Abstract
The present study evaluated the effect of breed, Jaca Navarra (JN) vs. Burguete (BU), and finishing diet, conventional concentrate—diet 1 (D1) vs. silage and organic feed—diet 2 (D2), on the fatty acid composition and volatile profile of longissimus thoracis et lumborum muscle from forty-six foals. For this, foals were reared under a semi-extensive system and slaughtered at about 21 months of age. The outcomes showed that breed and finishing regime had a significant (p < 0.05) effect on the lipid and volatile profile of foal meat. In particular, JN foals reported higher polyunsaturated fatty acid contents and better nutritional indices in line with the health guidelines; whereas, BU and D1 groups generated higher amounts of total volatile compounds. However, it was the diet to occupy a central role in this study. Indeed, diet 2, due to its “ingredients” and composition, not only ameliorated the lipid profile of foal meat, but also reduced the generation of volatile compounds associated with lipid oxidation and minimized off-flavors. Thus, this diet could give an added value to the aromatic perception of meat and improve its sensorial acceptability.
Highlights
The consumption of horse meat, still unpopular in many countries due to cultural and/or religious reasons [1], is slowly increasing
The foal meat fatty acids are predominated by monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), followed by saturated fatty acids (SFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) for all groups concerned (MUFA < SFA < PUFA)
Other studies showed SFAs as predominant in horse meat finished with concentrate [7,9,13,18,20,30,31,45], or PUFAs in animals managed under extensive livestock systems [9,14,34]
Summary
The consumption of horse meat, still unpopular in many countries due to cultural and/or religious reasons [1], is slowly increasing. Foods with a healthy nutritional profile and which are environmentallyfriendly are preferred by modern consumers [3] In this sense, equines could be considered a “sustainable” source of high-quality meat [4,5,6,7]. Its fatty acid profile is usually described as “healthy” due to its high levels of essential and other PUFAs, such as α-linolenic (C18:3n-3) and other long-chain fatty acids, that have been reported to have beneficial properties for preventing chronic diseases [2,10,11]. Horse meat production is arousing interest due to its important role at social, economic and environmental levels: preservation the ecosystem of pasturages, protection the area against fire and erosion, maintenance of the population in rural areas, reduction of methane and other greenhouse gases, supply of food with enhanced n-3 fatty acid content, and the preservation and recovery of local breeds [2,5,8,14,15]
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