Comparison of a grain-based diet supplemented with synthetic vitamin E versus a lucerne (alfalfa) hay-based diet fed to lambs in terms of carcass traits, muscle vitamin E, fatty acid content, lipid oxidation, and retail colour of meat

• Published in: Meat science Vol. 148; pp. 105 - 112
• Main Authors: Baldi, G., Chauhan, S.S., Linden, N., Dunshea, F.R., Hopkins, D.L., Sgoifo Rossi, C.A., Dell'Orto, V., Ponnampalam, E.N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.02.2019
• Subjects: Animal Feed - analysis; Animals; Bioavailability of antioxidants; Color; Diet - veterinary; Edible Grain; Fatty acid levels; Fatty Acids - analysis; Female; Forage; Male; Meat quality; Medicago sativa; Muscle, Skeletal - chemistry; Oxidation-Reduction; Red Meat - analysis; Sheep; Sheep, Domestic - physiology; Vitamin E; Bioavailability of antioxidants; Sheep; Forage; Fatty acid levels; Meat quality
• ISSN: 0309-1740; 1873-4138
• DOI: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2018.10.013

Dietary supplementation of vitamin E (VitE) in a synthetic or natural form was examined. Forty-eight lambs were assigned (n = 16) to either a grain-based diet at moderate (MOD, 42 mg∙kg−1 VitE as all-rac α-tocopheryl acetate) or supranutritional (SUP, 285 mg∙kg−1 of vitE) levels of synthetic VitE or a lucerne hay-based diet (LUC; 37 mg∙kg−1 VitE) for 8 weeks. Meat from the LUC group had lower muscle n-6 and PUFA levels compared to meat from the MOD and SUP groups. Despite a similar VitE intake, muscle VitE was higher for LUC compared to MOD, while SUP lambs showed the highest VitE. Lipid oxidation did not differ between groups. For fresh meat, redness tended to be higher in LUC fed lambs than the other two groups, but brownness formation was only lower than the SUP group. For aged meat colour stability, redness tended to be higher in lambs fed SUP and LUC, whereas highest browning occurred in the MOD group.