Effects of diets with increasing levels of golden flaxseed on carcass characteristics, meat quality and lipid traits of growing rabbits

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of three levels (0, 8, or 16%) of the golden variety of flaxseed (GFS; Linum usitatissimum L.), included in isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets, on the carcass characteristics, meat composition and fatty acid profile of rabbit meat and perirenal fat. The trial was carried out on 30 weaned crossbred rabbits aged 9 weeks, weighing on average 2074 g. The animals were divided equally into three groups of 10 (five male and five female rabbits each) and kept separate in individual cages. At the end of the experiment, which lasted 5 weeks, there were no significant differences between the groups in the carcass yield or the proportions of various carcass parts and edible organs. Although the chemical composition of the meat was not significantly affected by the dietary treatment, the saturated fatty acid and monounsaturated fatty acid proportion in the longissimus dorsi muscle (-22% and -24%, respectively) and perirenal fat (-34% and –29%, respectively) decreased and the polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) increased (+36% in the muscle and 43% in the fat, respectively) with increased GFS inclusion. GFS dietary supplementation has shown to be effective in improving the n-3 PUFAproportion (76% in the muscle and 77% in the fat, respectively), decreasing the n-6/n-3 ratio and reducing the saturation, atherogenic and thrombogenic indexes of the meat, with consequent benefits on the nutritional quality of rabbit meat for consumers

Apparent digestibility of mixed feed with increasing levels of chia (Salvia hispanica L.) seeds in rabbit diets

Thirty crossbred rabbits were randomly allocated to three groups with ten animals each (five male and five female rabbits each), and kept individually in separate cages. Three isocaloric and isonitrogenous diets were formulated with increasing levels of chia (Salvia hispanica L.) seeds (SHS) (0, 10, and 15%). The digestibility coefficients of the dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), crude fibre (CF), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF) and gross energy (GE) were calculated according to standard procedures following the indirect digestibility method, using acid insoluble ash as an internal marker. The results showed that the DM, OM and GE digestibilities of 10% and 15% SHS diets were higher than those of the control diet, while the ADF digestibility of the 15% SHS diet was lower than that of the 10% SHS diet

Determination of gross energy of silages

The gross energy (GE) of forage is not directly used in rationing systems, but its evaluation is the starting point for an estimate of the digestible, metabolisable and net energy. As far as grass silages are concerned, their GE is 4 to 10% higher that of the grass source

NIRS discrimination of broiler rabbits fed with increasing levels of false flax (Camelina sativa L.) seeds in relationship to the fatty acid profiles

Three groups of ten young rabbits each received an enriched diet with false flax (Camelina sativa L.) seeds at 0% (C), 10% (M), and 15% (H), respectively. At the end of the experimental period, which lasted 50 days, all the rabbits were slaughtered. The longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle and perirenal fat samples were collected at 24 h post mortem from each carcass and analysed with a GC method for the fatty acid (FA) profiles and their indexes. Spectroscopy was conducted using a Model LSP LabSpec-Pro portable UV-Vis.NIR spectrophotometer (350-2500nm). The perirenal fat was directly examined. The samples derived from thawed LD muscles (2 cm ø x 2 cm long.) were previously fixed in 95% ethanol, stored for 3 days and finally scanned after 2 and 24 hours air exposition of the tissues. Discrimination of individuals between couple of groups, fitted 1 or 2 dummy values, was performed by a Modified Partial Least Square Discriminant Analysis by the WinISI II software (Infrasoft International, Port Matilda, PA, USA) allowing one passage for the removal of the outliers. The cross-validated 1-VR (Variance Ratio) coefficient was retained for comparative purposes.................

Effects of Chia (Salvia hispanica L.) seed supplementation on rabbits meat quality, oxidative stability and sensory traits

Chia (Salvia hispanica L.) seed (SHS) dietary supplementation is effective in improving the nutritional quality of rabbit meat for consumers and could contribute to the novel concept of “functional food” in human nutrition. A trial has been conducted in order to verify the effects of three levels (0, 10, or 15%) of SHS inclusion in a rabbit diet on the meat quality, oxidative stability and sensory traits. The dietary treatment did not induce any differences in the ultimate pH, chemical composition, drip losses of the longissimus dorsi muscle or the initial and ultimate pH of the biceps femoris muscle, but the SHS supplementation increased cooking losses of the rabbit meat. The inclusion of SHS also reduced oxidative stability during meat storage. No adverse effects were observed on the meat quality or customer acceptability. The inclusion of SHS in rabbit diets, which is effective in improving the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids content of meat, increased the lipid oxidation in the hind leg meat. An improvement in tissue oxidative stability could be obtained by feeding rabbits with higher levels of antioxidants