Abstract
Simple SummaryConsumers are increasingly aware of the nutritional quality of lamb products, especially in developed countries. Healthier lipid profiles might increase lamb meat consumption by concerned consumers. Pasture diets provide a viable option to enrich milk and meat products with fatty acids beneficial for human health. However, in Mediterranean areas, pasture is not available throughout the year, which means that weaned lambs are fed on concentrates. This investigation aimed to implement feeding strategies in suckling lamb to enhance healthier fatty acids in milk of dams and consequently in lamb’s meat by applying extruded linseed in a total mixed ration or using pasture. The proposed feeding plans were suitable to increase the n-3 fatty acids (FA) profile in milk and thus the lamb’s meat sourced from fresh pasture and linseed-enriched diets. Indoor rearing could include feeding lambs with linseed to help maintain a high level of beneficial fatty acids in lamb meat better than an un-supplemented diet or when pasture is not available.Consumers increasingly pay more attention to the lipid profile of meat products and consume less meat to reduce cholesterol and heart disease. In Italy, sheep producers are increasingly feeding sheep fresh forage. We investigated whether the supplementation of dam diet with extruded linseed would be an alternative strategy to pasture for improving the intramuscular and subcutaneous FA compositions of their suckling lambs. The ewe diets were enriched with either extruded linseed (L), un-supplemented farm diet (F), or pasture (P). Milk saturated fatty acids (SFA) decreased in P and L compared with F, while the opposite pattern was observed for polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) and conjugated linoleic acids after seven days. The FA composition of lamb meat was similar to that of their dam’s milk, showing higher PUFA in P and L compared to F, while SFA was higher in F. Regarding the lamb meat obtained from barn-held ewes, L had lower n-6/n-3 content compared to F, while an intermediate content was found in P. These results indicate a better n-3 FA profile in milk and lamb’s meat from pasture and linseed-enriched diets. No changes in lamb performance were observed.
Highlights
In recent years, consumers have stimulated research for producing quality products guaranteed by rigorous certified production, certificates, and methods that respect the environment
Dairy ewes were grazing pasture in the vegetative stage and rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (FA) (PUFA), and this probably enhanced the PUFA in their milk [37]; this study demonstrated that, in 28 days, linseed supplementation was more efficient in producing milk enriched with PUFA n-3 compared with the pasture diet
The results obtained in this study indicate that the FA composition of suckling lambs of the protected geographical origin Abbacchio Romano was influenced by the composition of maternal milk for 28 days of rearing
Summary
Consumers have stimulated research for producing quality products guaranteed by rigorous certified production, certificates, and methods that respect the environment. To protect its gastronomic and cultural heritage in a global market, the European Union has established two protection systems known as protected designation of origin (PDO) and protected geographical indication (PGI). These systems were first regulated by the EC Regulation no. In Italy, there are two lamb products registered under PGI: Sarda Suckling. The Roman Lamb represents 11–15% of the national meat market; they are slaughtered very young at about 10–12 kg after a suckling period of 20–30 days in order to minimize the milk loss for cheese production and because Italian consumers prefer this kind of product.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
