Effect of Diet Supplementation with Quinoa Seed and/or Linseed on Immune Response, Productivity and Meat Quality in Merinos Derived Lambs
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Dear authors,
thank you very much for the well written article entitled “Effect of diet supplementation with quinoa seed and/or linseed on immune response, productivity and meat quality in merinos derived lambs“.
First, I enjoyed the precise description within the whole article. Nevertheless, there are some minor revisions, which are important.
- Please double-check the formatting of your article, the tables and figures. You have a mix of font sizes (e.g. the description of table 3, the axis label in figure 1 etc.). There are also some unusual line breaks (e.g. table 1). In addition, you have some doubled spaces (e. g. line 69, 95, 239).
- Abstract: The sentence in line 34 f. “Meat from lambs supplemented with linseed or/and quinoa seed showed higher pH [...], and lower WBSF values than meat from quinoa and control group” could be understood wrong. You mean “. “Meat from lambs supplemented with linseed or/and quinoa seed showed higher pH [...]. Meat from L and LS +Q showed lower WBSF values than meat from quinoa and control group”.
- Animal welfare includes much more than the described aspect. The word is used excessive recently. You might not overestimate it in your discussion (line 309...) and conclusion.
- The paragraph line 197-200 is not supported by the figure 2. Please double-check your sentences.
Kind regards
Author Response
Dear authors,
thank you very much for the well written article entitled “Effect of diet supplementation with quinoa seed and/or linseed on immune response, productivity and meat quality in merinos derived lambs“.
First, I enjoyed the precise description within the whole article. Nevertheless, there are some minor revisions, which are important.
Au: We gratefully acknowledge the positive comments and the advices given by this reviewer. The manuscript has been improved according to reviewer’s suggestions.
- Please double-check the formatting of your article, the tables and figures. You have a mix of font sizes (e.g. the description of table 3, the axis label in figure 1 etc.). There are also some unusual line breaks (e.g. table 1). In addition, you have some doubled spaces (e. g. line 69, 95, 239).
Au: As suggested, the article has been formatted.
- Abstract: The sentence in line 34 f. “Meat from lambs supplemented with linseed or/and quinoa seed showed higher pH [...], and lower WBSF values than meat from quinoa and control group” could be understood wrong. You mean “. “Meat from lambs supplemented with linseed or/and quinoa seed showed higher pH [...]. Meat from L and LS +Q showed lower WBSF values than meat from quinoa and control group”.
Au: The sentence has been clarified in the text.
- Animal welfare includes much more than the described aspect. The word is used excessive recently. You might not overestimate it in your discussion (line 309...) and conclusion.
Au: The word “welfare” has been modified in several part of the discussion and conclusion sections.
- The paragraph line 197-200 is not supported by the figure 2. Please double-check your sentences.
Au: The sentences has been revised according to reviewer’s suggestions.
New and added parts are underlined in red.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Reviewer 2 Report
In this work, the authors evaluate the effects of supplementing the diet of lambs with linseed and quinoa seeds on the welfare, productivity and quality of merino lamb meat.
This contribution is interesting and valuable.
Simply Summary:
14 performances and meat quality of lambs. The relation between nutrition and immune response has been
24 quality producing a better meat tenderness. These findings should be considered for development of specific
26 Abstract: In the last years several studies have been investigating/have investigated the strong relation between nutrition and
31 the respective supplementation and control group (C) without supplementation. Lambs from all
36 and lower WBSF values than meat from control group.
2.1. Feed analysis
95 984.13) measurements. Metabolizable energy was calculated using INRA system [20]. Fatty acids
117 of the antigen KLH (Sigma Aldrich, Milan, Italy), to which the animals had not previously been exposed. At
124 with 3% of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) dissolved in PBST (200 μl) at 37 °C for 1 h to reduce non-specific
3. Results
3.1. Metabolic profile, immune system and cortisol response
216 displayed lower cortisol secretion than C; whereas, at 60 min after loading test no differences
4.1. Metabolic profile, immune system and cortisol response
238 Metabolic profile of all experimental group was in normal range for the young animals of the
4. Discussion 236
4.1. Metabolic profile, immune system and cortisol response
278 experiment no acute or chronic stressor was acting on lambs, thus inducing a different
279 humoral immune response as compared with ewes or cows under heat stress in which linseed
5. Conclusions
321 lambs enhance meat quality producing better meat tenderness. These findings should be considered for
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
Author Response
In this work, the authors evaluate the effects of supplementing the diet of lambs with linseed and quinoa seeds on the welfare, productivity and quality of merino lamb meat. This contribution is interesting and valuable.
Simply Summary:
14 performances and meat quality of lambs. The relation between nutrition and immune response has been
24 quality producing a better meat tenderness. These findings should be considered for development of specific
26 In the last years several studies have been investigating/have investigated the strong relation between nutrition and
31 the respective supplementation and control group (C) without supplementation. Lambs from all
36 and lower WBSF values than meat from control group.
95 measurements. Metabolizable energy was calculated using INRA system [20]. Fatty acids
117 of the antigen KLH (Sigma Aldrich, Milan, Italy), to which the animals had not previously been exposed.
124 with 3% of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) dissolved in PBST (200 μl) at 37 °C for 1 h to reduce non-specific
216 displayed lower cortisol secretion than C; whereas, at 60 min after loading test no differences
238 Metabolic profile of all experimental group was in normal range for the young animals of the
278 experiment no acute or chronic stressor was acting on lambs, thus inducing a different
279 humoral immune response as compared with ewes or cows under heat stress in which linseed
321 lambs enhance meat quality producing better meat tenderness. These findings should be considered for
AU: We gratefully acknowledge the positive comments and the advices given by this reviewer.
English has been improved in the revised manuscript according to reviewer’s suggestions.
New and added parts are underlined in red.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx