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García-Vaquero, Marco
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García-Vaquero, Marco
Official Name
García-Vaquero, Marco
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Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
- PublicationDeveloping seaweed/macroalgae as feed for pigsMacroalgae are a promising source of nutritional ingredients including proteins, polysaccharides and minerals. The need to increase animal and feed production has increased interest in macroalgae as underutilised resources with promising applications as alternative animal feeds. This chapter summarizes the nutritional attributes of macroalgae in terms of macro and micronutrients as a source of protein and other compounds in pig nutrition. The benefits of macroalgae or macroalgal derived extracts in feed are discussed together with future trends and challenges in the development of effective feed formulations.
244 - PublicationNew Breeding Strategies in Organic Dairy Farming(Nova Science, 2018-01)
; ; ; ; The selection of an appropriate breed in dairy farms will have a huge influence on the animals’ welfare and production. This is especially noticeable in animal production systems that aim to maximize the use of on-farm resources (low-input production), i.e., organic farms. The animal production in organic farming systems focuses on maximizing the utilization of forage and improving the animals’ health and welfare, while reducing the application of drugs routinely applied in the treatment and prevention of diseases in the conventional farms. Thus, the selection of animals adapted to these harsh farming conditions is essential for the success of an organic farm. However, the current animal breeding strategies adopted by the farmers do not differ between the intensive and the organic animal production systems; i.e., the Holstein-Friesian is the most commonly used breed in the organic and intensive dairy farms, despite the poor production and adaptability of these animals to the organic production systems. Recent studies showed that animals bred to produce high milk yields in the conventional systems are not capable to adapt to pasture-based systems. Cattle breeding strategies based on the selection of the animals for functional traits, or the efficiency of the cows to use scarce resources (inputs), could be a good strategy when selecting animals for organic farms. This chapter analyzes the animal breeding strategies currently performed in the organic farms, and discusses the novel strategies and animal breeds that could potentially benefit different organic dairy farming systems, including multifunctional farms.358 - PublicationMacroalgae for Functional Feed Development: Applications in Aquaculture, Ruminant and Swine Feed IndustriesPlant and animal derived products are the main ingredients currently used by the feed industry to produce concentrate feed. There is a need of novel feed ingredients to meet the demand of high quality products by the aquaculture, ruminant and swine production systems, together with the challenge of implementing new sustainable and environmentally friendly processes and ingredients demanded by the modern society. Macroalgae are a large and diverse group of marine organisms that are able to produce a wide range of compounds with unique biological properties. This chapter discusses the incorporation of macroalgae or macroalgal derived ingredients as a source of both macro-nutrients (i.e., proteins, polysaccharides and fatty acids) and micro-nutrients (i.e., minerals and pigments) for animal feed production. The biological health benefits of the macroalgal ingredients beyond basic nutrition for the development of functional feed in the aquaculture, the ruminant and the swine sectors are also discussed together with the industrial challenges of its application.
1386 - PublicationAlgal Polysaccharides. Innovative Extraction Technologies, Health Benefits and Industrial Applications(Taylor & Francis, 2019-07-12)
; ; ; Microalgae are largely exploited due to their rich composition in high-value compounds such as carbohydrates. Algal polysaccharides and oligosaccharides offer enormous potential industrial applications due to their wide range of biological activities. The production and chemical structure of microalgal carbohydrates will vary depending on the species or strains and the culture conditions (i.e. temperature, pH and light). Moreover, microalgae are able to accumulate and/or excrete intra- and extra-cellular carbohydrates. Due to the wide heterogeneity of these compounds, the extraction and purification processes are challenging stages in the downstream processing of microalgal polysaccharides. This chapter focuses on the extraction and purification approaches to obtain carbohydrates from microalgae together with the biological activities and potential industrial applications of these compounds.373Scopus© Citations 4 - PublicationTrace metal exposure in different livestock production systems(Nova Science, 2018-09)
; ; ; ; Industrial and agricultural activities are associated with environmental pollution as these practices contribute to increase further the concentration of minerals derived from the parent rock, present naturally in the soil. Heavy metals (i.e., arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury) and excessive levels of essential metals (such as copper and zinc) have negative effects on the health of both animals and humans. The exposure of animals to toxic elements or excessive levels of essential minerals could influence greatly the mineral content of different animal derived products for human consumption (i.e., meat, offal and milk) and may affect significantly human health. The exposure of livestock to different minerals varies depending on the animal husbandry practices adopted by the farmers, such as the use of mineral supplements in animals’ feed and the foraging practices of the farm (i.e., grazing, type of soil and forage contamination). This chapter focuses on the influence of different farming practices on the exposure of livestock to toxic and trace elements, emphasising the differences between the intensive and organic farming systems. The relationship between different farming practices and the mineral content of animal derived products, together with the implications of these farming practices for the consumers and environment are also discussed.243