Reactive oxygen species (ROS) induce oxidative stress and although are primarily recognized for playing a deleterious biological role, they can be beneficial to cell systems. ROS are extremely short-lived and normally tightly regulated by antioxidant defence systems. Cells react to oxidative stress in different ways, which primarily depends on cell type, stress severity, or both. There is a general limitation in extrapolating to humans conclusions drawn from in vitro and animal studies because of important species-specific differences. Therefore, the general aim of this thesis was to study the influence of oxidative stress on human muscle and bone in vivo. In paper I we presented a one-step HPLC method optimized for the simultaneous determination of purine degradation products in small microdialysis samples. The clinical utility of the method was successfully tested in a patient with traumatic brain injury. In paper II we evaluated microdialysis as an in vivo method to characterize the relative kinetics of ROS-related metabolites in human skeletal muscle exposed to ischaemia-reperfusion. Results indicated that microdialysis was feasible and safe to use in monitoring metabolic events during tourniquet-assisted surgery. In paper III we investigated the association between an oxidative stress marker (urinary 8-iso-PGF2α) and bone mineral density (BMD) and whether α-tocopherol modified the association. The main finding was the negative association between 8-iso-PGF2α and BMD and that the association was further dependent on serum α-tocopherol level. In paper IV we performed a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the influence of Q10 supplementation on exercise performance and metabolites of muscular damage. We did not observe any effects on exercise capacity after 8 weeks of Q10 administration. Nor did we find a significant effect on serum markers related to oxidative stress. In conclusion we have studied the influence of oxidative stress on muscle and bone in vivo in humans. The oxidative stress was triggered by four different causes (trauma, ischemia-reperfusion, ageing, and exercise exhaustion).

There is a growing awareness of the risks of pollution in biological systems and one potential problem is the synthetic antioxidants, used for e.g. the stabilisation of polymeric materials. Natural antioxidants are an interesting alternative, if the high efficiency and thermal stability of the synthetic compounds can be reached. In the work described in this thesis, vitamin E (alfa-tocopherol) was studied as a natural antioxidant for the stabilisation of one of the major plastics, polyethylene (PE). The dependence of the surrounding environment for the efficiency of alfa-tocopherol in polyethylene (PE), throughout thermal aging, was characterised by sensitive techniques. Two techniques which have shown a high sensitivity in oxidation detection of polymers; chemiluminescence (CL) and gas chromatographic analysis, were compared with the commonly used methods, infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and thermal analysis. Three different additive systems were selected as active domains for -tocopherol in PE. Two of these contained carboxylic acid groups, poly (ethylene-co-acrylic acid) (EAA) and polyTRIM/PAA core-shell particles (Core), and the third, oat starch, had no such groups. The additives containing carboxylic groups improved the long-term efficiency of alfa-tocopherol in PE, according to carbonyl index measurements made by FT-IR, while the additive without carboxylic acid groups gave no improvement. The amount of carboxylic acids emitted from the materials after thermal aging, assessed by head-space solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS), also showed that EAA increased the antioxidant efficiency of alfa-tocopherol, whereas the Core system showed lower antioxidant efficiency. Reference systems containing the synthetic antioxidant Irganox 1076 and EAA or oat starch had the same performance as the materials stabilised with only the antioxidants. CL measurements in an inert atmosphere (TLI) have earlier been shown to give earlier oxidation detection than carbonyl index measurements in unstabilised PE. In this work, the TLI analysis and the carbonyl index measurements had the same sensitivity in the detection of oxidation in the stabilised materials. Assessment of low-molecular weight carboxylic acids in PE during the aging was made by gas chromatographic analysis together with solid-phase extraction. Propanoic acid showed the best correlation with the carbonyl index measurements, even if the carbonyl index showed earlier detection of oxidation. It was also found that TLI and CL in an oxidative atmosphere (CL-OIT) had the same sensitivity and were in accordance for all of the materials, with exception of the materials containing EAA and alfa-tocopherol or Irganox 1076. CL-OIT was also compared to the oxygen induction time determined by thermal analysis. / QC 20100921

[Truncated abstract. Please see the pdf format for the complete text.] Interest in the role of peroxynitrite in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis has increased due to many in vitro studies which have demonstrated its potent oxidising and nitrating capability and immunohistochemical staining studies which demonstrate nitration of tyrosine in vivo. It is frequently suggested that the production of nitric oxide and superoxide at sites of inflammation implicates peroxynitrite as the major damaging reactive nitrogen species in vivo. Evidence for a role for peroxynitrite is often demonstrated by measurement of 3-nitrotyrosine yet even this cannot distinguish peroxynitrite from other nitrating species. Clearly, however, if peroxynitrite is important in atherogenesis, then identification of mechanisms for its detoxification could provide a means of preventing such effects. Therefore, this Thesis has sought to determine whether phenolic compounds of dietary origin can be preferentially nitrated by reactive nitrogen species thereby protecting endogenous structures, such as low density lipoproteins, from atherogenic modifications. This Thesis focuses upon phenolic acids as they have received relatively less attention than other classes of phenolic compounds, such as flavonoids, yet they are quite abundant in socially important beverages such as red wine. In order to complete the required analyses, the development of methods to detect phenolic acids and their nitration products together with 3-nitrotyrosine, dityrosine and 5-nitro-γ-tocopherol was necessary. The initial in vitro experiments described herein sought to determine the products of reaction of peroxynitrite with phenolic acids of the 4-hydroxy and 3,4-dihydroxy type and then to examine whether these products could account for a protective effect upon tyrosine, lipids and endogenous anti-oxidants, if any was observed, when isolated LDL was treated with SIN-1, which releases peroxynitrite through the simultaneous generation of nitric oxide and superoxide. A concurrent minor focus was to examine the relationship between structure and activity of these phenolic acids under various regimes of oxidative insult. These experiments indicate that, at least in this in vitro model, oxidation is a dominant mechanism over nitration. Peroxynitrite was shown to nitrate coumaric acid in moderate yields but exclusive oxidation of caffeic acid appeared to occur. Although a potential role for γ-tocopherol as an anti-nitration agent was inferred, all types of chemical treatment of LDL in the presence of phenolic acids yielded oxidation as the primary end point. In fact, nitration of tyrosine was not detected and nitration of coumaric acid was at the limit of detection. Since nitration of tyrosine is generally regarded as important in many disease states, a more physiological nitrating mechanism involving artificially stimulated neutrophils was used. This system demonstrated that although physiologically relevant reactive nitrogen species can result in nitration of phenolic compounds, in a complex system including biological structures (LDL) and phenolic compounds, oxidation but not nitration of all species appears to occur. As a consequence of the results above, an examination of carotid plaque was undertaken to determine to what extent nitration occurred relative to oxidation in atherosclerotic tissue. These studies applied methods developed herein to detect 3-nitrotyrosine and dityrosine in complex biological matrices as markers of nitration and oxidation respectively. The data obtained demonstrated that nitration was a minor modification of protein (0.01%) compared to oxidation (0.3%) even in a highly diseased tissue such as carotid artery plaque. A secondary study examining plasma revealed that dityrosine, which has been implicated in irreversible albumin aggregation in chronic renal failure and more recently in heart disease, is elevated in chronic renal failure subjects compared to well matched controls. A separate examination of plasma from healthy subjects revealed that in both the fasting and post prandial state 3-nitrotyrosine could not be detected and, in fact, interfering species could be problematic in the GC-MS analysis of 3-nitrotyrosine. The lack of nitration of any substrate observed in vitro using reactive nitrogen species generated in the aqueous phase, the relative lack of nitration of tyrosine in plaque proteins and the lipophilicity of nitric oxide, the precursor of all reactive nitrogen species, suggested that nitration could be more closely associated with lipid structures. The known ability of γ-tocopherol to form 5-nitro-γ-tocopherol was used to probe this concept. The 5-nitro-γ-tocopherol content of lipid extracts obtained from carotid artery plaques was very high (30%). This indicated that nitration is predominantly a lipid phase phenomenon and that nitrating species are present in much greater abundance than oxidising species in vivo.

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) consists of high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids, making its oil susceptible to oxidation. Tocopherols can retard or prevented oxidation. The aim of this study is to determine the phenotypic tocopherol (vitamin E) composition and genetic diversity of the biosynthetic pathway genes. Seeds were characterized for fatty acid and tocopherol content. A positive correlation was found between oleic acid, γ (r =0.17) and δ (r =0.23) tocopherol but none between linoleic acid and all four tocopherol derivatives. Vitamin E gene homologues were identified and a concomitant pathway constructed, with genes of interest sequenced to determine their genetic variation. A sunflower gene database was developed for these genes and used to obtain 489 SNPs and 145 indels from the accessions evaluated. Only 139 of these SNPs were located in the exon regions of the gene candidates. These exon-based SNPs may influence tocopherol flow through possible enzyme structural modifications / School of Agriculture and Life Sciences / M. Sc. (Life Sciences)

A qualidade da carne produzida pelos ruminantes é um reflexo do alimento consumido pelos mesmos. Primeiramente realizamos uma abordagem metanalitica e verificamos que o tipo de sistema alimentar e o nível de tocoferol na dieta dos cordeiros enfluinciaram na qualidade da carne de cordeiro produzida. Assim, o objetivo foi avaliar a produção de forragem e composição química da dieta dos cordeiros alimentados com pastagens tropicais e seus reflexos sobre a qualidade da carne. Foram utilizamos 54 cordeiros, machos castrados, com idade e peso inicial de 3-4 meses e 20,4±3,97 kg, distribuídos aleatoriamente em três sistemas de terminação baseados em pastagens tropicais: 1) Capim aruana (Panicum maximum cv. IZ-5); 2) Feijão guandu (Cajanus cajan) e 3) Consórcio (Panicum máximo cv. IZ-5 e Cajanus cajan, sendo cada espécie semeada em metade da superfície do piquete. Para testar o efeito tanino, metade dos cordeiros de cada tratamento recebeu polietilenoglicol (PEG) duas vezes ao dia. A amostragem da pastagem foi realizada a cada 21 dias, totalizando 4 coletas. Foi reaizada simulação de pastejo para as amostragens para composição química da pastagem. Avaliou-se a produção de forragem, composição química, perfil de ácidos graxos e antioxidantes (tocoferol e taninos). Os cordeiros foram abatidos após 92 dias de experimento, com peso médio de 25,7±4,36 kg O perfil de ácidos graxos, concentração de tocoferóis, a coloração e a oxidação lipídica do músculo longissimus dos cordeiros foram avaliados. As pastagem apresentaram variação de masa de forragem, produção de colmos, produção de lâminas foliares e altura ao longo do tempo da avaliação. A inserção de leguminosas na dieta de cordeiros não altera a concentração de tocoferol, mas, ao longo dos períodos de avaliação, os níveis de tanino condensado e tanino total aumentam na dieta contendo leguminosas. A maioria dos acidos graxos estavam relacionados com o conteúdo de fibra em detergente neutro da dieta. A participação da leguminosa na dieta dos cordeiros aumenta o teor de omegas 3 e 6 disponíveis na dieta de cordeiros. A inclusão de PEG nas dietas dos cordeiros aumentou o valor do ângulo da tonalidade e diminuiu a intensidade de vermelho da gordura subcutânea. O sistema de pastagem exclusivamente de feijão guandu resultou em menor concentração de ácidos graxos saturados no musculo do que o sistema exclusivo de capim aruana. A carne de cordeiros terminados exclusivamente em Capim Aruana apresentou menor relação n-6: n-3 e menor oxidação lipídica após 6 dias de armazenamento do que animias mantidos em feijão guandu ou em pastagem consorciada. / The quality of the meat produced by ruminants is a reflection of the food consumed by those offered to them. First, we performed a meta-analytic approach and found that the type of food system and the level of tocopherol in the diet of lambs influenced the quality of the lamb meat produced. We used 54 male lambs with age and initial weight of 3-4 months and 20.4 ± 3.97 kg randomly distributed in three finishing systems based on tropical pastures: 1) Aruana grass (Panicum maximum cv. IZ-5); 2) Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) and 3) Consortium (Panicum maximum cv. IZ-5 and Cajanus cajan, each species being sown on half of the surface of the picket. To test the tannin effect, half of the lambs from each treatment received polyethylene glycol (PEG) twice daily. Pasture sampling was performed every 21 days, totaling 4 collections. Grazing simulation was performed for the chemical composition of the pasture. The forage production, chemical composition, profile of fatty acids and antioxidants (tocopherol and tannins) were evaluated.The lambs were slaughtered after 92 days of experiment, with weight of 25.7 ± 4.36 kg . The fatty acid profile, concentration of tocopherols, coloration and lipid oxidation of lamb longissimus muscle were evaluated The present variation pasture forage mass, stalk production, production of leaf blades and height throughout the evaluation time The insertion of legumes in the diet of lambs does not alter the concentration of tocopherol, but during the evaluation periods, , the levels of condensed tannin and total tannin increase in the diet containing legumes. Most of the fatty acids studied were related to the neutral detergent fiber content of the diet. The participation of the legume in the diet of lambs increases the content of omegas 3 and 6 available in the diet of lambs. The inclusion of PEG in lamb diets increased the value of the hue angle and decreased the red intensity of the subcutaneous fat. The grazing system exclusively of pigeon pea resulted in a lower concentration of saturated fatty acids in the muscle than the exclusive system of Aruana grass. Meat from lambs exclusively in Aruana grass presented lower n-6: n-3 ratio and lower lipid oxidation after 6 days of storage than those maintained on Pigeon pea or Mixed pasture.

As pastagens que cobrem uma importante área no território mundial apresentam elevado potencial de produtividade e suas características bioquímicas podem gerar relevante impacto na produção de ruminantes. Porém, poucos trabalhos relatam a concentração de compostos bioquímicos em pastagens tropicais comumente usadas na produção animal. Diante deste fato, o capítulo II desta tese teve como objetivo elucidar e determinar a concentração de taninos condensados e tocoferol, bem como avaliar a produção e os valores nutritivos de espécies forrageiras tropicais normalmente usadas em sistemas de pastejo. Com este estudo foi possível constatar que algumas espécies de gramíneas e leguminosas se destacam não apenas pela sua capacidade de produção de biomassa e qualidade nutricional, mas também pela concentração de compostos bioquímicos, como a gramínea tifton que teve elevada concentração de α-tocoferol (202.3 ± 116.5 mg/kg matéria verde, MV). As leguminosas amendoim forrageiro (15.7 ± 5.2 g/kg matéria seca, MS) e feijão guandu (8.7 ± 0.8 g/kg MS) apresentaram boa concentração de taninos condensados, mas o grande destaque foi para a leguminosa nativa pega-pega (66.5 ± 13.8 g/kg MS) que além da alta concentração de taninos, esses apresentaram potencial para atividade biológica (PPF = 60.1 g/kg MS) Aliado as características bioquímicas, as espécies que irão compor o sistema de produção podem influenciar na biologia de vida livre dos nematoides parasitas do trato gastrintestinal (NGI) e no comportamento ingestivo dos animais. O capítulo III e IV avaliam três diferentes sistemas de alimentação de cordeiros em pastagens tropicais. O capítulo III traz como objetivo avaliar a distribuição de larvas infectantes (L3) em diferentes perfis de pastagem tropical (gramíneas e leguminosas) e o impacto da contaminação da pastagem na carga parasitária e desempenho de cordeiros. Onde, a inclusão da leguminosa tropical alterou a concentração de larvas infectantes na pastagem e a contaminação dos animais. No capítulo IV é apresentado o trabalho que teve como objetivo avaliar o comportamento ingestivo de cordeiros em condições de pastejo contínuo submetidos a diferentes sistemas de alimentação com a presença de leguminosa tropical contendo taninos condensados. Apesar da diferença estrutural e concentração de taninos condensados, de modo geral essas características da pastagem não alteraram o comportamento ingestivo dos cordeiros. / Pastures covering an important area in the world territory present high production potential and their biochemical characteristics can generate a significant impact on the production of ruminants. However, few studies report the concentration of biochemical compounds in tropical pastures commonly used in animal production. Facing this fact, chapter II of this thesis had as objective to elucidate and to determine the concentration of condensed tannins and tocopherol, as well as to evaluate the production and nutritional values of tropical forage species normally used in grazing systems. In this study, it was possible to verify that some species of grasses and legumes stand out not only for their mass production capacity and nutritional quality, but also for the concentration of secondary compounds, such as tifton grass, which had a high α-tocopherol concentration (202.3 ± 116.5 mg / kg green matter, GM). The forage peanut legumes (15.7 ± 5.2 g / kg dry matter, DM) and pigeon pea (8.7 ± 0.8 g / kg DM) had an excellent concentration of condensed tannins, but the main highlight was the native legume Desmodium incunum (66.5 ± 13.8 g / kg DM) that in addition to the high concentration of tannins, these had potential for biological activity (PPP = 60.1 g / kg DM) In addition to the biochemical characteristics, the species that will make up the production system can influence the ecology of the free-living stages of endoparasite of the gastrointestinal tract (NGI) and the ingestive behavior of the animals. Chapter III and IV evaluate three different feeding systems of lambs in tropical pastures. Chapter III aims to evaluate L3 distribution in different tropical pasture (grass and legume) profiles and the impact of pasture contamination on lamb parasitic loads and production performance. Where the inclusion of the tropical legume changed the concentration of infective larvae in the pasture and the contamination of the animals. Chapter IV presents the work that aimed to evaluate the ingestive behavior of lambs under continuous grazing conditions submitted to different feeding systems with the presence of tropical legume containing condensed tannins. Despite the structural difference and concentration of condensed tannins, in general these pasture characteristics did not alter the ingestive behavior of the lambs.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:22:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-02-12Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:27:42Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 otani_fs_me_jabo.pdf: 297413 bytes, checksum: 56eab3cec2d3b86c444c71f545ccac0e (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) / Este trabalho objetivou avaliar a influência da vitamina E pela suplementação por meio da dieta, em peixes submetidos a dois métodos de abate (imersão em água gelada e sangria), nos atributos de qualidade de filés congelados de tilápia (Oreochromis spp.). Peixes, com peso médio inicial de 340 g, foram alimentados por um período de nove semanas com três dietas isocalóricas (3264,09 kcal ED/kg) e isoprotéicas (24,8% PD), diferindo na adição de 100 mg/kg de ração de α-tocoferol (grupo TO), 100 mg de princípio ativo/kg de ração de acetato de α- tocoferil (grupo AC), e sem adição de vitamina E (grupo controle – CO). Ao final do período de alimentação, os peixes foram abatidos pelos métodos citados anteriormente. Utilizou-se delineamento inteiramente casualizado, em esquema fatorial 3x2x5, caracterizado por três dietas, dois métodos de abate e cinco tempos de análises dos filés. Foram realizadas análises de desempenho e corporais, e de composição centesimal, oxidação lipídica pela formação de substâncias reativas ao ácido tiobarbitúrico (SRATB), e sensorial pelo método do Índice de Qualidade (MIQ) nos filés, nos tempos zero (antes do congelamento), 45, 90, 120 e 150 dias de estocagem. A suplementação da vitamina E não afetou os parâmetros de desempenho, entretanto influenciou na composição centesimal e na oxidação lipídica, protegendo os filés ao longo do período de estocagem. Foi elaborada tabela de avaliação dos filés congelados, pelo MIQ, instrumento útil para a análise de atributos de qualidade. / The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the influence of vitamin E dietary supplementation, and fish slaughtering methods (immersion in ice-water and exsanguination), on the fillets quality of tilapia, during frozen storage. Fish of 340 g mean initial body weight were fed for nine weeks with three isoenergetic (containing 3264,09 kcal DE/kg) and isonitrogenous (24,8% DP) diets. Two diets were supplemented with 100 mg/kg diet of α-tocopherol (TO group) and 100 mg of active source/kg diet of α-tocopheryl acetate (AC group), plus a nonsupplemented diet (control group – CO). At the termination of the 9-week feeding trial, fish were slaughtered by the summoned methods.A completely randomized design was used, in a 3x2x5 factorial scheme, characterized by the 3 vitamin E supplementation diets, 2 slaughter methods and 5 fillets analysis. The growth performance parameters, hepatosomatic and fat viscerosomatic index, centesimal composition, lipid oxidation determined by the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and sensorial by Quality Index Method (QIM) analysis were analyzed in five times: before frozen storage, 45, 90, 120 and 150 days storage. The vitamin E supplementation did not influence the growth performance parameters, but centesimal composition were influenced, and vitamin E protected fillets from lipid oxidation in frozen storage. Fillets quality availability table were organized, by QIM, for to help in sensorial analysis.

Resumo: Este trabalho objetivou avaliar a influência da vitamina E pela suplementação por meio da dieta, em peixes submetidos a dois métodos de abate (imersão em água gelada e sangria), nos atributos de qualidade de filés congelados de tilápia (Oreochromis spp.). Peixes, com peso médio inicial de 340 g, foram alimentados por um período de nove semanas com três dietas isocalóricas (3264,09 kcal ED/kg) e isoprotéicas (24,8% PD), diferindo na adição de 100 mg/kg de ração de α-tocoferol (grupo TO), 100 mg de princípio ativo/kg de ração de acetato de α- tocoferil (grupo AC), e sem adição de vitamina E (grupo controle - CO). Ao final do período de alimentação, os peixes foram abatidos pelos métodos citados anteriormente. Utilizou-se delineamento inteiramente casualizado, em esquema fatorial 3x2x5, caracterizado por três dietas, dois métodos de abate e cinco tempos de análises dos filés. Foram realizadas análises de desempenho e corporais, e de composição centesimal, oxidação lipídica pela formação de substâncias reativas ao ácido tiobarbitúrico (SRATB), e sensorial pelo método do Índice de Qualidade (MIQ) nos filés, nos tempos zero (antes do congelamento), 45, 90, 120 e 150 dias de estocagem. A suplementação da vitamina E não afetou os parâmetros de desempenho, entretanto influenciou na composição centesimal e na oxidação lipídica, protegendo os filés ao longo do período de estocagem. Foi elaborada tabela de avaliação dos filés congelados, pelo MIQ, instrumento útil para a análise de atributos de qualidade. / Abstract: The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the influence of vitamin E dietary supplementation, and fish slaughtering methods (immersion in ice-water and exsanguination), on the fillets quality of tilapia, during frozen storage. Fish of 340 g mean initial body weight were fed for nine weeks with three isoenergetic (containing 3264,09 kcal DE/kg) and isonitrogenous (24,8% DP) diets. Two diets were supplemented with 100 mg/kg diet of α-tocopherol (TO group) and 100 mg of active source/kg diet of α-tocopheryl acetate (AC group), plus a nonsupplemented diet (control group - CO). At the termination of the 9-week feeding trial, fish were slaughtered by the summoned methods.A completely randomized design was used, in a 3x2x5 factorial scheme, characterized by the 3 vitamin E supplementation diets, 2 slaughter methods and 5 fillets analysis. The growth performance parameters, hepatosomatic and fat viscerosomatic index, centesimal composition, lipid oxidation determined by the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and sensorial by Quality Index Method (QIM) analysis were analyzed in five times: before frozen storage, 45, 90, 120 and 150 days storage. The vitamin E supplementation did not influence the growth performance parameters, but centesimal composition were influenced, and vitamin E protected fillets from lipid oxidation in frozen storage. Fillets quality availability table were organized, by QIM, for to help in sensorial analysis. / Orientadora: Léa Silvia Sant'Ana / Coorientador: João Batista Kochenborger Fernandes / Banca: Cristiane Rodrigues Pinheiro Neiva / Banca: Cláudio Angelo Agostinho / Mestre

A qualidade da carne produzida pelos ruminantes é um reflexo do alimento consumido pelos mesmos. Primeiramente realizamos uma abordagem metanalitica e verificamos que o tipo de sistema alimentar e o nível de tocoferol na dieta dos cordeiros enfluinciaram na qualidade da carne de cordeiro produzida. Assim, o objetivo foi avaliar a produção de forragem e composição química da dieta dos cordeiros alimentados com pastagens tropicais e seus reflexos sobre a qualidade da carne. Foram utilizamos 54 cordeiros, machos castrados, com idade e peso inicial de 3-4 meses e 20,4±3,97 kg, distribuídos aleatoriamente em três sistemas de terminação baseados em pastagens tropicais: 1) Capim aruana (Panicum maximum cv. IZ-5); 2) Feijão guandu (Cajanus cajan) e 3) Consórcio (Panicum máximo cv. IZ-5 e Cajanus cajan, sendo cada espécie semeada em metade da superfície do piquete. Para testar o efeito tanino, metade dos cordeiros de cada tratamento recebeu polietilenoglicol (PEG) duas vezes ao dia. A amostragem da pastagem foi realizada a cada 21 dias, totalizando 4 coletas. Foi reaizada simulação de pastejo para as amostragens para composição química da pastagem. Avaliou-se a produção de forragem, composição química, perfil de ácidos graxos e antioxidantes (tocoferol e taninos). Os cordeiros foram abatidos após 92 dias de experimento, com peso médio de 25,7±4,36 kg O perfil de ácidos graxos, concentração de tocoferóis, a coloração e a oxidação lipídica do músculo longissimus dos cordeiros foram avaliados. As pastagem apresentaram variação de masa de forragem, produção de colmos, produção de lâminas foliares e altura ao longo do tempo da avaliação. A inserção de leguminosas na dieta de cordeiros não altera a concentração de tocoferol, mas, ao longo dos períodos de avaliação, os níveis de tanino condensado e tanino total aumentam na dieta contendo leguminosas. A maioria dos acidos graxos estavam relacionados com o conteúdo de fibra em detergente neutro da dieta. A participação da leguminosa na dieta dos cordeiros aumenta o teor de omegas 3 e 6 disponíveis na dieta de cordeiros. A inclusão de PEG nas dietas dos cordeiros aumentou o valor do ângulo da tonalidade e diminuiu a intensidade de vermelho da gordura subcutânea. O sistema de pastagem exclusivamente de feijão guandu resultou em menor concentração de ácidos graxos saturados no musculo do que o sistema exclusivo de capim aruana. A carne de cordeiros terminados exclusivamente em Capim Aruana apresentou menor relação n-6: n-3 e menor oxidação lipídica após 6 dias de armazenamento do que animias mantidos em feijão guandu ou em pastagem consorciada. / The quality of the meat produced by ruminants is a reflection of the food consumed by those offered to them. First, we performed a meta-analytic approach and found that the type of food system and the level of tocopherol in the diet of lambs influenced the quality of the lamb meat produced. We used 54 male lambs with age and initial weight of 3-4 months and 20.4 ± 3.97 kg randomly distributed in three finishing systems based on tropical pastures: 1) Aruana grass (Panicum maximum cv. IZ-5); 2) Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) and 3) Consortium (Panicum maximum cv. IZ-5 and Cajanus cajan, each species being sown on half of the surface of the picket. To test the tannin effect, half of the lambs from each treatment received polyethylene glycol (PEG) twice daily. Pasture sampling was performed every 21 days, totaling 4 collections. Grazing simulation was performed for the chemical composition of the pasture. The forage production, chemical composition, profile of fatty acids and antioxidants (tocopherol and tannins) were evaluated.The lambs were slaughtered after 92 days of experiment, with weight of 25.7 ± 4.36 kg . The fatty acid profile, concentration of tocopherols, coloration and lipid oxidation of lamb longissimus muscle were evaluated The present variation pasture forage mass, stalk production, production of leaf blades and height throughout the evaluation time The insertion of legumes in the diet of lambs does not alter the concentration of tocopherol, but during the evaluation periods, , the levels of condensed tannin and total tannin increase in the diet containing legumes. Most of the fatty acids studied were related to the neutral detergent fiber content of the diet. The participation of the legume in the diet of lambs increases the content of omegas 3 and 6 available in the diet of lambs. The inclusion of PEG in lamb diets increased the value of the hue angle and decreased the red intensity of the subcutaneous fat. The grazing system exclusively of pigeon pea resulted in a lower concentration of saturated fatty acids in the muscle than the exclusive system of Aruana grass. Meat from lambs exclusively in Aruana grass presented lower n-6: n-3 ratio and lower lipid oxidation after 6 days of storage than those maintained on Pigeon pea or Mixed pasture.

As pastagens que cobrem uma importante área no território mundial apresentam elevado potencial de produtividade e suas características bioquímicas podem gerar relevante impacto na produção de ruminantes. Porém, poucos trabalhos relatam a concentração de compostos bioquímicos em pastagens tropicais comumente usadas na produção animal. Diante deste fato, o capítulo II desta tese teve como objetivo elucidar e determinar a concentração de taninos condensados e tocoferol, bem como avaliar a produção e os valores nutritivos de espécies forrageiras tropicais normalmente usadas em sistemas de pastejo. Com este estudo foi possível constatar que algumas espécies de gramíneas e leguminosas se destacam não apenas pela sua capacidade de produção de biomassa e qualidade nutricional, mas também pela concentração de compostos bioquímicos, como a gramínea tifton que teve elevada concentração de α-tocoferol (202.3 ± 116.5 mg/kg matéria verde, MV). As leguminosas amendoim forrageiro (15.7 ± 5.2 g/kg matéria seca, MS) e feijão guandu (8.7 ± 0.8 g/kg MS) apresentaram boa concentração de taninos condensados, mas o grande destaque foi para a leguminosa nativa pega-pega (66.5 ± 13.8 g/kg MS) que além da alta concentração de taninos, esses apresentaram potencial para atividade biológica (PPF = 60.1 g/kg MS) Aliado as características bioquímicas, as espécies que irão compor o sistema de produção podem influenciar na biologia de vida livre dos nematoides parasitas do trato gastrintestinal (NGI) e no comportamento ingestivo dos animais. O capítulo III e IV avaliam três diferentes sistemas de alimentação de cordeiros em pastagens tropicais. O capítulo III traz como objetivo avaliar a distribuição de larvas infectantes (L3) em diferentes perfis de pastagem tropical (gramíneas e leguminosas) e o impacto da contaminação da pastagem na carga parasitária e desempenho de cordeiros. Onde, a inclusão da leguminosa tropical alterou a concentração de larvas infectantes na pastagem e a contaminação dos animais. No capítulo IV é apresentado o trabalho que teve como objetivo avaliar o comportamento ingestivo de cordeiros em condições de pastejo contínuo submetidos a diferentes sistemas de alimentação com a presença de leguminosa tropical contendo taninos condensados. Apesar da diferença estrutural e concentração de taninos condensados, de modo geral essas características da pastagem não alteraram o comportamento ingestivo dos cordeiros. / Pastures covering an important area in the world territory present high production potential and their biochemical characteristics can generate a significant impact on the production of ruminants. However, few studies report the concentration of biochemical compounds in tropical pastures commonly used in animal production. Facing this fact, chapter II of this thesis had as objective to elucidate and to determine the concentration of condensed tannins and tocopherol, as well as to evaluate the production and nutritional values of tropical forage species normally used in grazing systems. In this study, it was possible to verify that some species of grasses and legumes stand out not only for their mass production capacity and nutritional quality, but also for the concentration of secondary compounds, such as tifton grass, which had a high α-tocopherol concentration (202.3 ± 116.5 mg / kg green matter, GM). The forage peanut legumes (15.7 ± 5.2 g / kg dry matter, DM) and pigeon pea (8.7 ± 0.8 g / kg DM) had an excellent concentration of condensed tannins, but the main highlight was the native legume Desmodium incunum (66.5 ± 13.8 g / kg DM) that in addition to the high concentration of tannins, these had potential for biological activity (PPP = 60.1 g / kg DM) In addition to the biochemical characteristics, the species that will make up the production system can influence the ecology of the free-living stages of endoparasite of the gastrointestinal tract (NGI) and the ingestive behavior of the animals. Chapter III and IV evaluate three different feeding systems of lambs in tropical pastures. Chapter III aims to evaluate L3 distribution in different tropical pasture (grass and legume) profiles and the impact of pasture contamination on lamb parasitic loads and production performance. Where the inclusion of the tropical legume changed the concentration of infective larvae in the pasture and the contamination of the animals. Chapter IV presents the work that aimed to evaluate the ingestive behavior of lambs under continuous grazing conditions submitted to different feeding systems with the presence of tropical legume containing condensed tannins. Despite the structural difference and concentration of condensed tannins, in general these pasture characteristics did not alter the ingestive behavior of the lambs.