Dietary supplementation of inulin or flavomycin and type of cut of rabbit meat: changes on fatty acid profile and sensorial characteristics

Abstract

The demand for meat from animals raised with the minimum use of antibiotics is growing. Also, the use of prebiotics, antibiotics, type of cut of meat to modify the fatty acid profile and the effects on consumer preferences are still not clear. The present study investigated the fatty acid profile, the health, and risk fatty acid indices and the consumer sensory evaluation of rabbit’s meat fed inulin and flavomycin as additives. Forty-eight (48) New Zealand rabbits were randomly arranged into 4 treatments of 12 animals each. The control group did not receive antibiotic or inulin supplementation. The second group was supplemented with inulin (2.5 g of inulin/kg of feed) while the third group received flavomycin as supplement (0.1 g of flavomycin/kg of feed). The fourth group received both inulin and flavomycin. Inulin addition in rabbit’s diet increases beneficial fatty acids (CLA, P=0.0001; and n3-PUFA, P=0.0001) and enables a better health-promoting index (P=0.0004) while reducing the atherogenic (P=0.001) and thrombogenic indices (P=0.042) of meat. The type of cut of meat (loin, fore legs and hind legs) had a minor impact on changing the fatty acid profile. In contrast, inulin or flavomycin addition showed larger modifications than type of cut of meat on this respect. Flavomycin reduced hedonic properties of meat (taste, P=0.0001; color, P=0.01; and aroma, P=0.0001). Loin tended to be the most preferred cut of meat (P=0.01). Inulin is a good alternative to avoid the utilization of antibiotics in rabbit’s feeding.

Keywords

• fatty acids
• growth promoter
• prebiotic
• cla
• aroma
• meat rabbit