Tomáš Komprda

Tyrosine- and histidine-decarboxylase positive lactic acid bacteria and enterococci in dry fermented sausages.

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and enterococci were isolated immediately after stuffing (day 0), at the end of ripening (28th day) and at the end of storage (112th day) from dry fermented sausages produced by two different producers (K; R) in two diameters (4.5 and 7 cm) using either of two spice mixtures (P; H) and either of two starter cultures (Pediococcus pentosaceus, C; Lactobacillus curvatus+Staphylococcus carnosus, F), resulting in a total of 16 different combinations. Tyrosine-decarboxylase DNA sequence (tyrdc) was identified on average in 88% and 44% of enterococci and LAB isolates, respectively at the end of ripening, the corresponding figures regarding histidine-decarboxylase gene sequence (hisdc) was 71% and 16%, respectively. Lactobacillus plantarum, L. brevis and L. casei/paracasei, and Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus faecalis were identified as tyramine/histamine producers in the sausages.

Meat quality characteristics of lambs of three organically raised breeds

Carcass and meat (muscullus quadriceps femoris [MQF]) quality characteristics were evaluated in ten lambs per each of Zwartbles (ZW), Suffolk (SF) and Oxford Down (OD) breeds, raised organically and slaughtered at a mean live weight of 38 kg. Meat of ZW lambs had lower (P<0.05) collagen, myoglobin and intramuscular fat content than OD lambs, and lower (P<0.05) tenderness and juiciness scores in comparison with OD and SF lambs. Despite a low polyunsaturated/saturated fatty acid ratio (0.13 in all three breeds; P>0.05), meat of the pasture-fattened lambs can be considered a dietetically superior food with very favourable (0.85-0.88; P>0.05) polyunsaturated fatty acid n - 6/n - 3 ratio, and containing per 100g of muscle on average 62 mg of EPA+DHA (differences between breeds not significant, P>0.05) and no more than 20mg of dietetically unfavourable arachidonic acid.

A combination of additives can synergically decrease acrylamide content in gingerbread without compromising sensory quality

BACKGROUND The present study tested whether replacement of the leavening agent ammonium carbonate by sodium hydrogen carbonate in combination with calcium cation and acidifying agent will synergically decrease acrylamide (AA) content in gingerbread. RESULTS The type of leavening agent and the presence of Ca2+ and citric acid accounted for 33.6%, 13.2% and 53.2% of the explained variability of the AA content, respectively (P < 0.01). The AA content in gingerbread produced with (NH4 )2 CO3 alone was 186.5 µg kg-1 . Irrespective of other tested additives, NaHCO3 decreased (P < 0.05) AA content to 42% compared to (NH4 )2 CO3 . Combination of NaHCO3 + CaCl2 + citric acid in dough reduced (P < 0.05) AA content below the limit of detection (25 µg kg-1 ). The AA content in gingerbread (y; µg kg-1 ) decreased with an increasing number of additives used (x) according to the equation y = 158.8 - 47.94x (r2 = 0.42; P < 0.0001). A comprehensive sensory analysis did not indicate any significant deterioration (P > 0.05) in the organoleptic quality of gingerbread produced using calcium cation and citric acid. CONCLUSION The present study demonstrates that the combination of additives NaHCO3 /Ca2+ /citric acid synergically decreases AA content in gingerbread without compromising the sensory quality.

Tissue fatty acid deposition, plasma lipid and cytokine profile in pigs fed a diet with fish oil or palm oil

Komprda T., Rozíková V., Vícenová M., Procházková N., Ondráčková P., Pešková P., Faldyna M. (2017): Tissue fatty acid deposition, plasma lipid and cytokine profile in pigs fed a diet with fish oil or palm oil. Czech J. Anim. Sci., 62, 482–490. The present study tested a hypothesis concerning a favourable effect of dietary fish oil on the tissue polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) deposition, and on plasma lipid and cytokine profile. Thirty-two pigs divided into two groups of 16 animals each were fed for 70 days a diet with 2.5% of fish oil (F) and palm oil (P), respectively. The content of PUFA n-3 in the liver, muscle (m. quadriceps femoris), and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) of the Fand P-pigs was 530 and 129, 84 and 19, 1365 and 191 mg/100 g of the fresh tissue, respectively (differences between dietary groups were significant at P < 0.01 in all tissues). Dietary fish oil in comparison with palm oil decreased (P < 0.05) total plasma cholesterol, but also desirable high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and had no effect (P > 0.05) both on low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triacylglycerols. Moreover, dietary fish oil increased (P < 0.05) expression of the genes coding for not only anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-10 (P < 0.01) and TGF-β1 (P < 0.05), but also for pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6 (P < 0.01), IL-12, and TNF-α (P < 0.05) in the VAT, and increased (P < 0.05) the expression of the IL6 gene in the liver. On the other hand, no significant differences (P > 0.05) between the Fand P-pigs in plasma levels of any tested cytokine were found out. It was concluded that an effect of dietary fish oil on tissue fatty acid deposition is undeniable, but its effects on plasma markers related to the risk of chronic degenerative diseases require further research.