title: The restriction of grazing duration does not compromise lamb meat colour and oxidative stability.
abstract: Over 72 days, 33 lambs were fed: concentrates in stall (S), grass at pasture for 8 hours (8 h), or grass at pasture for 4 hours in the afternoon (4h-PM). The 4h-PM treatment did not affect the carcass yield compared to the 8h treatment. Meat colour development after blooming was unaffected by the treatments. The 4 h-PM treatment increased the proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA; P<0.0005) and of the highly peroxidizable fatty acids (HP-PUFA; P<0.001) in meat compared to the 8h treatment. The S treatment increased lipid oxidation (higher TBARS values) and impaired colour stability (higher H* values) of meat over storage compared to the 8h and 4 h-PM treatments (P<0.0005 and P=0.003, respectively). No difference in meat oxidative stability was found between the 8h and the 4h-PM treatments. In conclusion, growing lambs can tolerate a restriction of grazing duration without detrimental effects on performances and meat oxidative stability.
authors.affiliation: DISPA, Sezione di Scienze delle Produzioni Animali, University of Catania, Via Valdisavoia 5, 95123, Catania, Italy. giuseppe.luciano@unict.it
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Luciano
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Biondi
authors.forename: R I
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: Pagano
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scerra
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vasta
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: López-Andrés
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Valenti
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lanza
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Priolo
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Avondo
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed; D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000379:methods*; D000818:Animals; D003116:Color; D004032:Diet; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000378:metabolism*; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000378:metabolism*; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation; D008460:Meat / Q000032:analysis*; D006109:Poaceae; D012756:Sheep; D013858:Thiobarbiturates / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D013858:Thiobarbiturates; C029684:thiobarbituric acid