Abstract
The use of agroindustry by-products in animal diets allows the use of residues that are not fit for human consumption. In this study, it was investigated whether fattening commercial rabbits during 30 days with a non-medicated feed, with 20% addition of grape pomace (GPD), affected production traits and the fatty acid composition, antioxidants properties, and the shelf life of the meat compared to a conventional strategy (CON). Furthermore, it was tested, by chromatographic analysis, whether this alternative diet allowed the transfer of phenolic compounds to the meat. Thirty-six weaned rabbits were allotted to the two treatments. In each treatment, 18 rabbits were fattened in three indoor cages, each housing three males and three female rabbits. No significant differences were found in live weights (p > 0.05), but the feed conversion rate and carcass weight and yield were found to be impaired in the GPD group (p ≤ 0.05). The GPD group had a higher intramuscular fat percentage (2.01 vs. 1.54), improved polyunsaturated/saturated fatty acids ratio (0.75 vs. 0.66), and better atherogenicity (0.71 vs. 0.83) and thrombogenicity (1.14 vs. 1.24) indexes, while the n-6/n-3 ratio was higher (25.4 vs. 20.3). Total volatile basic nitrogen in meat was lower in the GPD group (p = 0.01), suggesting a delayed spoilage. However, no improvements in total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity, reducing power, and lipid oxidation (p > 0.05) were found in the meat. Even though the GPD pellets offered to the animals had several grape-derived phenolic compounds, and higher antioxidant properties compared to the CON diet, none of the phenolic compounds detected in feeds were detected in the meat samples.
Highlights
Rabbit meat is traditionally part of a healthy Mediterranean diet and its nutritional characteristics, such as a low fat and cholesterol content and a favourable fatty acid profile, etc., [1], are widely recognised
The high percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), including long chain n-3 fatty acids, means that this meat is valued in terms of human health, but at the same time this results in a greater proneness to lipid oxidation, reducing its shelf life [2,3]
No significant differences between the two diets were found for periodically assessed live weight (p > 0.05), but the feed conversion rate was higher and carcass weight and yield were lower for the grape pomace diet compared to the control diet (p ≤ 0.05)
Summary
Rabbit meat is traditionally part of a healthy Mediterranean diet and its nutritional characteristics, such as a low fat and cholesterol content and a favourable fatty acid profile, etc., [1], are widely recognised. Previous studies have shown that animal feeds can affect fatty acid composition, shelf life, and the amount of bioactive compounds in meat, and that by including certain ingredients, the potential of rabbit meat as a “functional food” can be capitalised [1]. In this respect, incorporating in animal diets by-products of industrial fruit and vegetable processes [4,5,6] is a well-accepted strategy due to its perceived naturalness and to the environmental benefits it affords by reducing waste.
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