title: Composition of meat and offal from weaned and fattened rabbits and results of stereospecific analysis of triacylglycerols and phosphatidylcholines.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Rabbit meat has excellent nutritive properties. The purpose of this study was to characterize rabbit meat and offal; in particular, the lipid fraction was studied in order to evaluate total and positional fatty acid (FA) compositions of triacylglycerol (TAG) and phosphatidylcholine (PC) fractions. Eight samples of weaned and eight of fattened rabbits were considered.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fattened rabbit meat contained slightly higher protein percentage content (P < 0.05) in comparison to weaned (20.1% versus 18.0%). Calcium content was higher in meat than in offal, unlike sodium, iron, zinc, manganese and copper. The cholesterol content in offal was much higher than in meat. FA profiles of total lipid showed a high percentage of unsaturated fatty acids and an n-6/n-3 ratio of 10.3 for fattened rabbit meat. Stereospecific analysis of TAG and PC was carried out on an eight-sample pool of each meat and offal from weaned and fattened rabbits. In all samples the sn-2-position was prevalently esterified with oleic and linoleic acids in TAG, with polyunsaturated fatty acids in PC.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Lipids from rabbit meat presented higher content of monounsaturated FA and lower n-6/n-3 ratio in comparison to offal, which was characterized by higher cholesterol and mineral levels.
authors: Dipartimento di Scienze Economico-Estimative e degli Alimenti, Sezione di Chimica Bromatologica, Biochimica, Fisiologia e Nutrizione, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
authors: Gilda
authors: G
authors: D'Arco
authors: Francesca
authors: F
authors: Blasi
authors: Lina
authors: L
authors: Cossignani
authors: Franco
authors: F
authors: Di Giacomo
authors: Domenico
authors: D
authors: Ciavardelli
authors: Francesca
authors: F
authors: Ventura
authors: Silvia
authors: S
authors: Scipioni
authors: Maria Stella
authors: MS
authors: Simonetti
authors: Pietro
authors: P
authors: Damiani
mesh_terms: D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000379:methods*; D000818:Animals; D002136:Calcium, Dietary / Q000032:analysis; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000032:analysis; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis*; D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated / Q000032:analysis; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000032:analysis; D043371:Fatty Acids, Omega-6 / Q000032:analysis; D007220:Industrial Waste / Q000032:analysis* / Q000191:economics; D007558:Italy; D008460:Meat / Q000032:analysis*; D008461:Meat Products / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis; D008462:Meat-Packing Industry / Q000191:economics; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D011817:Rabbits; D013237:Stereoisomerism; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D014886:Weaning
chemical_list: D002136:Calcium, Dietary; D004044:Dietary Proteins; D005227:Fatty Acids; D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D043371:Fatty Acids, Omega-6; D007220:Industrial Waste; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol