Eighty one (81) weaned rabbits of mixed breeds and sexes (male and female) were randomly allotted to nine treatment groups with nine rabbits per treatment. Each treatment had three replicates with three rabbits per replicate. Processed tallow was included in the diets as a source of protein which was set at 16 % CP. The control diet had 100 % palm kernel cake (PKC) and 0 % tallow seed meal (TSM). Diets 1 - 4 contained cooked tallow seed meal (CTSM) included at 75 % PKC: 25 % CTSM, 50 % PKC: 50% CTSM, 25% PKC:75 % CTSM and 0 % PKC: 100 % CTSM, while groups 5 - 8 had fermented tallow seed meal diets (FTSM) and included at the same levels as in the cooked diets. Fifty four rabbits were randomly selected for slaughtering from the nine groups with six rabbits (male and females) per group. Fatty acid content of the hind leg of rabbits were determined. All the fatty acids measured were significantly (P<0.05) influenced by the processing methods except decosenoic acid methyl ester and pentadecanoic acid methyl esters. The levels of inclusion of tallow also significantly (P<0.05) affected all the fatty acids composition measured. It was therefore concluded that irrespective of the processing methods the use of tallow in the diets of rabbits has no negative effect on the fatty acid composition of rabbit meat

Ayanwale B.A.

Ijaiya A.T.

Jiya E.Z.

Olorunsanya A.O.

Biotechnology in Animal Husbandry

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Biotechnology in Animal Husbandry 31 (2), p 283-290 , 2015                                ISSN 1450-9156 
Publisher: Institute for Animal Husbandry, Belgrade-Zemun                                UDC 637.043'54  
DOI: 10.2298/BAH1502283J 
 
 
 
FATTY ACID COMPOSITION OF MEAT FROM THE 
HIND LEG CUT OF RABBITS (ORYCTOLAGUS 
CUNNICULUS) FED DIETS CONTAINING GRADED 
LEVELS OF PROCESSED TALLOW (DETARIUM 
MICROCARPUM) SEED MEAL 
 
E. Z. Jiya
1
, A. T. Ijaiya
1
, B. A. Ayanwale
1
, A. O. Olorunsanya
2
 
 
1Department of Animal Production, Federal University of Technology Minna 
2Department of Animal Science IBBU Lapai 
Corresponding Author jiya.elisha@futminna.edu.ng/ ez_jiya@yahoo.com  
Original scientific paper 
 
Abstract: Eighty one (81) weaned rabbits of mixed breeds and sexes (male 
and female) were randomly allotted to nine treatment groups with nine rabbits per 
treatment. Each treatment had three replicates with three rabbits per replicate. 
Processed tallow was included in the diets as a source of protein which was set at 
16 % CP. The control diet had 100 % palm kernel cake (PKC) and 0 % tallow seed 
meal (TSM). Diets 1 – 4 contained cooked tallow seed meal (CTSM) included at 
75 % PKC: 25 % CTSM, 50 % PKC: 50% CTSM, 25% PKC:75 % CTSM and 0 % 
PKC: 100 % CTSM, while groups 5 – 8 had fermented tallow  seed meal diets 
(FTSM) and included at the same levels as in the cooked diets. Fifty four rabbits 
were randomly selected for slaughtering from the nine groups with six rabbits 
(male and females) per group. Fatty acid content of the hind leg of rabbits were 
determined. All the fatty acids measured were significantly (P<0.05) influenced by 
the processing methods except decosenoic acid methyl ester and pentadecanoic 
acid methyl esters. The levels of inclusion of tallow also significantly (P<0.05) 
affected all the fatty acids composition measured. It was therefore concluded that 
irrespective of the processing methods the use of tallow in the diets of rabbits has 
no negative effect on the fatty acid composition of rabbit meat. 
 
Key words: fatty acid, hind leg, rabbits, tallow seed meal 
 
Introduction 
   
The information available on chemical composition of rabbit meat is 
extremely variable, especially regarding fat content (Pla et al., 2004). These 
compositions depend on the part of the carcass studied (Pla et al., 2004) and also 
on the different productive factors (Dalle-Zotte, 2002). The author also 
E. Z. Jiya et al. 
 
 
 
284 
corroborated that feeding factors have a strong influence on the chemical 
composition of rabbit meat, in particular, on its lipid composition. Rabbit meat is 
characterized by its lower energy value compared with red meats (Combes, 2004). 
This might be due to its low fat content. Fat content varies widely depending on the 
carcass portion from 0.6 to 14.4 % (fat from edible meat with intramuscular and 
intermuscular fat content) with an average value of 6.8 % (Hernández and 
Gondret, 2006) with the loin being the leanest part of the carcass (1.2 % of lipids). 
There is an increasing interest in the lipid composition of edible meat and fat of 
domestic animals because of its relationship with human health, particularly with 
cardiovascular illnesses (Hu and Willett, 2002). The quantity and composition of 
fatty acids found in monogastrics is directly influenced by the composition of the 
diet (Bernardini et al., 1999) The aim of this study was to determine the fatty acid 
composition of meat from the hind leg cut of rabbits (Oryctolagus cunniculus) fed 
diets containing graded levels of processed tallow (Detarium microcarpum) seed 
meal. 
  
Materials and Methods 
 
Eighty one (81) weaned rabbits of mixed breed and sexes were randomly 
allotted to nine treatment groups with nine rabbits per treatment. Each treatment 
had three replicates with three rabbits per replicate. The crude protein level was set 
at 16 %. The control diet (0 % TSM) had 100 % Palm kernel cake (PKC) as the 
main source of protein. Groups 1-4 contained cooked tallow (Detarium 
microcarpum) seed meal (CTSM) diets and included as 75 % PKC: 25 % CTSM, 
50 % PKC: 50 % CTSM), 25 % PKC: 75 % CTSM and 0 % PKC: 100 % CTSM, 
respectively. While groups 5-8 had fermented tallow (Detarium microcarpum) seed 
meal diets (FTSM) and included as 75 % PKC: 25 % FTSM, 50 % PKC: 50 % 
FTSM, 25 % PKC: 75 % FTSM and 0 % PKC: 100 % FTSM. Table 1 shows the 
composition of experimental diets. All diets were supplemented with equal 
amounts of bone meals, oyster shell, salt, vitamin-mineral premix, methionine and 
lysine. The rabbits were treated against endo parasites. In addition, medications 
were administered where was necessary. The diets were supplemented with some 
quantities of Tridax procumbens as source of forage in the evenings. The cages 
were equipped with feeders and drinkers. Prior to the start of the experiment, the 
animals were fed common diets and allowed an adjustment period of 5 days to 
enable the animals get accustomed to their cages and diets. The diets and fresh 
water were provided ad-libitum throughout the duration of the experimental period. 
The experiment lasted for 12 weeks. The design of the experiment was 2/4 factorial 
experiment and arranged as a completely randomized design (CRD). At the end of 
the growth studies, a total of 54 rabbits were randomly selected from the nine (9) 
dietary groups, with six (6) rabbits per group. The fatty acid content of the meat 
Fatty acid composition of meat from the… 
 
 
 
285 
from the hind leg of rabbits was analyzed using the method described by Schafer 
(1998). This includes the extraction of total lipids using chloroforms methanol (2:1, 
v/v). The lipids were methylated with Trimethylsolfonium hydroxide (TMSH). 
Fatty acids (FA) methlesters were thereafter separated by a gas chromatograph (HP 
5890, Hewlett Packard GmbH, Germany) equipped with a polar capillary column 
(30cm FFAP, 8.53 mm I.D.Macherey and Nagel, Duren, Germany), a flame 
ionization detector and an automatic en-column injector. Helium was used as the 
carrier gas with a flow of 5.4ml min
−1
. The data collected from this study were 
subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using statistical package (SAS, 
1998).  The variations in means were separated using the Duncan Multiple Range 
Test (Duncan, 1955). 
 
Table 1. Composition of experimental diets (%) 
Ingredients Control CTSM    FTSM    
 0 25 50 75 100 25 50 75 100 
Maize 17.69 23.48 27.13 32.20 35.18 24.76 30.31 33.95 37.75 
PKC 58.06 39.20 24.31 10.89 0.00 38.24 22.72 10.45 0.00 
TSM 0.00 13.07 24.31 32.66 40.57 12.75 22.72 31.35 38.00 
Maize offal 20.00 20.00 20.00 20.00 20.00 20.00 20.00 20.00 20.00 
Salt 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 
Vita premix 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 
Bone meal 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 
Methionine 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 
Lysine 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 
 
Determined analysis 
Dry matter 88.47 87.50 89.05 87.95 87.88 88.89 88.69 89.13 87.85 
Crude protein 16.85 16.48 16.20 16.65 16.00 16.55 16.20 16.85 16.00 
Crude fibre 15.62 16.12 16.50 15.50 15.50 15.50 16.60 16.03 16.03 
Ash 4.50 4.50 4.50 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.50 5.00 5.50 
Ether extract 9.00 11.00 11.00 10.50 9.50 10.50 9.00 9.00 9.50 
NFE 42.50 39.40 40.85 41.30 42.88 42.34 42.39 42.25 40.82 
Energy 
(Kcal/kg/ME) 
2756 2840 2864 2941 2891 2842 2846 2615 2749 
TSM = Tallow seed meal, CTSM= Cooked tallow seed meal, FTSM = Fermented tallow seed meal  
Premix supplied per 2.5kg/tonne contains: Retinol acetate (10000000 iu), Vit. D3 (2000000 iu), Vit E (15000 iu), 
Vit B (3000mg), Niacin (15000mg),  
Calcium pantothenate (800mg), Vit . B6 (3000mg), Vit. B12 (10mg) Vit. K3 (2000mg), Biotin (20gm),  
Folic acid (500mg), Choline chloride (250,000mg), Manganese (75000mg),  Iron (25000mg), Copper (5000mg), 
Zinc (70000mg), Selenium(150mg), Iodine(1300mg), Magnesium (100mg), 500g ethoxyquin and BHT (700g) 
NFE=Nitrogen free extrac 
 
 
E. Z. Jiya et al. 
 
 
 
286 
Results and Discussion 
 
The results of fatty acid content of hind legs of rabbits fed diets containing 
graded levels of processed tallow seed meal are shown in Table 2a. Content of all 
the fatty acids measured was significantly (P<0.05) influence of the processing 
methods except decosenoic acid methyl ester and pentadecanoic acid methyl esters. 
Tallow share also significantly (P<0.05) affected all the fatty acids composition 
measured.Meat from rabbits fed cooked diets had higher fatty acid content except 
for stearic acid methyl ester, arachidic acid, arachidonic acid methyl ester and 
pentadecanoic acid methyl ester. With regard to the effect of the tallow share in the 
diets of the rabbits, no particular trend was observed except in myristic acid methyl 
ester, palmitic acid methyl ester, linoleic acid methyl ester, arachidic acid methyl 
acid ester and saturated fatty acids (SFA) where a slightly decrease observed in the 
content of the fatty acids with increase processed tallow share in the diets of the 
rabbits. 
 
Table 2a.  Fatty acid content of the hind leg of rabbits fed diets containing graded levels of 
processed tallow seed meal TSM) (%) 
Metho
ds 
Lauri
c ME 
Myri
s ME 
Pal 
ME 
Pal 
acid 
Marg 
ME 
Oleic 
ME 
Stearic 
ME 
Oleic 
Acid 
Lino 
ME 
Arac
h 
Acid 
Arac 
ME 
Deco 
 ME 
Pent 
ME 
SFA MUF
A 
PUFA PUF
A/SF
A 
Cooked 5.74a 3.94a 28.39a 3.31a 1.82a 31.85a 10.78b 11.50a 1.23a 0.42b 1.39b 1.46 0.81 54.97a 45.51a 3.90a 0.06b 
Ferme
nted 
5.44b 3.62b 26.45b 2.90b 1.32b 28.98b 11.04a 11.09b 0.87b 0.54a 2.45a 1.46 0.85 51.51b 42.93b 3.03b 0.08b 
SE  0.03 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
L O S * * * * * * * * * * * NS NS * * * * 
Levels                  
0 1.68d 8.11a 32.17a 6.10a 1.78c 31.70c 11.86a 6.70e 0.00e 0.00e 1.00e 0.00d 0.00e 55.98a 43.02d 1.00e 0.02c 
25 6.57b 3.50b 27.35b 1.10e 1.86b 28.50d 10.39d 14.17a 0.53d 0.53d 1.56d 1.81bc 1.30b 51.70c 44.50c 3.86c 0.10a 
50 7.06a 3.25c 27.31c 3.87b 0.61d 28.24e 10.23e 12.44b 0.54c 0.54c 1.58c 1.82b 0.73c 52.60b 43.00e 4.43a 0.09ab 
75 6.60b 2.79d 26.51d 2.57b 1.06d 31.74b 10.77c 11.18d 0.59b 0.59b 2.36b 1.86a 1.57a 51.40d 44.80b 3.78d 0.08b 
100 6.15c 2.23e 23.73e 1.88d 2.53a 31.89a 11.32b 12.00c 0.74a 0.74a 3.10a 1.80e 0.57d 49.90e 45.80a 4.26b 0.09ab 
SE  0.05 0.00 0.00 0.04 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
L O S * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
M x L * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
abc Means with different superscripts in the same column are significantly (P<0.05) different. 
 
The interaction effect of processing methods and levels of inclusion of 
TSM on the fatty acid content of the hind leg of rabbits fed processed tallow seed 
meal diets (Table 2b) revealed that SFA were significantly (P<0.05) higher in meat 
obtained from rabbits fed control (0 % TSM) diets. MUFA was higher in the meat 
of rabbits fed 25 % FTSM diets and the least in the meat of those fed 50 % CTSM 
diets. PUFA was higher in the meat of rabbits fed 75 % FTSM diets and least in the 
meat of rabbits fed 0 % TSM diets.  SFA / PUFA ratio was least in meat obtained 
from rabbits fed control (0 % TSM) diets and highest in meat from rabbits fed 
75 % FTSM diets. 
Fatty acid composition of meat from the… 
 
 
 
287 
 
E. Z. Jiya et al. 
 
 
 
288 
Hernández and Gondret (2006) stated that rabbit meat fat comprises 
mostly saturated fatty acids (SFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), with 
percentages of 36.9 %, and 34.60 %, respectively, total fatty acids in the hind leg. 
Mono unsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) are less representing about 28.50 %. The 
most ubiquitous fatty acids are oleic (C18:1), palmitic (C16:0), and linoleic 
(C18:2) acids, showing percentages higher than 20 % of total fatty acids. 
Altogether, rabbit meat has a high ratio of PUFA to SAFs (0.85) for the meat of 
hind leg (Alasnier et al., 1996 and Ramírez et al., 2005). From the results of this 
study when the fatty acids are grouped as SFAs, MUFAs and PUFAs were better in 
rabbits fed CTSM based diets except the ratio of SFA/PUFA that was better in 
rabbits fed FTSM based diets though quite the results were lower than those 
reported by Alasnier et al. (1996) and Ramirez et al. (2005). The levels of inclusion 
and interaction effects were significant (P<0.05) in all the fatty acids determined. 
The high significant (P<0.05) difference observed in the results of SFA’s might be 
due to the fatty acid content of the test ingredient which was directly deposited in 
the meat of rabbits. The high amount of palmitic acid methyl ester, palmitic acid 
and margaric acids in the meat of rabbits fed the control diets might be due to the 
high inclusion levels of PKC in the diet. This is in accordance with the report of 
Hermandez (2008), who observed that rabbits and other non-ruminants are able to 
incorporate dietary fatty acids into adipose and muscle tissue lipids. The mono 
unsaturated fatty acids values were also higher in the meat of the rabbits in all the 
treatments compared to about 28.50 % given by Hernández and Gondret (2006)
 
making the meat a good source of nutrition for diabetic and hypertensive patients 
(Aduku and Olukosi, 2000).  PUFA was generally low in all the treatments even 
though appreciable values were recorded in the FTSM based diets. Xiccato, (1999) 
and Zsedely et al. (2008) reported that high PUFA concentration in meat can have a 
negative effect on its storage stability due to higher susceptibility to peroxidation. 
It showed that the meat of rabbits from this study could store well for a longer 
period.
 
 
Conclusion 
 
The present study showed that irrespective of the processing methods used 
in tallow meal diets preparation, they have no negative effect on the fatty acid 
composition of rabbit’s meat. 
 
Acknowledgement 
 
Authors are grateful to the authorities of Federal University of Technology 
for the funding of the research.it congress. June 10-13 2008. Verona- Italy 1473-
1478 
Fatty acid composition of meat from the… 
 
 
 
289 
 
Sastav masnih kiselina mesa dela trupa (zadnje noge) kunića 
(Oryctolagus cunniculus) hranjenih sačmom prerađenog 
semena Detarium microcarpum 
 
E. Z. Jiya, A. T. Ijaiya, B. A. Ayanwale, A. O. Olorunsanya 
 
Rezime 
 
Osamdeset jedan (81) odbijeni kunić mešovitih rasa i polova (muškog i 
ženskog) su nasumično podeljeni u devet tretiranih grupa sa devet zečeva po 
tretmanu. Svaki tretman je imao tri ponovljanja sa tri kunića po ponavljanju. 
Prerađeno seme je uključeno u ishranu kao izvor proteina koji je postavljen na 16% 
CP. Kontrolni obrok je sadržavao 100% pogače palminog zrna (PKC) i 0% sačme 
Detarium microcarpum  (TSM). Obroci 1 - 4 sadržavali su sačmu kuvanog semena 
Detarium microcarpum  (CTSM) koja je bila uključena u sledećim nivoima: 75% 
PKC: 25% CTSM, 50% PKC: 50% CTSM, 25% PKC: 75% CTSM i 0% PKC: 
100% CTSM, dok su grupe 5 - 8 hranjene obrocima koji su sadržavali sačmu 
fermentisanog  semena (FTSM) i uključena na istom nivou kao i kod kuvanih 
obroka. Pedeset četiri kunića su nasumice odabrani za klanje iz devet grupa sa šest 
kunića (mužjaka i ženki) po grupi. Određivan je sadržaj masnih kiselina mesa 
zadnjih nogu kunića. Sve izmerene masne kiseline su značajno (P <0.05) bile pod 
uticajem načina obrade semena osim metil estra dokozenoinske i metil estra 
pentadekanske kiseline. Nivoi uključivanja semena je takođe značajno (P <0.05) 
uticalo na sve masne kiseline. Stoga je zaključeno da, bez obzira na metode obrade, 
upotreba Detarium microcarpum  u ishrani zečeva nema negativan efekat na sastav 
masnih kiselina zečeva mesa. 
 
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Received 23 February 2015; accepted for publication 2 April 2015     
 
  
 


Fatty acid composition of meat from the hind leg cut of rabbits (Oryctolagus cunniculus): Fed diets containing graded levels of processed tallow (Detarium microcarpum) seed meal

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Fatty acid composition of meat from the hind leg cut of rabbits (Oryctolagus cunniculus): Fed diets containing graded levels of processed tallow (Detarium microcarpum) seed meal

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