters, while the remaining rabbits (n=10/group) were used to study phagocytosis and the humoral immune response. The variability was evaluated from hard faeces at 35, 49 and 89 days, and the caecal content at 89 days. The variability of the bacterial community of the EE group was higher than that of the other groups. The phagocytic activity was higher in the CE and EE groups than in the CC and EC ones (30.9 and 29.7 v. 21.2 and 21.8%; P<0.05), whereas no statistically significant difference was observed for the blood parameters or humoral immune response against vaccination (rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus) at 95 days old which the serum was collected at 88, 102, 109, 116 and 123 days old. In conclusion, no impact of EPAL dietary supplementation has been observed on the growth performances, bacterial community, blood parameters or humoral immune responses in growing rabbits, except for an increase in phagocytic activities.
Animal | 2016
Sihem Dabbou; L. Rotolo; A. Kovitvadhi; Stefania Bergagna; Daniela Dezzutto; R. Barbero; P. Rubiolo; Achille Schiavone; M. De Marco; Ahmed Noureddine Helal; Ivo Zoccarato; Laura Gasco
Echinacea pallida (EPAL), also known as pale purple coneflower, is a herbaceous flowering plant with immune-enhancement and antioxidative properties. The effect of EPAL on the reproductive performance, serum biochemistry and haematological parameters of rabbit does has been studied here. A total of 100, 21-week-old Grimaud rabbit does, were randomly assigned to two groups. One group was fed a basal diet supplemented with 3 g EPAL/kg diet (Echinacea group, E), while the other was fed the basal diet without the supplementation (control group, C). The reproductive performance of the does was not affected by the treatment (P>0.05). The haematological parameters of pregnant rabbits showed that there was no interaction between gestation day and treatment. The EPAL supplementation induced a reduction (-47.3%) in the basophil cell rate (0.55% and 0.29%, for the control and treatment groups, respectively; P=0.049). The gestation day significantly affected most of the haematological parameters (P<0.05). The white blood cell counts declined progressively after day 14. The mean corpuscular haemoglobin, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration, red cell distribution width, mean platelet volume and eosinophils increased steadily throughout the study, and reached a maximum value on day 28. The red blood cells, haemoglobin, haematocrit, mean corpuscular volume and neutrophils increased slightly up to day 14, and then subsequently decreased progressively until day 28. The lymphocytes and platelet distribution width decreased until day 14, and then increased to a maximum value on day 28. No significant effect of gestation day or treatment was observed on the blood serum chemistry. As far as the immune parameters are concerned, no significant differences were observed between groups, while a significant effect of gestation day was observed for lysozymes (6.02 v. 7.99 v. 1.91; for 0, 14 and 28 days, respectively; P=0.014). In conclusion, a lack of effect of EPAL has been observed. In fact, no impacts of EPAL have been observed on the reproductive or haematological parameters of the does. The effects of dietary supplementation with EPAL on the performances, bacterial community, blood parameters and immunity in growing rabbits are reported in the second part of this study.
Poultry Science | 2018
Ilaria Biasato; Laura Gasco; M. De Marco; Manuela Renna; L. Rotolo; Sihem Dabbou; Maria Teresa Capucchio; E. Biasibetti; M. Tarantola; L. Sterpone; L. Cavallarin; Francesco Gai; L. Pozzo; Stefania Bergagna; Daniela Dezzutto; Ivo Zoccarato; Achille Schiavone
Abstract This study evaluated the effects of Tenebrio molitor (TM) larvae meal inclusion in diets for broilers. A total of 160 male broiler chicks (Ross 708) at one‐day of age were randomly allotted to four dietary treatments: a control (C) group and three TM groups, in which TM meal was included at 50 (TM5), 100 (TM10), and 150 (TM15) g/kg, respectively. The experimental diets were isonitrogenous and isoenergetic. Each group consisted of five pens as replicates (8 chicks/pen). After the evaluation of growth performance and haematochemical parameters, the animals were slaughtered at 53 days and carcass traits were recorded. Morphometric investigations were performed on duodenum, jejunum, and ileum and histopathological alterations were assessed for liver, spleen, thymus, bursa of Fabricius, kidney, and heart. The live weight (LW) showed a linear (12 and 25 days, P < 0.001 and P < 0.05, maximum with TM15 and TM10) and quadratic (53 days, P < 0.05, maximum with TM5) response to dietary TM meal inclusion. A linear (1 to 12 and 12 to 25 days, P < 0.001, maximum with TM15) and quadratic (12 to 25 days, P = 0.001, maximum with TM15) effect was also observed for the daily feed intake (DFI). The feed conversion ratio (FCR) showed a linear response (25 to 53 and 1 to 53 days, P = 0.001 and P < 0.05, maximum with TM15). Haematological and serum biochemical traits, carcass traits and histopathological findings were not affected by dietary TM meal inclusion (P > 0.05). TM15 birds showed lower villus height (P < 0.05), higher crypt depth (P < 0.05), and lower villus height to crypt depth ratio (P = 0.001) compared with C and TM5. In conclusion, increasing levels of dietary TM meal inclusion in male broiler chickens may improve body weight and feed intake, but negatively affect feed efficiency and intestinal morphology, thus suggesting that low levels may be more suitable. However, no effect on haematochemical parameters, carcass traits, and histological findings were observed in relation to TM meal utilization.
Asian-australasian Journal of Animal Sciences | 2018
Sihem Dabbou; Laura Gasco; L. Rotolo; Luisa Pozzo; Jian Ming Tong; Xiao Fang Dong; Patrizia Rubiolo; Achille Schiavone; Francesco Gai
Objective The present experiment has tested the effect of dietary alfalfa flavonoids (AAF) supplementation on the productive performances, carcass characteristics, meat quality and lipid oxidation of growing rabbits. Methods One hundred and sixty crossbred rabbits (42 days old) were divided into four groups of forty animals each and were fed either a control diet (AAF0) or an AAF0 diet supplemented with 400, 800, or 1,200 mg of AAF/kg per diet (AAF4, AAF8, and AAF12, respectively) from weaning to slaughtering (102 days old). Performance data were recorded over a period of 60 days. At the end of the trial, 12 rabbits were slaughtered per group, and the carcass characteristics were recorded. Moreover, the plasma, liver and dorsal muscles were sampled from 12 rabbits/group, and were analyzed for lipid oxidation. Results No significant differences were recorded for the performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality traits except for lightness parameter that was lower in the control group. Dietary AAF supplementation significantly (p<0.01) affected the malondialdehyde (MDA) levels of the frozen meat in a dose-related manner, with the lowest value (0.24 mg MDA/kg fresh meat) recorded in the AAF12 group samples. Conclusion These findings indicated that the dietary inclusion of AAF in rabbit diets improved muscle oxidation stability with no adverse effects on the growth performance of the animals even if a slight impact on meat lightness color parameter was recorded.