The present experiment studied the effect of dietary supplementations with oregano, rosemary and oregano+rosemary on rabbit growth performance and meat quality. Five groups of forty New Zealand White (NZW) weaned rabbits were submitted to the following dietary treatments: Standard diet (S); Standard diet +150 ppm vitamin E (E); Standard diet + 0.2% oregano extract (O); Standard diet + 0.2% rosemary extract (R); Standard diet + 0.1% oregano extract + 0.1% rosemary extract (OR). Each diet contained integrations of: 50 ppm vitamin E, CLA 0.5% (from soy oil), 3% Omega Lin® (Mignini & Petrini) and 0.5% mixed vi-tamins. Rabbits were slaughtered at 80 d of age and slaughter yield and carcass traits were determined. On Longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle, the ultimate pH was measured, the cooking loss and the Water Holding Ca-pacity (WHC) were estimated, the L*, a* and b* color parameters and the antioxidant status (TBARs) were measured. The body weight, which was recorded at 80 days of age, was higher in O and OR groups (2344 g and 2368 g, P<0.05) compared to the other dietary treatments; O group recorded the best DWG (24.26 g/d, P<0.05), FCR (2.59, P<0.05) and carcass weight (1425 g, P<0.05). The best carcass yield was recorded for dietary groups integrated with aromatic essences. The S group showed the highest value for cooking loss (P<0.05), thus highlighting the importance of a dietary integration with antioxidants to preserve the integri-ty of the muscle membranes. Analyzing the color parameters, only the red index “a*” reached the statistical significance. Specifically, it showed the lowest values for O and OR groups, as it is desirable for rabbit meat. Concerning the oxidative stability of the meat, groups E and O showed lower MDA contants compared to the other dietary treatments (P<0.05). In conclusion, a dietary supplementation with natural extracts showed positive effects on rabbits’ performances and some meat quality parameters.
Dietary supplementation of different plant extracts containing phenolic compounds in rabbits: performance and meat quality
Alessandro Dal Bosco;Antonella Dalle Zotte;Marco Cullere;
2014
Abstract
The present experiment studied the effect of dietary supplementations with oregano, rosemary and oregano+rosemary on rabbit growth performance and meat quality. Five groups of forty New Zealand White (NZW) weaned rabbits were submitted to the following dietary treatments: Standard diet (S); Standard diet +150 ppm vitamin E (E); Standard diet + 0.2% oregano extract (O); Standard diet + 0.2% rosemary extract (R); Standard diet + 0.1% oregano extract + 0.1% rosemary extract (OR). Each diet contained integrations of: 50 ppm vitamin E, CLA 0.5% (from soy oil), 3% Omega Lin® (Mignini & Petrini) and 0.5% mixed vi-tamins. Rabbits were slaughtered at 80 d of age and slaughter yield and carcass traits were determined. On Longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle, the ultimate pH was measured, the cooking loss and the Water Holding Ca-pacity (WHC) were estimated, the L*, a* and b* color parameters and the antioxidant status (TBARs) were measured. The body weight, which was recorded at 80 days of age, was higher in O and OR groups (2344 g and 2368 g, P<0.05) compared to the other dietary treatments; O group recorded the best DWG (24.26 g/d, P<0.05), FCR (2.59, P<0.05) and carcass weight (1425 g, P<0.05). The best carcass yield was recorded for dietary groups integrated with aromatic essences. The S group showed the highest value for cooking loss (P<0.05), thus highlighting the importance of a dietary integration with antioxidants to preserve the integri-ty of the muscle membranes. Analyzing the color parameters, only the red index “a*” reached the statistical significance. Specifically, it showed the lowest values for O and OR groups, as it is desirable for rabbit meat. Concerning the oxidative stability of the meat, groups E and O showed lower MDA contants compared to the other dietary treatments (P<0.05). In conclusion, a dietary supplementation with natural extracts showed positive effects on rabbits’ performances and some meat quality parameters.Pubblicazioni consigliate
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