Meat quality assessment of confined lamb getting essential oils and vitamin E in diets with high concentrate diets

• Grant number: 16/04132-7
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): May 01, 2016
• Effective date (End): April 30, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine
• Principal researcher: Angélica Simone Cravo Pereira
• Grantee: Laís Alonso de Souza
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Creating for sheep meat production in Brazil is growing and with it for search by improvements in production systems, handling and feeding, providing the best performances of the animals, and consequently produce carcasses and meat quality. The use of additives such as essential oils in the diet contributes to improvements in weight gain and carcass yield, and, the use of vitamin E as an antioxidant in meat, meat products provide the best quality while maintaining desirable organoleptic properties, and increase the shelf life. Thus, this project aims to evaluate the efficient use of essential oils as an alternative to feeding lambs containment system as well as the use of vitamin E as an antioxidant in meat, improvements in performance and carcass quality and meat. Will be used 30 lambs (males and females) with a mean age of three months and 20 kg at the beginning of experiment randomly divided into three treatments and ten repetitions. Treatments 1) control diet without the addition of essential oils and/or Vitamin E, 2) Diet with the inclusion of essential oils (Essential®) (500 mg/kg DM) and 3) inclusion diet essential oils (Essential®) (500 mg/kg DM) and vitamin E (500 IU Vitamin E1 kg diet-DM). The animals will be slaughtered after etching weights near 35 and 40 kg, females and males respectively. During slaughter, we will evaluate pH (pH 01h) and hot carcass weight, in Longissimus Dorsi muscle samples (LD)and frozen (-18°C). After 24 hours we will measure pH values (pH 24) and carcass weight. In LD muscle samples will be analyzed the TBARS (30 and 150 days storage), fatty acid profile, and total cholesterol. The design will be completely randomized with three treatments and ten repetitions and statistical analyzes with SAS software(SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC).