Abstract
Article Details: Received: 2020-10-20 | Accepted: 2020-11-27 | Available online: 2021-01-31 https://doi.org/10.15414/afz.2021.24.mi-prap.25-28 Twenty Tsigai and Suffolk crossbreed lambs in grazing conditions were used to investigate the effect of weaning status (weaned vs. unweaned) and sex on fatty acid composition of meat. Six males and four females were included in both groups, the weaned lambs group (WL) and the unweaned lambs group (UL). The fatty acid profile of Musculus longissimus lumborum et thoracis intramuscular fat (IMF) were determined by gas chromatography and analysed by analysis of variance. WL displayed higher proportion of t 11-C18:1 (P < 0.001), n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) C18:2 (P < 0.01) and C20:4 (P < 0.05), n-3 PUFA C18:3 (P < 0.05), C20:5 (P < 0.01), C22:5 (P < 0.05), C22:6 (P < 0.05) and the total PUFA (P < 0.01) in IMF than UL. On the contrary, IMF of UL had higher proportion of the medium-chain saturated fatty acids (SFA) such as C12:0 (P < 0.01), C14:0 (P < 0.01) and C16:0 (P < 0.01), the total SFA (P < 0.05) and the total monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) (P < 0.05). The weaning status had no significant effect on n-6/n-3 ratio, however the ratio was satisfactory low in both groups. The sex had no effect on a profile of essential and health beneficial fatty acids in meat of lamb. In conclusion, meat of weaned lambs in grazing system might be considered to obtain a higher proportion of healthy n-3 fatty acids compared to unweaned lambs. Keywords: fatty acids, intramuscular fat, lamb meat, weaned lambs, unweaned lambs References Belanche, A. et al. (2019). Amulti-kingdom study reveals the plasticity of the rumen microbiota in response to a shift from non-grazing to grazing diets in sheep. Frontiers in Microbiology , 10, 1-17. Doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2019.00122 Caneque, V. et al. (2001). Effect of weaning age and slaughter weight on carcass and meat quality of Talaverana breed lambs raised at pasture. Animal Science , 73, 85-95. Cividini, A. et al. (2014). Fatty acid composition of lamb meat from the autochthonous Jezersko-Solcava breed reared in different production systems. Meat Science , 97(4), 480-485. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meatsci.2013.12.012 Cividini, A. et al. (2008). Fatty acid composition of lamb meat as affected by production system, weaning and sex. Acta Agriculturae Slovenica , Suplement 2, 47-52. De Brito, G. F. et al. (2017). TheEfect of Extensive Feeding Systems on Growth Rate, Carcass Traits, and Meat Quality of Finishing Lambs. Comprehensive Reviews. Food Science and Food Safety . 16(1), 23-38. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/1541-4337.12230 Enser, M. et al. (1998). Fatty acid content and composition of UK beef and lamb muscle in relation to production systemand implications for human nutrition. Meat Science ., 49, 329–341. French, P. et al. (2000). Fatty acid composition, including conjugated linoleic acid, of intramuscular fat from steers offered grazed grass, grass silage, or concentrate-based diets. Journal of Animal Science , 78, 2849-2855. Howes, N. L. (2015). Opportunities and Implications of Pasture-Based Lamb Fattening to Enhance the Long-Chain Fatty Acid Composition in Meat. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety , 14(1), 22-36. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/1541-4337.12118 Jacques, J. et al. (2016). Meat quality, organoleptic characteristics, and fatty acid composition of Dorset lambs fed different forage to concentrate ratios or fresh grass. Canadian Journal of Animal Science , 97, 290-301.Doi: https://doi.org/10.1139/cjas-2016-0104 Kosulwat, S. et al. (2003). Lipid composition of Australian retail lamb cuts with differing carcass classification characteristics. Meat Science , 65, 1413-1420. Margetin, M. et al. (2018). Fatty acids in intramuscular fat of Ile de France lambs in two different production Systems. Archives Animal Breeding , 61 (4), 395-403. Doi: https://doi.org/10.5194/aab-61-395-2018 Velasco, S et al. (2004). Effect of different feeds on meat quality and fatty acid composition of lambs fattened at pasture. Meat Science , 66(2), 457-465. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0309-1740(03)00134-7 Velasco, S. et al. (2001) Fatty acid composition of adipose depots of suckling lambs raised under different production systems. Meat Science , 59(3), 325-333. Velasco, S. et al. (2000). Carcass and meat quality of Talaverana breed sucking lambs in relation to gender and slaughter weight . Animal Science , 70, 253-263. Woods, V. B., &Fearon, A. M. (2009). Dietary sources of unsaturated fatty acids for animals and their transfer into meat, milk and eggs: A review. Livestock Science , 126, 1-20.
Highlights
The lamb meat production in Slovakia is characteristic by major production of the light lambs
Vaccenic acid is a precursor of c9,t11-C18:2 (Conjugated linoleic acid, CLA) and in lamb meat could play an important role for the endogenous synthesis of CLA
On the contrary proportions of the total polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) were predominated in weaned lamb meat (22.2 vs. 13.6 g/100 g fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), P
Summary
The lamb meat production in Slovakia is characteristic by major production of the light lambs. This is caused by predominance of local dual purpose sheep breeds used for milking, as Improved Valachian and Tsigai and their crossbreeds. Production of heavy carcass lambs are increasing in recent years due to growing interest of using crossbreeds for grazing in pastures, which are not suitable for dairy sheep. One of the important meat quality parameters is the fatty acid profile (Woods – Fearon, 2009). Meat obtained from pasture raised lambs contains a higher amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), than lambs fed by high concentrate diet (Enser at al., 1998; Jacques et al, 2016)
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