title: Carcass characteristics and meat quality of lambs that are fed diets with palm kernel cake.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim was to evaluate carcass characteristics, cut yield, and meat quality in lambs that were fed different inclusion levels of palm kernel cake.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-five woolless castrated male Santa Inês crossbred sheep with an initial average body weight of 23.16±0.35 kg were used. The experimental design was a completely randomized design with five treatments, with palm kernel cake in the proportions of 0.0%, 7.5%, 15.0%, 22.5%, and 30.0% with nine replications per treatment. After slaughter, the gastrointestinal tract was weighed when it was full, after which it was then emptied. The heart, liver, kidney, pancreas perirenal fat were also collected and weighed. The carcass was split into two identical longitudinal halves and weighed to determine the quantitative and qualitative characteristics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The empty body weight, carcass weight and yield, and fat thickness decreased linearly (p<0.05) as a function of palm kernel inclusion in the diet. There was no difference (p>0.05) for the rib eye area of animals that were fed palm kernel cake. There was a reduction in the commercial cut weight (p<0.05), except for the neck weight. The weights of the heart, liver, kidney fat, small, and large intestine, and gastrointestinal tract decreased. Nevertheless, the gastrointestinal content was greater for animals that were fed increasing levels of cake. For the other organs and viscera, differences were not verified (p>0.05). The sarcomere length decreased linearly (p<0.05), although an effect of the inclusion of palm kernel cake was not observed in other meat quality variables. It is worth noting that the red staining intensity, indicated as A, had a tendency to decrease (p = 0.050).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The inclusion of palm kernel cake up to 30% in the diet does not lead to changes in meat quality characteristics, except for sarcomere length. Nevertheless, carcass quantitative characteristics decrease with the use of palm kernel cake.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Federal Rural University of Amazon, Parauapebas, PA 68515-000, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rozilda
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: da Conceição Dos Santos
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Federal Rural University of Amazon, Parauapebas, PA 68515-000, Brazil.
authors.forename: Daiany Iris
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Federal Rural University of Amazon, Parauapebas, PA 68515-000, Brazil.
authors.forename: Kaliandra Souza
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Alves
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Federal Rural University of Amazon, Parauapebas, PA 68515-000, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mezzomo
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Federal Rural University of Amazon, Parauapebas, PA 68515-000, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luis Rennan Sampaio
authors.initials: LRS
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Federal Rural University of Amazon, Parauapebas, PA 68515-000, Brazil.
authors.forename: Darley Oliveira
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Cutrim
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Federal Rural University of Amazon, Parauapebas, PA 68515-000, Brazil.
authors.forename: Samara Bianca Moraes
authors.initials: SBM
authors.lastname: Sacramento
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Federal Rural University of Amazon, Parauapebas, PA 68515-000, Brazil.
authors.forename: Elizanne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: de Moura Lima
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Recife, 52171-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Francisco Fernando Ramos
authors.initials: FFR
authors.lastname: de Carvalho
keywords: Lamb; Meat; Ovine; Palm Kernel Cake