Qualitative profile of meat from lambs fed diets with different levels of chitosan. Part II

Abstract

Chitosan has the potential to modulate the rumen fermentation. This study aimed to evaluate the physicochemical composition, centesimal composition, and fatty acid profile of meat from feedlot lambs fed diets containing increasing levels of chitosan. Sixty crossbred Santa Inês × Dorper lambs with an average body weight (BW) of 23.6 ± 2.2 kg were distributed into three treatments (0, 136, and 272 mg/kg of BW), in a completely randomized design. The use of chitosan in the diets did not influence (P > 0.05) feed intake, body weight gain, feed conversion, loin-eye area, subcutaneous fat thickness, cooking loss, shear force, or the meat color. However, chitosan affect linearly the meat pH0 h (P = 0.022). Furthermore, the addition of chitosan of 136 mg/kg BW in the diet leads to higher contents of fatty acids C18:1 c11 (P = 0.012), C18:1 c12 (P = 0.015), C18:1 c13 (P = 0.008), and C18:1 t11 (vaccenic acid) (P = 0.034), resulting in high levels of unsaturated fatty acids in the Longissimus lumborum muscle, indicating improvement in the quality of meat from feedlot lambs related to human health.