Effect of different growth stages on the chemical composition, antioxidant properties and rumen-intestinal digestion of Pistacia atlantica with nylon bags method

The genus of Pistacia which contains 11 or more species belongs to Anacardiaceae family (Karimi et al., 2009). One of the most widely distributed species of Pistacia is Pistacia atlantica which is called “Baneh” in Iran and is the most economically important tree species in many rural areas (Pourreza et al., 2008). The fruit of wild pistachio is used by natives as flavor in food after grinding it and it is used for its oil, although the fruit is small and not commercially valuable. Tree nuts and their oils contain several bioactive and health-promoting components. Dietary consumption of tree nut oils may have even more beneficial health effects than consumption of whole tree nuts, possibly due to the replacement of dietary carbohydrates with unsaturated lipids and/or other components present in the oil extracts (Hu and Stampfer 1999).This study was carried out to evaluate and compare the quality of phenological stages, antioxidant properties and intestinal digestibility of Pistacia atlantica by nylon bags method.
Material and In order to prepare experimental treatments, Pistacia atlantica was collected and dried in three stages (early growing season, mid and end of growing season) from foothills of the around the city of Birjand. The treatments were: 1. pistachio fruit in early growing season, 2. pistachio fruit in middle of growing season, and 3. pistachio fruit at the end of growing season. Approximate analysis of samples was undertaken by AOAC (2005). Neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber was determined by method of Van Soest (1991). The total amount of phenolic compounds was measured by the method of Folin ciocalteu (Marino et al., 2004). The total amount of tannins was obtained by calculating the difference between before and after the reaction with Polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) (Makar et al., 1993). Condensed tannin was measured by the method of Porter et al. (1986). The antioxidant activity was measured by the method of Turkmen and colleagues (2006). Degradability parameters of the samples were measured after incubation for 0, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24, 48, 72, 96 & 120 hours in the rumen of two fistulated Holstein cows. Also, ruminal and post ruminal digestibility were determined with the incubation of samples for 16 hours in the rumen by Daisy system. The DM and CP degradation data were fitted by exponential equation P=a (1-e –ct) (17). Effective degradability (ED) were calculated using of equation ED = a {(cb) / (c k)} and taking into consideration passing rate (k) 0.04, 0.06 and 0.08 per hour.
The results showed with the advance stage of growth increased, percentage of dry matter, crude fat, NDF and ADF. The highest amount of dry matter belonged to the end of the growing season (85.29%) and the lowest was related to the beginning of the growing season (18.03%). The highest amount of crude protein observed at the first stage (early growth) (15.17%) and the lowest at the mid of the growing season (P Based upon the present research it is concluded that Pistacia atlantica is rich in phenolic compounds and antioxidant, and it can be used as an alternative to synthetic antioxidants. Also, due to having about 83 percent unsaturated fatty acids, it has a high nutritional value and could be used in livestock diets in order to enrich and enhance oxidative stability of animal products.