Ucuncu, O.

This work reports volatile constituents, antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of volatile oils from the air-dried flower and aerial parts (APs) of Arabis alpina L. ssp. alpina. The volatile components of flower and aerial parts (stem + leaf) were investigated by means of hydrodistillation in Clevenger type apparatus and GC/MS/FID analysis. Fifty-one and fifty-three compounds in the volatile oils of flower and APs of A. alpina were identified. Terpene derivatives were the major volatiles in both oils. Hexahydrofarnesyl acetone was the main component of flower oil and APs oil in ratios of 16.27% and 26.94%, respectively. Additionally, both flower and APs essential oils were investigated for their antimicrobial activity against twelve bacteria and five fungi, using agar dilution method and antioxidant activities by using DPPH˙, ABTS˙+ and Folin-Ciocalteu assays. Flower oil was effective against B. subtilis and B. cereus even at 100µg/mL. The amount of total phenolic, %DPPH˙ scavenging activity and ABTS˙+ scavenging activity were found as 485.60±7.28 mg/mL GAE, 49.85±1.22% and 166.43±12.05µM Trolox equivalent, respectively. Flower oil exhibited antimicrobial effect against gram positive bacteria especially, and moderate antioxidant activity.

Bayram, B.; Aksakal, V.; Akbulut, O.

This study examined the effect of body condition score (BCS) at calving and during the first month of lactation on some reproduction and milk yield traits of Swedish Red and White (SRW) cows organically raised in Turkey. For this purpose, SRW cows divided two groups, named as thin (BCS <3.00) and moderate (BCS >= 3.00). The actual milk yield (815 kg) and 305 day daily milk yield (736 kg) of cows with low condition score at calving were significantly (P<0.01) higher than those with moderate condition score. The BCS at calving did not have an effect on the lactation length, peak daily milk yield and days to attain peak milk yield. The condition score obtained in the first month of lactation only affected the peak daily milk yield (P<0.05), while its impact on the other characteristics was non-significant. The service period of the cows with low condition score at calving was significantly longer (19.9 day) and their number of services per conception was significantly lower (0.37 units) (P<0.05) than moderate group. The condition loss was calculated as 0.0137 units in the thin group and 0.2290 units in the moderate group and this differences were significant (P<0.01) during the first 30 day period of lactation. The phenotypic correlation between BCS at calving and milk yield traits were negative and significant (P<0.01). According to this relationship, actual milk yield (r=-0.208), 305 day milk yield (r=-0.248) and peak daily milk yield (r=-0.251) decreased significantly (P<0.01) with the increase in the BCS at calving. The service periods of cows with low condition scores at calving were significantly longer (P<0.01).

Aksakal, V.; Bayram, B.; Yanar, M.; Akbulut, O.

Data on 368 birth records of Swedish Red and White cattle herd raised organically at Dogan Organic Dairy Cattle Farm for a period of 2006 and 2009 (4 years) were used to estimate the effects of different environmental factors on birth weight. Additionally, a comparison of four methods for variance component estimation to compute heritability of birth weight was performed using ML (Maximum likelihood), MINQUE (Minimum variance quadratic unbiased estimation), REML (Restricted maximum likelihood) and Henderson's Method III. Average abortion rate, stillbirth rate, twin and single birth rates of Swedish Red and White cattle were as 4.5%, 4.3%, 3.2% and 87.7% respectively. The least squares mean for birth weight was 37.4±0.70 kg. While effects of calving year (P<0.01), calving season (P<0.05) and sex of calve (P<0.01) were significant, and the effect of age of dam was not significant (P>0.05). Sire and error variance components and standard error of the heritability obtained by using ML method were lower than those obtained by the other three methods. Heritability estimates for birth weight obtained by ML, REML, MINQUE and Henderson Method III were 0.57±0.22, 0.62±0.24, 0.65±0.25 and 0.59±0.24, respectively. It is concluded that the ML procedure was superior for estimating variance components and heritability of birth weight of Swedish Red and White cattle and non-genetic factors influencing the birth weight should also be considered in selection and an adjustment for the significant environmental factors should be made.

Topal, M.; Aksakal, V.; Bayram, B.; Yaǧanoǧlu, M.

Performance records (birth weight and actual milk yield) on 206 Swedish Red cattle maintained at private organic diary cattle enterprise in Kelkit district of Gümüşhane province, in Turkey, were analyzed through regression tree method to determine the effects of some factors affecting birth weight and actual milk yield. The birth weight of calves averaged as 41.034±4.218 kg. Out of total calves born, twin born calves were 2.9%. Single born calves were heavier (41.185±3.840 kg) than twin born (36.000±10.545 kg). The results revealed that the most significant variable affecting birth weight was birth type, followed by birth season, sex and body condition score (BCS2) of the dam during birth. Lactation period and peak milk yield were important variables affecting the actual milk yield in the dairy herd under investigation.