Carcass Portions Research Articles

Physicochemical, Microbiological, and Toxicological Characterization of Pâté Prepared from the Meat and Liver of Bullfrog (Aquarana catesbeiana) Carcasses.

The development of balanced, healthy, ready-to-consume, and easy-to-prepare products has led to the development of new food technologies. Despite their high commercial value, bullfrog (Aquarana catesbeiana) carcasses result in low yields, with the thighs being the most marketed in comparison to other carcass portions. In this sense, liver pâté is a traditional food consumed worldwide, mainly in European countries, and may be prepared by incorporating bullfrog meat by-products and certain viscera. In this context, the aim of the present study was to develop a pâté product based on a mixture comprising 50% grounded bullfrog torso meat and 50% liver paste, with each treatment incorporating 10% liver paste increments, totaling five final mixtures. The nutritional compositions and physicochemical, microbiological, and toxicological characteristics of each mixture were assessed. The dry matter percentage of the prepared product was determined to be 27.00%, while mineral content was 1.45%, lipid content was 4.00%, and total protein content was 20.00%. Finally, microbiological counts were in agreement with current food safety regulations. The developed pâté serves as a standard, recycling underused industrial materials, adding value to the production chain at low operational costs, creating a more accessible market, and promoting the popularization of this type of meat.

Feeding silkworm (Bombyx mori L.) oil to growing rabbits improves the fatty acid composition of meat, liver and perirenal fat

Silkworm oil was used in a rabbit diet to evaluate its benefit on the fatty acid (FA) profile of different carcass portions. Two experimental diets were prepared: a control diet (commercial diet with 13 g/kg sunflower oil) and a silkworm oil diet (SWO) (commercial diet with 13 g/kg silkworm oil). Rabbits received the experimental diets the last three weeks before slaughter, which occurred at 10 weeks of age. At slaughter, hind leg meat, liver, and perirenal fat were sampled for FA profile analysis. The SWO diet significantly increased the n-3 FA of all three sampling sites and halved the n-6/n-3 ratio of hind leg meat and perirenal fat. Furthermore, the liver of SWO rabbits was also richer in C22:6 n-3 compared to that of control rabbits. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that the total dietary replacement of sunflower oil with silkworm oil in fattening rabbits positively changed the FA profile of the considered carcass tissues.

The effect of age, birth weight and milk suction time on some carcass characteristics and load distribution ratio (LDR): Eastern Anatolian red cattle example in Turkey

The aim of this research is to evaluate the current situation and create a model for some countries involved in animal production. Eastern Anatolian Red (EAR) breed that adapts to arid and barren areas has been raised in Turkey. The experimental animals comprised 31 head of EAR cows of different ages, fed on pastures and in the barn. This study determined the effects of age, birth weight and suction time on carcass characteristics of EAR cows. The animals were divided into 6 groups based on birth weight, 4 groups based on age and 6 groups based on milk suction time. They were reared under a conventional system that was based on grazing during summer and a semi-intensive system during winter. Carcass length, fat thickness over longissimus dorsi, marbling score, and LDR were significantly (P< 0.05) affected by age group. Significant (P< 0.05) differences were noted for carcass length, fat thickness over LD, and marbling score among animals with different birth weights. The milk suction time had a significant (P< 0.05) effect on all the parameters measured. In this research, the 4th age group was seen advantageous based on carcass characteristics and LDR and resembled other groups. As indicated in the study, the carcass characteristic output from the 2nd birth weight group shows that carcass length was a far more important output than other carcass portions or carcass quality parameters. Similarly, the 1st group based on milk suction time came to the forefront for some carcass characteristic, although it indicated partial similarity with other groups.

Growth, carcass and meat quality traits of two South African meat rabbit breeds

ract Rabbits could contribute to meat production in South Africa. However, little research has been done on rabbit farming in the country, including on the performance of locally available meat breeds. This study examined the meat production of the New Zealand White (NZW) and Phendula rabbit breeds. The live weights (LW) and average daily gains (ADG) of 80 (44 male, 36 female) NZW and 40 (22 male, 18 female) Phendula rabbits, housed in single-sex groups of three, were recorded from weaning (5 weeks) until slaughter (11 weeks). The slaughter weight, and carcass, organ, and carcass portion weights were recorded for 10 male rabbits and 10 females of each breed, and the physical and proximate chemical quality of the loin meat was determined. The breeds differed for the reference carcass (RC) yield (NZW: 85.3 ± 0.14%; Phendula: 84.9 ± 0.24%) and the proportions of the low-value fore (NZW: 38.6 ± 0.26%; Phendula: 37.6 ± 0.28%) and high-value intermediate (NZW: 19.6 ± 0.16%; Phendula: 20.4 ± 0.28%) parts. Females had greater LW and ADG at 11 weeks old, and reduced dressing percentages, but greater RC yields owing to lighter heads and red offal. Females also had smaller proportions of the fore part. Meat quality did not differ between the breeds or sexes. Overall, both breeds compared well to previous reports. However, they appeared to mature relatively early, as indicated by the significant sex differences, and the high carcass and meat fat content.Keywords: carcass portions, meat yield, New Zealand White, Phendula

Prevalência de suínos portadores de Salmonella sp. ao abate e contaminação de embutidos tipo frescal

The slaughter of Salmonella carrier pigs is considered the first critical point for the contamination of pork products. The risk represented by positive animals tends to increase, when this pathogen is found in carcass portions consumed by the population. The aim of this study was to assess the implication of the Salmonella positive pigs prevalence at slaughter on the contamination of ground meat used for fresh sausage production. In a first phase, mandibular lymph node/tonsil pools (LT) and intestinal contents (CI) of 16 animals where collected in each one of three samplings conducted at an abattoir in Southern Brazil. On the day after, 99 samples of the ground meat, produced with carcass parts of pigs slaughtered in the previous day, were collected immediately before the casing. The mean prevalence of Salmonella carrier pigs at slaughter was 83.33%, while 93.94% of the ground meat samples were positive. The most prevalent serovars were Panama, Bredeney, and Typhimurium. In a second phase, a Salmonella quantification protocol was applied on ground meat positive samples collected on two additional sampling days. Two samples randomly chosen at the fourth sampling presented 93 MPN/g and 150 MPN/g of S. Bredeney. On the other hand, two samples from the fifth sampling presented <3 MPN/g, respectively, of S. Typhimurium and S. Mbandaka. Theses results demonstrated that the slaughter of Salmonella positive pigs implicated on the fresh pork sausage contamination. On the other hand, the amount of Salmonella found in ground meat samples was lower than the infective dose commonly proposed for humans.

Effect of dietary protein on performance of four broiler strains and on the allometric relationships between carcass portions and body protein

This is the second paper in a series that reports the allometric relationships between some of the physical parts and body protein weight of commercial broiler strains reared, sexes separate, on different dietary protein levels. In this trial, four commercial broiler strains were sampled at day old and then weekly from each of three dietary protein treatments to determine the weights of the physical parts and the chemical composition of each of 936 birds. Allometric regressions were compared between strains, sexes and dietary protein levels using linear regression with groups. Whereas these regressions were similar over strains and sexes, some interactions were evident between factors, the largest differences occurring when broilers were fed differing dietary protein levels. These differences may be explained on the basis that lipid is deposited to different extents in each of the parts in response to dietary protein. Day-old breast meat and wing weights fell below the regression that best fitted the remaining observations and so were omitted from allometric analyses. The allometric regressions presented are an attempt to provide information that would enable the prediction of the weights of breast meat, thigh, drum and wing at different stages of growth of broilers whose genotype and feed composition are adequately described. Keywords: Breast meat, thigh, drum, wing, carcass yield

Apports et limites de l’étude des vestiges fauniques à la caractérisation d’un site mésolithique de plein air à Paris : « 62 rue Henry-Farman » (15e arrondissement)

: The ’ 62 rue Henry-Farman’ site in the south-west of Paris (15th arrondissement) is located on the alluvial plain of the Seine River, now 250 m from the site. The site’s cultural sequence consists of four occupations, the Mesolithic, Middle Neolithic, Late Neolithic / Early Bronze Age, and the Early Iron Age, but the research presented in this paper focuses exclusively on the Mesolithic period. Field operations and excavations were carried out by the INRAP (Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives) in 2008. Because of the relatively extensive surface under excavation (5,000 m2), six main concentrations of stone artefacts and animal bone remains (loci 1 to 6) were singled out despite the loose clustering of the cultural debris. Because of the poor preservation of bone collagen, only three bone samples, located on the periphery of the loci, could be radiocarbon dated (AMS). The dates, ranging from 8600 and 7700 cal. BC (2 sigmas), suggest at least two occupation phases. The palaeoenvironmental analyses (molluscs and isotopic signatures of ungulate bone collagen) are congruent with this chronological attribution which is also broadly consistent with the lithic typology, although the latter indicates a relative intra-site time lag. A thorough analysis of the faunal remains (including worked remains), was carried out to identify the discarded remains and determine the activities performed, in order to reconstruct the patterns of animal resources exploitation per cluster of loci. The faunal material (N = 1287) is not large compared to the lithics (ca 24,000). It may be related to the general poor state of preservation of the faunal material as indicated by taphonomic analyses. In spite of a relative intra-site time span, the preservation of the faunal material as well as its taxonomic composition are homogeneous on the scale of the whole site. Wild boar (Sus scrofa scrofa) was the top hunted species. The other ungulates, red deer (Cervus elaphus), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and aurochs (Bos primigenius), as well as fur-bearing mammals such as fox (Vulpes vulpes), hare (Lepus europeaus), badger (Meles meles) or pine marten (Martes martes), are represented by very few individuals and specimens, and in different proportions in every locus. The pond tortoise (Emys orbicularis) is also represented by one fragment of carapace. A similar wild boar hunting pattern — focusing on subadults and adults — is documented in every locus. Hunters probably preyed on groups of females with subadults, but adult males were also targeted, as indicated by the presence of six tusks (lower canines), most likely during distinct hunting episodes. Some tusks were used as tools in several loci. Bone point fragments and two worked pieces of antler (one showing a bevelled edge) indicate that hard animal materials from large prey species were also exploited and possibly worked in situ. Large prey carcass portions were discarded in every locus, suggesting that targeted preys were brought complete to the site to be butchered. A relatively expedient butchering technique is suggested based on the discard of anatomical parts still in connection (locus 1) and some un-fractured bones (including long bones). Some portions of the carcasses are likely to have been transported off the loci and off site. Such observations are interpreted as an indication that the butchering and treatment of the carcasses were not performed successively at the same place, the chaînes opératoires were segmented (both in time and space). It is finally concluded that each locus may have mostly resulted from successive and probably short term — seasonal — occupations, each locus resulting from an independent event. Different activities were performed on the site. It is the case for the manufacture of stone tools related to hunting, primary butchering, hide processing, all articulated around animal resource procurement and treatment.

Tracing Campylobacter jejuni strains along the poultry meat production chain from farm to retail by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and the antimicrobial resistance of isolates

In this study Campylobacter jejuni isolates were recovered from birds, carcasses and carcass portions from two broiler chicken flocks and from equipment used for carcass and meat processing along the production chain from farms to retail stores. Isolates were subjected to pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) using SmaI and KpnI restriction enzymes and their antimicrobial susceptibilities were determined. C. jejuni was recovered from product and equipment used with both flocks at each point in the production chain. The prevalence of C. jejuni in poultry products at retail stores was 58.97% (flock 1) and 69.23% (flock 2). SmaI divided 122 C. jejuni strains from flock 1 and 106 from flock 2 into 17 and 13 PFGE types, respectively. PFGE types H and F were present at all steps along the chain, from farms to retail products. Similarly, for both flocks PFGE type D was detected in crates, slaughterhouse and retail stores. Moreover, the PFGE types were highly diverse at the processing and retail steps. Most PFGE types were resistant to ciprofloxacin (95.45%) and tetracycline (81.82%); and multidrug resistant PFGE types were found in the final products. Our study showed that there were several points of cross-contamination of product along the chain, and a high diversity of PFGE types with antimicrobial resistance to ciprofloxacin and tetracycline in the retail products.

Effect of dietary protein on the allometric relationships between some carcass portions and body protein in three broiler strains

This paper reports the allometric relationships between some of the physical parts and body protein weight of three commercial broiler strains reared, sexes separate, on four dietary protein levels to six weeks of age. Birds were sampled at day old and then weekly from each of the treatments to determine the weights of the physical parts and the chemical composition of each of 582 birds. Allometric regressions were compared between strains, sexes and dietary protein levels using linear regression with groups. Whereas these regressions were similar over strains and sexes, some interactions were evident between factors, and differences occurred when broilers were fed differing dietary protein levels. These differences may be explained on the basis that lipid is deposited to different extents in each of the parts in response to dietary protein, although this was not tested. The allometric regressions presented are an attempt to provide information that would enable the prediction of the weights of breast meat, thigh, drum and wing at different stages of growth of broilers whose genotype and feed composition are adequately described.Keywords: Breast meat, thigh, drum, wing, carcass yield, simulation modelling

Taphonomic and zooarchaeological implications of spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) bone accumulations in Kenya: a modern behavioral ecological approach

The significant impact of extant carnivores, particularly spotted hyenas, on the depositional history and physical characteristics of archaeofaunal and paleontological assemblages is well recognized. We focus on the behavioral ecology of extant spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) in relation to bone accumulations produced by one East African clan at communal dens. Limbs and skulls of prey animals more frequently appear at dens than do other carcass portions. These items reflect the relative abundance of prey species near dens; carnivore remains are poorly represented. Comparative analysis reveals that bones are deposited far more slowly (&lt;7 carcass portions per month) and accumulations tend to be smaller atCrocutadens than at dens of either brown (Parahyaena brunnea) or striped (Hyaena hyaena) hyenas. We propose that extantCrocutabone accumulation rates and sizes are likely affected by prey species abundance, clan size, social interactions within the clan, and the type and availability of den sites. We also suggest that the potential for intraspecific behavioral variability in bone accumulation patterns is important when comparisons are made among spotted hyena populations and across hyena species. For example, accumulation patterns may be dramatically influenced by the temporal span, potentially ranging from days to hundreds or thousands of years, in which bones are collected, depending on the species-specific history of occupation at a given site. Understanding the behavioral and ecological variability likely to influence bone accumulation patterns at dens used by different hyaenids will allow taphonomists and zooarchaeologists to refine their knowledge of mechanisms underlying site formation processes and potential causes of variability in deeper-time den assemblages.

Archaeology of an Early 20th Century Carcass Disposal Pit, Division of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State College

Three buried carcass disposal pits, containing the bones of numerous large animals, primarily horse, plus smaller taxa, and a variety of associated artifacts, were unexpectedly discovered during 2006 as a result of earth moving activities associated with the construction of an addition to Memorial Union, Iowa State University, Ames. Over a period of 11 days, a program of archaeological excavation documented a remnant of one of these features. Pit 2 dates to ca. 1910-1912 and contains carcasses discarded from laboratory classes in anatomy taught in the Division of Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State College, as well as a variety of historical artifacts. The skeletal specimens include the remains of at least 19 mature to aged horses, plus a handful of cow, dog, pig, cat, chicken, and rodent remains. The intact portion of the bonebed was filled and buried over the course of a short time, probably less than a single year. Two organizationally distinct but contemporaneous debris streams contributed to Pit 2, incorporating carcasses from the Veterinary Medicine program as well as historical artifacts from inside the Veterinary Hospital. The discard of a diverse assemblage of historical items, including bottles with corks still in place, complete pieces of English ironstone china, a cut glass goblet, ceramic crockey, electrical insulators, oil lantern parts, and numerous small items including shell and bone buttons, was coordinated with the dumping of carcass portions, probably over the course of a single academic year taught by the Division of Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State College. Pit 2 is one of at least three similar features situated in a paddock located behind the Veterinary Medicine building, reflecting a long established tradition of carcass disposal in this area, probably dating to 1884-1885.

The effects on the microbiological condition of product of carcass dressing, cooling, and portioning processes at a poultry packing plant

The log mean numbers of aerobes, coliforms, Escherichia coli and presumptive staphylococci plus listerias on chicken carcasses and carcass portions at various stages of processing at a poultry packing plant were estimated from the numbers of those bacteria recovered from groups of 25 randomly selected product units. The fractions of listerias in the presumptive staphylococci plus listerias groups of organisms were also estimated. Samples were obtained from carcasses by excising a strip of skin measuring approximately 5 × 2 cm 2 from a randomly selected site on each selected carcass, or by rinsing each selected carcass portion. The log mean numbers of aerobes, coliforms, E. coli and presumptive staphylococci plus listerias on carcasses after scalding at 58 °C and plucking were about 4.4, 2.5, 2.2 and 1.4 log cfu/cm 2, respectively. The numbers of bacteria on eviscerated carcasses were similar. After the series of operations for removing the crop, lungs, kidneys and neck, the numbers of aerobes were about 1 log unit less than on eviscerated carcasses, but the numbers of the other bacteria were not substantially reduced. After cooling in water, the numbers of coliforms and E. coli were about 1 log unit less and the numbers of presumptive staphylococci plus listerias were about 0.5 log unit less than the numbers on dressed carcasses, but the numbers of aerobes were not reduced. The numbers of aerobes were 1 log unit more on boneless breasts, and 0.5 log units more on skin-on thighs and breasts that had been tumbled with brine than on cooled carcasses; and presumptive staphylococci plus listerias were 0.5 log unit more on thighs than on cooled carcasses. Otherwise the numbers of bacteria on the product were not substantially affected by processing. Listerias were < 20% of the presumptive staphylococci plus listerias group of organisms recovered from product at each point in the process except after breasts were tumbled with brine, when > 40% of the organisms were listerias.

Microbiological Sampling of Poultry Carcass Portions by Excision, Rinsing, or Swabbing

Groups of 25 skin-on thighs or skin-on, skinned, or tumbled breast portions of broiler chicken carcasses were sampled by excision of skin or muscle tissue, rinsing, or swabbing. Counts of total aerobic bacteria, coliforms, and Escherichia coli were recorded for each sample. For all types of carcass portions, the mean log counts and the total log counts obtained for each group of bacteria by excision or rinsing mostly differed by <0.5 log unit. However, the counts obtained by swabbing were generally >0.5 log unit lower than the smaller of the values obtained by the other two sampling methods.

Identification of critical control points for control of microbiological contamination in processes leading to the production of ground beef at a packing plant

Carcasses, carcass portions and pieces of manufacturing beef were sampled by swabbing a 100 cm 2 randomly selected site on each of 25 randomly selected product units at each of several stages of the meat production processes at a large beef packing plant. After skinning, aerobes were recovered from each sample, at log mean numbers of 1.86 log cfu cm −2; and coliforms and Escherichia coli were recovered from <15 of 25 samples at log total numbers of 3.27 and 3.16 log cfu 2500 cm −2. The numbers of bacteria recovered after preevisceration washing and spraying with 2% lactic acid solution were similar to the numbers recovered after skinning, and the numbers recovered from carcasses that had been eviscerated, split, vacuum/hot-water cleaned and trimmed were little different. However, the numbers of coliforms and E. coli were reduced by the washing of carcass sides; and pasteurizing followed by spraying with lactic acid reduced the numbers of aerobes to log mean numbers of 0.71 log cfu cm −2 and coliforms and E. coli to log total numbers of 1.28 and 0.30 log cfu 2500 cm −2, respectively. After cooling for 24 h, numbers of aerobes on carcass sides had increased to log mean numbers of 2.57 log cfu cm −2, and log total numbers of coliforms and E. coli had increased to 3.34 and 2.18 log cfu 2500 cm −2, respectively. Numbers had not increased after sides had been held for a further 12 h before breaking. Numbers of bacteria on forequarters increased during breaking operations on hanging sides and increased further after forequarters were dropped to conveyor belts. Numbers on hindquarters were little affected by those operations. Large numbers of bacteria were recovered from cleaned equipment that contacted forequarters. The numbers of bacteria on trimmings did not increase during conveying from breaking lines to bulk containers. The numbers of bacteria on manufacturing beef were less than the numbers on forequarters trimmings, but more than the numbers on hindquarters trimmings. The log mean numbers of bacteria in ground beef produced at the plant were 3.11 log cfu g −1, and the log total numbers of coliforms and E. coli were 1.84 and 1.30 log cfu 25 g −1, respectively. Similar numbers of bacteria were recovered from ground samples of manufacturing beef. It therefore appears that most of the E. coli as well as other bacteria in ground beef are deposited on the product during the initial operations for breaking forequarters. Thus, improvement of equipment cleaning rather than of production processes would be required to improve the microbiological condition of ground beef prepared at the plant. However, skinning, washing of dressed sides, pasteurizing and cooling are evidently critical control points in carcass production processes.

Social and ritual determinants of whale bone transport at a classic Thule winter site in the Canadian Arctic

AbstractRecent research has demonstrated that patterning related to harvesting selectivity and architectural bone utilization persists in the surface distribution of bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) bones at classic Thule sites in the Canadian central Arctic, despite scavenging by later non‐whaling Inuit groups. Since skeletal riders with minimal architectural or artifactual utility are associated with carcass portions that were socially and ritually prized ethnographically in North Alaska, this surface record may also preserve spatial structure relating to loci of high status settlement and/or ceremonial activity within sites. Close to 3400 bowhead bones were mapped at the major Thule winter village of Qariaraqyuk, southeast Somerset Island. The results of a principal components analysis of the element distributions are consistent with expectations for special treatment of bowhead flippers, tails, and tongues. These results are supported by excavation data which reveal that flipper and tongue bones were preferentially discarded in the vicinity of wealthy whaling households and a major ceremonial structure. Contrary to the longstanding belief that Thule whale bone assemblages are hopelessly compromised by prehistoric and historic bone transport, these assemblages hold great promise for investigating Thule social and ritual practices. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

A Zooarchaeological Signature for Meat Storage: Re-Thinking the Drying Utility Index

Although the practice of food storage is important to many questions addressed by archaeologists, demonstrating its presence in archaeological contexts can be difficult or impossible. One potentially useful approach to meat storage is the concept of the Drying Utility Index, introduced by Lewis Binford (1978) to predict which carcass portions, with attached bone, will be selected for storage by drying. However, this index has not been widely used by zooarchaeologists, at least in part because the calculations involved in its derivation are extremely complex. This paper presents a new, simplified index, the Meat Drying Index, which is easier to calculate and more transparent than the Drying Utility Index, yet which retains all of its key attributes. This new index is applied to caribou bone samples from two regions: Binford's (1978) Nunamiut data from northern Alaska, and the contents of three caches from the Barren Grounds of Canada, near Baker Lake, Nunavut. In both cases, the Meat Drying Index correlates with the observed element frequencies as well as, or better than, the original Drying Utility Index. As a result, the new index may prove applicable to element distributions from a wide range of archaeological contexts in which storage of meat by drying is suspected.

Nutrition of Captive Cheetahs: Food Composition and Blood Parameters

AbstractDiet and nutrition of cheetahs was evaluated through survey, in conjunction with chemical analysis of feed and plasma samples, as part of a multidisciplinary effort to investigate underlying causes of low reproductive success in North American captive cheetah populations. Cheetahs consumed an average of 1.32 ± 0.4 kg of food daily, containing approximately 1,800 kcal, and maintained an average body mass of 36.7 ± 1.0 kg (n = 34). A commercially prepared horsemeat‐based mixture comprised the dietary staple in 10 of 13 zoos responding to the survey, with additional whole or carcass portions offered 1‐‐2 days per week to maintain variety and provide periodontal stimulation. Seven of 13 respondents fasted animals 1 day/week; five maintained no fast days. The primary meat product (n = 14 samples) contained: 58% crude protein, 28% crude fat, 7% total ash, 52 Iu/kg vitamin E, 9.7 Iu/g vitamin A, and 2,200 mg/kg taurine (dry basis). Mineral content of the same food item was: 1.9% Ca, 10.0 mg/kg Cu, 645.2 mg/kg Fe, 0.08% Mg, 22.6 mg/kg Mn, 1.3% P, 0.4% Na, and 127.8 mg/kg Zn. Nutrient levels, except vitamin E (and possibly Mg), met or exceeded recommendations established for domestic felids. Plasma α‐tocopherol, retinol, and taurine (18.1, 1.82, 128.4 μmol/L, respectively) concentrations were similar to normals for domestic felids, as were mean plasma mineral levels (n = 81; in mEq/L: 5.64 (Ca), 0.03 (Cu), 0.03 (Fe), 2.0 (Mg), 166.0 (Na), 12.3 (P), and 0.026 (Zn)). No gross physiological or dietary nutrient imbalances were evident from this survey. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Systematic Butchery by Plio/Pleistocene Hominids at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania [and Comments and Reply

Human origins research by archaeologists has expanded the evidence of the diet and subsistence activities of ancient hominids. We examine an important component of that evidence, the 1.75-million-year-old faunal assemblage from the FLK Zinjanthropus site at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Skeletal-part frequencies are used to evaluate hominid access to and differential transport of carcass portions of differing nutritional value. Cut-mark frequencies and locations are used to evaluate butchery patterns including skinning, disarticulation, and defleshing of carcasses. In contrast to other recently published assessments of the FLK Zinjanthropus data, we conclude that (1) ancient hominids had full access to meaty carcasses of many small and large animals prior to any substantial loss of meat or marrow bones through other predator or scavenger feeding; (2) ancient hominids were butchering animal carcasses by an efficient and systematic technique that involved skinning, disarticulation, and defleshing; and (3) the FLK Zinjanthropus site represents a place where the secondary butchering of selected carcass portions and the consumption of substantial quantities of meat and marrow occurred.

Exercise-induced enhancement of lipid peroxide metabolism in tissues and their transference into the brain in rat.

This study was conducted to investigate whether a moderate running exercise would enhance or prevent the lipid peroxidation in animal body and also stimulate or depress the degradation-excretion of lipid peroxides (LIPOX, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances determined as malon dialdehyde) in young female rats. Compared with sedentary rats, voluntary wheel-running exercised rats did not show any significant difference in total LIPOX contents in plasma and several tissues including brain, and whole body during 4 weeks of experiment with a vitamin E-free low LIPOX diet. On the contrary, when rats were previously fed a high LIPOX diet and then allowed voluntary exercise with a vitamin E-added low LIPOX diet, total LIPOX contents per whole body reduced significantly faster in the exercised rats than in the sedentary controls during 2 weeks of exercise. At that period, LIPOX were progressively increased in the brain in both groups of animals, but was significantly greater in the exercised group. Interestingly, more than 80% of total LIPOX contents in whole body were found to be stored in carcass portions regardless of greater or lesser amounts of LIPOX contents in rats. These data suggest that a moderate exercise of several weeks might enhance the degradation-excretion of LIPOX but not the formation-accumulation of LIPOX in rats. Exercise also seems to modulate LIPOX transference among tissues.