Abstract
The objective in this study was to determine growth, carcass characteristics, chemical composition and fatty acid profile of the longissimus dorsi of crossbred Boer × Saanen kids fed castor oil. Twenty-four kids (12 males and 12 females) were assigned in a randomized complete block design with two treatments and twelve replications. Blocks were defined according to weight, gender and initial age of animals for the evaluation of performance. The experimental treatments consisted of two diets containing 900 g concentrate/kg: a control diet (without addition of oil) and another containing castor oil at 30 g/kg (on a dry matter basis). After they reached an average body weight of 25 kg, males were slaughtered for the evaluation of carcass characteristics, chemical composition and fatty acid profile of the longissimus dorsi muscle. The addition of castor oil in the diet did not affect the intake of dry matter, crude protein and neutral detergent fiber; the average daily gain; and feed conversion, but increased the ether extract intake. No difference was observed for the carcass characteristics, chemical composition of the meat, concentration of C18:2 cis-9, trans-11 (CLA) and total concentration of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids and their relations; however, there was increase in the concentrations of C18:2 trans-10, cis-12 (CLA) and C20:4 ω-6. The addition of castor oil to the diet of crossbred Boer × Saanen kids containing a high content of concentrate did not promote benefit to the characteristics evaluated.
Highlights
Goat meat consumption in Brazil, in spite of still being low, has been on the rise, mainly in large cities (Sousa, 2007)
After they reached an average body weight of 25 kg, males were slaughtered for the evaluation of carcass characteristics, chemical composition and fatty acid profile of the longissimus dorsi muscle
The addition of castor oil in the diet did not affect the intake of dry matter, crude protein and neutral detergent fiber; the average daily gain; and feed conversion, but increased the ether extract intake
Summary
Goat meat consumption in Brazil, in spite of still being low, has been on the rise, mainly in large cities (Sousa, 2007). In addition to the easy adaptation to adverse climates, it is able to be successfully cultivated in several regions in the country (Oliveira et al, 2010). For these reasons, castor is considered an important oilseed for biodiesel production in Brazil. Due to the lack of results of lipid supplementation in goat diets and the need for research to investigate the use of castor oil in ruminant diets, this study evaluated weight gain, carcass characteristics, chemical composition and fatty acid profile in the longissimus dorsi muscle of crossbred Boer × Saanen goats fed diets with castor oil
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