Increased collagen accumulation in eggshell membrane after feeding with dietary wood charcoal powder and vinegar

Bark charcoal powder containing wood vinegar liquid can shorten the time to shipping of broilers raised in tropical areas by activating performance and intestinal function

The effect of dietary bark charcoal containing vinegar liquid (BCV) on the growth performance, carcass and visceral organs, intestinal histology, fecal ammonia nitrogen, and nutrient digestibility were investigated in a total of 350 one-day-old unsexed Ross 308 broilers raised under a high environmental temperature (heat stress) from 0 to 42 d of age. They were divided into 0% (control group), 1%, 2%, 3%, and 4% dietary BCV groups. Compared with the control group, the body weight gain (BWG) of the 1% dietary BCV group at 21–42 d of age and the feed efficiency of the 2% dietary BCV group at 0–42 d of age increased (P < 0.05). The carcasses of the 1% and 3% dietary BCV groups significantly decreased (P < 0.05). The digestibility of dry matter and gross energy of the 4% dietary BCV group improved at 21 d (P < 0.05). The duodenum of the 3% and 4% dietary BCV groups was significantly heavier than those in the control groups (P < 0.05). This result suggests that BCV can shorten the time to shipping date for broilers to before 42 d of age and can contribute to the development of poultry production in tropical regions.

State-of-the-Art of Eggshell Waste in Materials Science: Recent Advances in Catalysis, Pharmaceutical Applications, and Mechanochemistry

Eggshell waste is among the most abundant waste materials coming from food processing technologies. Despite the unique properties that both its components (eggshell, ES, and eggshell membrane, ESM) possess, it is very often discarded without further use. This review article aims to summarize the recent reports utilizing eggshell waste for very diverse purposes, stressing the need to use a mechanochemical approach to broaden its applications. The most studied field with regards to the potential use of eggshell waste is catalysis. Upon proper treatment, it can be used for turning waste oils into biodiesel and moreover, the catalytic effect of eggshell-based material in organic synthesis is also very beneficial. In inorganic chemistry, the eggshell membrane is very often used as a templating agent for nanoparticles production. Such composites are suitable for application in photocatalysis. These bionanocomposites are also capable of heavy metal ions reduction and can be also used for the ozonation process. The eggshell and its membrane are applicable in electrochemistry as well. Due to the high protein content and the presence of functional groups on the surface, ESM can be easily converted to a high-performance electrode material. Finally, both ES and ESM are suitable for medical applications, as the former can be used as an inexpensive Ca2+ source for the development of medications, particles for drug delivery, organic matrix/mineral nanocomposites as potential tissue scaffolds, food supplements and the latter for the treatment of joint diseases, in reparative medicine and vascular graft producing. For the majority of the above-mentioned applications, the pretreatment of the eggshell waste is necessary. Among other options, the mechanochemical pretreatment has found an inevitable place. Since the publication of the last review paper devoted to the mechanochemical treatment of eggshell waste, a few new works have appeared, which are reviewed here to underline the sustainable character of the proposed methodology. The mechanochemical treatment of eggshell is capable of producing the nanoscale material which can be further used for bioceramics synthesis, dehalogenation processes, wastewater treatment, preparation of hydrophobic filters, lithium-ion batteries, dental materials, and in the building industry as cement.

The use of biochar in animal feeding

Biochar, that is, carbonized biomass similar to charcoal, has been used in acute medical treatment of animals for many centuries. Since 2010, livestock farmers increasingly use biochar as a regular feed supplement to improve animal health, increase nutrient intake efficiency and thus productivity. As biochar gets enriched with nitrogen-rich organic compounds during the digestion process, the excreted biochar-manure becomes a more valuable organic fertilizer causing lower nutrient losses and greenhouse gas emissions during storage and soil application. Scientists only recently started to investigate the mechanisms of biochar in the different stages of animal digestion and thus most published results on biochar feeding are based so far on empirical studies. This review summarizes the state of knowledge up to the year 2019 by evaluating 112 relevant scientific publications on the topic to derive initial insights, discuss potential mechanisms behind observations and identify important knowledge gaps and future research needs. The literature analysis shows that in most studies and for all investigated farm animal species, positive effects on different parameters such as toxin adsorption, digestion, blood values, feed efficiency, meat quality and/or greenhouse gas emissions could be found when biochar was added to feed. A considerable number of studies provided statistically non-significant results, though tendencies were mostly positive. Rare negative effects were identified in regard to the immobilization of liposoluble feed ingredients (e.g., vitamin E or Carotenoids) which may limit long-term biochar feeding. We found that most of the studies did not systematically investigate biochar properties (which may vastly differ) and dosage, which is a major drawback for generalizing results. Our review demonstrates that the use of biochar as a feed additive has the potential to improve animal health, feed efficiency and livestock housing climate, to reduce nutrient losses and greenhouse gas emissions, and to increase the soil organic matter content and thus soil fertility when eventually applied to soil. In combination with other good practices, co-feeding of biochar may thus have the potential to improve the sustainability of animal husbandry. However, more systematic multi-disciplinary research is definitely needed to arrive at generalizable recommendations.

Eggshell membrane biomaterial as a platform for applications in materials science

Eggshell membrane (ESM) is a unique biomaterial, which is generally considered as waste. However, it has extraordinary properties which can be utilized in various fields and its potential applications are therefore now being widely studied. The first part of this review focuses on the chemical composition and morphology of ESM. The main areas of ESM application are discussed in the second part. These applications include its utilization as a biotemplate for the synthesis of nanoparticles; as a sorbent of heavy metals, organics, dyes, sulfonates and fluorides; as the main component of biosensors; in medicine; and various other applications. For each area of interest, a detailed literature survey is given.

Increased collagen III in culled chicken meat after feeding dietary wood charcoal and vinegar contributes to palatability and tenderness

We comprehensively evaluated meat quality in chickens fed a diet consisting of wood charcoal and vinegar (WCV) using food scientific and histological approaches. In culled hens, lipid and fatty acid in Musculus semimembranosus, cooking loss and sensory tests of whole thigh meat, and meat texture of breast meat were observed. In male broilers, cross section of M. semimembranosus was used for observations on muscle area, perimysium, non-collagen total protein and total collagen content, and anti-collagen I and III reactions. In frozen male broilers, conventional morphology of M. semimembranosus as well as chicken anti-collagen III reaction to selected muscles of thigh meat and breast meat were compared between the control and WCV-fed birds. Increased lipid and fatty acids, decreased cooking loss, high score in total evaluation for sensory test of thigh meat, and decreased meat texture values were observed for culled hens fed WCV. The higher values of muscle area, total collagen and collagen III were observed for broilers fed WCV. No perimysium collapse for M. semitendinosus or increased collagen III reactions of M. tensor fasciae latae, the flexor muscle group and M. pectoralis superficialis were observed for frozen muscles in the WCV group. These total results suggest that WCV produces palatable and tender meat by increasing collagen III.