Cow Hide Research Articles

Microbiological examination of ready-to-eat cow hide (Ponmo) sold by street vendors in Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria

Microbiological examination of ready-to-eat cow hide (Ponmo) sold by street vendors in Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria

Determination of Zinc Concentration and Nutritional Value of Cow Hide (Ponmo) Sold in Different Parts of the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria

Investigation of heavy metals (Zinc) concentration and nutritional value of cow hides (ponmo) consumed in AMAC (Abuja Municipal and Kuje Area Councils was carried out between November 2021 and January 2022. Samples were randomly collected from both Area Councils and prepared for Analysis using Nitric acid digestion and Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS). The mean concentration of Zinc (Zn) in AMAC were 0.88 ± 0.35mg/kg and 2.04 ± 0.57mg/kg in Kuje Area Council respectively. Results showed that the concentration of Zinc (Zn) in cow hide (Ponmo) from AMAC was two times as high as cow hide (Ponmo) from Kuje Area Council. The mean concentration of Zinc (Zn) in cow hide in both Area Councils were two times as high as the Food and Agricultural Organization Standard unit for Zinc(Zn), which is 0.03mg/kg -1.0mg/kg. However, potential accumulation may depend on the frequency of consumption or exposure. In contrast to many studies the samples had alot of nutritional value. Proximate analysis showed that the ponmo samples for Kuje had 54% proteinand 34.68% carbohydrate, moisture 5.3%, crude lipid 2.3%, ash 2.7%, fibre 0.82% while ponmo samples for AMAC had 51.4% protein, 36% carbohydrate, 5% moisture, crude lipid 4.3%, ash 2.1% and fibre 1.1% which suggests that Ponmo has some level of nutrient especially rich in protein and carbohydrate and low in fibre content. Cowhides from AMAC and Kuje Area Councils contain significant amount of zinc, which exceeded the standard limit and could pose a potential health risk to consumers depending on the frequency of consumption. Hence the need for monitoring of this metal concentration to avoid excessive bioaccumulation that could be harmful to health. This study also showed that cowhides is rich in some nutrients especially protein and carbohydrates and can be a substitute for meat protein.

Genome comparison reveals that Halobacterium salinarum 63-R2 is the origin of the twin laboratory strains NRC-1 and R1.

The genome of Halobacterium strain 63-R2 was recently reported and provides the opportunity to resolve long-standing issues regarding the source of two widely used model strains of Halobacterium salinarum, NRC-1 and R1. Strain 63-R2 was isolated in 1934 from a salted buffalo hide (epithet "cutirubra"), along with another strain from a salted cow hide (91-R6T , epithet "salinaria," the type strain of Hbt. salinarum). Both strains belong to the same species according to genome-based taxonomy analysis (TYGS), with chromosome sequences showing 99.64% identity over 1.85 Mb. The chromosome of strain 63-R2 is 99.99% identical to the two laboratory strains NRC-1 and R1, with only five indels, excluding the mobilome. The two reported plasmids of strain 63-R2 share their architecture with plasmids of strain R1 (pHcu43/pHS4, 99.89% identity; pHcu235/pHS3, 100.0% identity). We detected and assembled additional plasmids using PacBio reads deposited at the SRA database, further corroborating that strain differences are minimal. One plasmid, pHcu190 (190,816 bp) corresponds to pHS1 (strain R1) but is even more similar in architecture to pNRC100 (strain NRC-1). Another plasmid, pHcu229, assembled partially and completed in silico (229,124 bp), shares most of its architecture with pHS2 (strain R1). In deviating regions, it corresponds to pNRC200 (strain NRC-1). Further architectural differences between the laboratory strain plasmids are not unique, but are present in strain 63-R2, which contains characteristics from both of them. Based on these observations, it is proposed that the early twentieth-century isolate 63-R2 is the immediate ancestor of the twin laboratory strains NRC-1 and R1.

Optimal skin simulant for ballistic testing

An extensive literature review, combined with practical experience of forensic testing, has identified several concerns regarding existing studies into skin simulants. These can be summarised as arising due to human skin being a highly complex, multi-layered and anisotropic material whose mechanical properties depend on many factors such as age and gender of the host. In many studies (and papers) essential information is missing. Although there is some parallelism between the studies, the reported energy density at perforation is very inconsistent (a function of the natural variation of skin properties alluded to above) and differs from 0,113 J/mm2 [1] to 0,239 J/mm2 [2]. Which is, in fact, a more than 100 % variation. Such a variation is arguably insufficient to enable accurate replication with a single simulant material. Combined with the missing common agreement about the energy density threshold between countries, laboratories and researchers, this analysis clearly identifies the need for an adjustable and / or customizable skin simulant. To-date, the most often used simulation material for human skin in ballistic testing is ‘Chrome crusted cow hide’ [3]. However, this is a natural material and, consequently therefore, inevitably physically variable in nature – both inter and intra hide. Ballistic tests on 10 chrome crusted cow hides using 4,5 mm BB’s gave v50% ranging from 113 m/s to 200 m/s, an uncontrolled variability for forensic experiments. Hence, the authors examined a skin analogue that could be produced in-house, enabling tailoring to match the desired properties, and with improved consistency. To this end, a thin, 4 mm thick, layer of gelatine (30 – 45 wt%, increasing per 1 wt%) was studied. The ballistic resistance of the gelatine skin analogue was compared to the v50%’s published values in literature, with good agreement found as the gelatine concentration was varied. In comparison to the chrome crusted cow hides this suggests that this relatively simple and accessible approach has potential to provide a more consistent standard.

Manufacture of Shoe Upper Leathers from Sudanese Camel Hides

Sudan is one of the African countries with higher livestock population. The total livestock population of the country is estimated at 31.78 millions of cattle, 41 millions of sheep, 32.22 millions of goats and 4.92 millions of camels. This huge population of livestock provides many opportunities for the development of the leather sector in the country. The main source of raw material for the Sudan tanning sector comes from sheep, goat and cattle. Camel (Camelus dromedarius) is one of the most important livestock uniquely adapted to hot dry environments. Sudan holds the second largest camel population in the world (about 4.92 million). Camels in Sudan and elsewhere are classified as pack (heavy) and riding (light) types according to their function. Recent studies have been made to classify the camels according to their performance (dairy camels, meat camels, dual purpose camels and racing camels). In the present study, camel hides were used for manufacture of upper crust leathers and compare with conventional cow hides. Histological analysis of the camel hide and cow hide has been carried out at soaking operation. The physical and chemical analysis indicates that the experimental camel leathers are comparable to control cow leathers in terms of all the properties. The bulk properties for the experimental leathers are better than control leathers. Scanning electron microscopic analysis for both control and experimental leather samples show good separation of fiber bundles. The chemical and physical characteristics of the experimental camel leather revealed that the camel hide raw material was suitable for making of shoe upper leather. In Sudan camel was considered as best alternative animal to conventional raw materials such as sheep, goat and cattle due to its higher off take rate.

Shear Rheology and Molecular Properties of Biobased Adhesives Through Molecular Dynamics Simulation

The study of shear rheology and molecular architecture through molecular dynamics simulation of starch-based and gelatin-based adhesives formulated from Eleusine coracana, and cow hide has been successfully achieved. This research has revealed that esterification of natural dextrins with 20 % polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) will yield adhesives product with improved gel properties suitable for applications. Method of extraction, production of the adhesives by varying the quantity of fatty acid ester and quality assessment was performed and 20% PVAc incorporation found to be suitable for application. The physical features of the macromolecular complexes formed by the synergistic interaction of starch/gelatin and PVAc in the presence of tetraethylamine (TEA) has been studied from the rheological point of view. On examining the impact of the molecular structure and electronic properties of the adhesive molecules on the adhesive efficiency, quantum chemical calculations were carried out. Rheological analysis shows the adhesives are consistent and the computed free energy obtained from molecular dynamics simulation reveals that the adhesive molecules are spontaneous, hence efficient.

A Study on Future Substitutes of Leather

As we all are aware of that Leather is an ancient, durable material and most demanded because of its beauty and how it continues to look better and better after years of use. Leather is manufactured through derived skin of dead animals, most often made from cow hide. The process used to tan the skins, is treated with chemicals, many of them pollute land, water and air and can be harmful to workers. knowing this, should be choose to use an alternative or substitute for leather. For this we can go through leather history, its present manufacturing techniques, innovations in leather and what can be best possible substitute for leather in future in this particular research.

Review

Review

Analysis of Cow Hide Glue Binder in Traditional Dancheong by Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay

Animal glue has been used as a binder in Dancheong since the Joseon dynasty. Binders play an important role in determining the physical characteristics of a painting layer. The analysis of binders can be used to identify the materials and techniques used in traditional Dancheong. Binders can be investigated using physicochemical component analyses methods such as gas chromatography/ mass spectrometry, pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, but the detection characteristics vary depending on the degradation properties of the pigment and binder. Therefore, cross-validation using a combination of physicochemical analysis and enzyme immunoassay is used to increase the reliability of the results. In this study, we present an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) as an example of an enzyme immunoassay as a method for analyzing animal glue, a traditional binder used in Korea. The applicability of ELISA was tested using commercial animal glue, in addition to animal glue produced using a variety of extraction conditions. The animal glue was analyzed in a Noerok-additionally coated-replica sample to evaluate the possibility of analyzing the animal glue in a paint layer mixed with pigment. Based on the results, we performed an assay on the use of animal glue in the Dancheong sample of the temples of the Joseon dynasty, that are estimated to have been built in the 17th century.

Latex peptidases of Calotropis procera for dehairing of leather as an alternative to environmentally toxic sodium sulfide treatment.

Dehairing of crude leather is a critical stage performed at the beginning of its processing to obtain industrially useful pieces. Tanneries traditionally apply a chemical process based on sodium sulfide. Since this chemical reactive is environmentally toxic and inefficiently recycled, innovative protocols for reducing or eliminating its use in leather depilation are welcomed. Therefore, latex peptidases from Calotropis procera (CpLP) and Cryptostegia grandiflora (CgLP) were assayed for this purpose. Enzyme activity on substrates representative of skin such as hide powder azure (UHPA), elastin (UE), azocollagen (UAZOCOL), keratin (UK), and epidermis (UEP) was determined, while depilation activity was assayed on cow hide. Only CpLP was active against keratin (13.4 UK) and only CgLP was active against elastin (0.12 UE). CpLP (93.0 UHPA, 403.6 UAZOCOL, 36.3 UEP) showed higher activity against the other substrates than CgLP (47.6 UHPA, 261.5 UAZOCOL, 8.5 UEP). In pilot assays, CpLP (0.05% w/v with sodium sulfite 0.6% w/v as activator) released hairs from cow hide pieces. Macroscopic and microscopic analyses of the hide revealed that the dehairing process was complete and the leather structure was preserved. The proteolytic system of C. procera is a suitable bioresources to be exploited by tanneries.

Perception of stakeholders to the proposed ban on cow hide consumption in Ogun State, Nigeria

The study examined the perception of stakeholders to a ban on cow hide consumption in Ogun State. Purposive and random samplings were used to select 150 respondents. Data was collected using interview schedule and analysed with descriptive and inferential statistics. Results reveal that majority (60.7.0%) of the respondents were female, within the age of 36-42years, married (75.3%) and had secondary education (42.7%). Respondents had low knowledge of the proposed ban (58.0%); 56.0% had high awareness of the possible benefits but 56.0% had negative perception towards the proposed ban. There was significant correlation between sources of information (r=0.279, p=0.001), level of knowledge (r=0.281, p=0.001), constraints that respondents may face from the ban (r=0.165, p=0.043), awareness of the possible benefits (r=0.461, p=0.000) and respondent’s perception to the proposed ban on cow hide consumption. Since more than half of the respondents had negative perception despite their awareness of benefits, concrete efforts need to be taken to improve livestock production in order to cater for leather industries and consumption. Keywords: Cow hide consumption, cow hide value chain, ponmo

Explorations in ancient Maya blood-letting: Experimentation and microscopic use-wear analysis of obsidian blades

Auto-sacrificial blood-letting was an important ritual practice for the ancient Maya. Letting blood using implements like sharpened bone, stingray spines, thorny ropes, and obsidian blades provided the Maya the means to petition their ancestors and the gods for rain, good harvests, and success in warfare, among other needs and desires. The prevailing assumption is that obsidian blades recovered from ceremonial or ritual contexts, like caches, burials, and caves, were used for blood-letting. This belief is primarily founded on contextual, epigraphic, iconographic, and ethnohistoric information. With some exceptions, however, this interpretation does not typically include any use-wear analysis of the blades themselves. Reasons for the limited application of use-wear analysis to identify obsidian blood-letters recovered from ceremonial or ritual contexts include observational difficulties associated with the minimal wear development resulting from their short term use in this activity and contact with a soft and yielding medium like human flesh. This paper explores an approach to assist in identifying obsidian blades likely used for auto-sacrificial blood-letting based on high-power microscopic (400×) use-wear analysis. The need for this experimental work was initiated by the recovery of some obsidian blades from Actun Uayazba Kab, an ancient Maya cave in Belize, that were suspected blood-letters. Emphasis is placed on the observation and differentiation of wear features produced on 26 experimental obsidian blade segments used to cut pig skin/flesh, as a proxy for human flesh, as well as soft cow hide, fresh pig bone, fresh cohune palm fronds, and queen conch shell. The wear on the suspected blood-letters from Actun Uayazba Kab is similar to that produced on the experimental replicates after very minimal use (30 strokes). Moreover, the combination of wear features on the skin/flesh, hide, bone, plant, and shell can be distinguished from one another even after short-term use.

Optimisation of Bromelain Enzyme Extraction from Pineapple (<i>Ananas comosus</i>) and Application in Process Industry

Bromelain is a general name for a family of sulfhydryl proteolytic enzymes obtained from Ananas comosus, the pineapple plant. The objective of the present study is to compare the activity of Bromelain from pineapple fruit and peel and to check the efficiency of this crude Bromelain enzyme in unhairing step in leather processing. The crude Bromelain was extracted and activity of enzyme was measured using tyrosine as standard and expressed in Units/mL of enzyme. The effect of preservatives such as sodium benzoate and sodium metabisulphite on the activity of the enzyme was studied for one week. The effect of pH (3-5) was studied using suitable pH buffer solutions. The kinetics of the proteolytic activity of the enzyme was studied using casein as substrate. It was found that the optimum pH of the crude extract was 4.5. In general enzyme activity got affected by the use of preservatives. The kinetic studies show that the activity of enzyme was increasing during initial period. The unhairing activity of crude extract of pH 4.5 was also studied using cow hide pieces. After 24 h treatment with the extracted crude Bromelain enzyme, good unhairing efficacy was achieved for leather making.

Generation of fleshings at beamhouse in tannery and its environmental impact assessment: Bangladesh perspective

Leather processing involves the conversion of putrescible hide/skin into imputrescible leather and consequently huge amount of solid waste generated in tanning process. In tannery at beamhouse, fleshing is one of the most indispensable mechanical operations in leather processing where significant amount of solid waste (termed as fleshings) is produced. A work was carried out to estimate the generated fleshing and to assess its environmental impact. In Bangladesh yearly 20.1×103 MT fleshings was generated only from cow hide and goat skin where 10.3×103 MT for cow hide and 9.8×103 MT for goat skin. The generated fleshings are usually kept indiscriminately inside or outside the industrial area as green. In rainy season, all fleshings including other solid wastes are washed away and finally fall in to the river, Buriganga. Fleshings contained alkaline pH (12.3±0.2), fat, proteins, lime and sulphide. Improper management of fleshings has negative effect on human health, air, water, land and plant.Bangladesh J. Sci. Ind. Res. 50(3), 227-232, 2015

Qualitative assessment of the entry of capripoxviruses into Great Britain from the European Union through importation of ruminant hides, skins and wool

Sheep pox and goat pox (SPGP) virus and lumpy skin disease (LSD) virus belong to the genus Capripoxvirus and cause disease with economic impacts in sheep/goats and cattle respectively. In 2013/14, outbreaks of SPGP were reported in sheep in Greece and Bulgaria and LSD outbreaks were reported in cattle in Turkey, Egypt and some countries in the Middle East. Clinical signs for both diseases include pox lesions, papules and scabs on the skin which may contain virus. This, together with the fact that Great Britain (GB) currently imports cattle hides, sheep skins and wool from European Union (EU) countries without the requirement for treatment prior to export, raises concern that capripoxviruses could be introduced into GB. A qualitative assessment presented here concluded that the current risk of entry of SPGP virus into GB through the importation of one untreated sheep skin, hide or wool bale from an EU Member State (MS) with similar flock prevalence to that in sheep in Greece in 2013/14 is low. In terms of SPGP virus levels, those infected sheep skins/hides entering GB are more likely to be from infected animals with normal skin (i.e., not showing lesions) and hence carrying lower levels of virus than those from animals showing papules and scabs which contain very high virus levels and are easier to detect. The predicted risk of importation of LSD virus per cattle hide/skin is also low (assuming LSD were to emerge in an EU MS with similar herd prevalence to that reported for SPGP in Greece in 2013/14). The levels of LSD virus on an infected cow's hide, if imported, may be very low. It is recommended that the risks for entry of capripoxviruses are recalculated if outbreaks occur elsewhere within the EU.

A simple effective treatment of tannery effluents

Tannery effluents are one of the major sources of environmental pollution with various toxic parameters and the effluent generated during liming and pickling operations of leather processing are even more dangerous due to their high and low pH range, respectively. In the present work, liming and pickling streams generated during the production of chrome tanned cow hide shoe upper was treated at different ratios and optimized the pH range 6.5 - 7.5. The effluents were mixed at different ratios without adding any foreign chemicals and obtained the results 88% reduction of COD, 94% reduction of BOD and 97% removal of total solids. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbas.v38i2.21348 Journal of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences, Vol. 38, No. 2, 235-239, 2014

Invited: Non-invasive sensing of livestock health parameters

Development of the livestock sector at EU and global level is challenging as it puts pressure on the environment as well as animal welfare. Livestock production accounts for over 40% of the overall EU agricultural output – in 2011 EU-27 farmers raised livestock with a total value of €154 billion . Products derived particularly from beef cattle, dairy cattle and small ruminants (i.e. sheep and goats) typically require farmers to graze their animals on grasslands to provide the necessary nutrition for sustainable productivity. For farmers to maintain sustainable livestock production, they must ensure that both livestock and their grazing environments are well managed. This is by no means a trivial task given that animals may be spread over large areas depending on the grazing system employed and geographical location, in addition to a farmer potentially owning many hundreds of animals. Currently farmers have no means to, remotely and in real-time, determine the location, condition and activity of their livestock and control (e.g. movement) of animals is still largely a manual process. The authors are seeking to address all of these issues through the development of a smart integrated sensor system; this paper focuses on one aspect of this system, namely the determination of animal health. A non-invasive electromagnetic wave sensor has been developed for in-situ determination of blood lactate concentration in dairy cows as a rapid indicator health status. It has been tested currently in the laboratory environment, and has been shown to deliver sensitivity to < 1 mmol-1 changes in lactate level over a range of concentrations (0-64 mmol-1) in defibrininated bovine blood through approx. 15mm of cow hide. The further development of this work will undoubtedly bring a step-change in the welfare of livestock across the sector, in addition to helping farmers maintain sustainable output to meet ever increasing pressures to produce.

Eco-friendly enzymatic dehairing of skins and hides by C. brefeldianus protease

Alkaline protease from Conidiobolus brefeldianus was efficient in unhairing various types of skins and hides. The crude protease preparation was active toward keratin-azure, elastin-orcin, azocasein, and azocoll, but did not show true collagenase activity. In addition, the crude enzyme exhibited other enzyme activities such as chondroitinase, laminarase, and chitinase. Complete hair removal of skin/hide by the protease achieved in 16–18 h. The dehaired pelt showed smooth and white appearance due to hair removal along with epidermal layer. In addition, the grain was clean and without damage in enzymatically dehaired pelts. The microscopic observation of the cross-section of dehaired goat skin and cow hide showed absence of epidermis, hair shaft with empty follicles. Enzymatic dehairing resulted in complete and uniform fiber opening in the dermis and corium region. Physical properties viz. tensile strength, elongation, and tear strength of dyed crust of enzymatically and conventionally dehaired pelts were comparable. Results were also validated on large scale with goat skins and cow hides.

Study of viscosity behavior and retanning properties of sulfonated glutaric dihydrazide formaldehyde condensate under different reactant ratios

Sulfonated glutaric dihydrazide formaldehyde condensates with less than 0.05% free formaldehyde were prepared through controlled reaction of glutaric dihydrazide, sodium metabisulfite, and formaldehyde in three processing steps. Mole ratio of sodium metabisulfite/glutaric dihydrazide (S/GDH) was varied from 0.1 to 0.5 and that of formaldehyde/glutaric dihydrazide (F/GDH) from 1 to 3. The effects on viscosity and fluidity of resins were observed with varying degrees of sulfonation and changeable mole ratio of formaldehyde/glutaric dihydrazide. Viscosity of resins showed increasing trend with increasing mole ratio of formaldehyde/glutaric dihydrazide and decreasing trend with increasing mole ratio of sodium metabisulfite/glutaric dihydrazide. Increase in viscosity of resins was due to increase in molecular weight of polymer chains. After gaining a critical molecular weight during condensation, resins turned into gel form. The resins were comparatively applied on chrome tanned cow hide against commercial sulfonated urea formaldehyde powder resin (Resin UFT).

Combination technology of ceramic microfiltration and reverse osmosis for tannery wastewater recovery

Treatment of highly contaminated composite tannery wastewater from common effluent treatment plant (CETP) was undertaken using indigenously developed ceramic microfiltration membranes. The effluent had a high load of organic and inorganic materials represented by about 5680mg/L of chemical oxygen demand (COD), 759mg/L of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) etc. The current study proposed a dual stage treatment involving microfiltration (MF) followed by reverse osmosis (RO) compared to conventional process. The final water was fit for reuse in the tanning process. Organic loadings in terms of COD and BOD5 values were below detection limit and turbidity was reduced to 0.025NTU in the combined process. Reuse study was conducted using cow hide and leather properties were compared to that of control. Leather tanned with RO permeate had better tensile strength, stitch tear strength and grain crackness properties. Dye uptake was also more in case of leather tanned with RO permeate.