EFFECT OF CERTAIN PROCESSING METHODS ON PHOSPHOLIPID COMPONENTS IN RABBIT MEAT

Fore limb, loin and hind limb cuts of California and New Zealand white rabbits (both sexes) of a marketable age (2 and 3 months) were used to study the effect of certain processing methods (pressure cooking, roasting and smoking) on phospholipid components in rabbit meat. Phospholipids were fractionated applying thin-layer chromatographic (TLC) tech- nique to eight fractions (phosphatidylserine (PS), lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), phos- phatidyl inositol (PI), sphingomyelin (SL), phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidyl ethanolamine (PE), phosphatidic acid (PA) and phosphatidyl glycerol (PG)). Rather slight differences were observed between sexes, ages and three studied cuts in the quantities of phospholipid components. Phospholipid fractions showed qualitatively the same pattern as that of fresh meat in the three studied processing methods of rabbit meat. However, all studied processing methods resulted in a decrease in all phospholipid fraction contents, except that of Iysophosphatidyl choline and (phosphatidic acid + phosphatidyl glycerol) which slightly increased