Fecha de publicación: 16/01/2025 Fuente: Foods - Revista científica (MDPI) Foods, Vol. 14, Pages 274: Effects of Diets Containing Extruded Linseed and Padina pavonica Algae on Meat Rabbit: Carcass Performance and Meat Quality
Foods doi: 10.3390/foods14020274
Authors:
Nour Elhouda Fehri
Michela Contò
Marta Castrica
Alda Quattrone
Gianluca Renzi
Sabrina Di Giovanni
Stella Agradi
Daniele Vigo
Gabriele Brecchia
Laura Menchetti
Claudia Maria Balzaretti
Doriana Beqiraj
Egon Andoni
Giulio Curone
Sebastiana Failla

This study investigated the effects of dietary supplementation with extruded linseed (ELS) and Padina pavonica algae extract (PP) on rabbit carcass and meat quality. Ninety-six rabbit carcasses from two production cycles were analyzed. In the first cycle (C1), rabbits were fed a control diet (1CNT), the same diet supplemented with 5% ELS (1ELS5%), and supplemented with 3.5% ELS and 0.2% PP (1LPP3.5%). In the second cycle (C2), the diets varied in composition and supplementation levels: a different control diet (2CNT), the same diet with 5% ELS (2ELS5%), and with 5% ELS and 0.2% PP (2LPP5%). Meat analyses were performed on Longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LTL) muscle for physical properties and on thigh meat (THM) for proximate composition, vitamin E, coenzyme-Q10, cholesterol, fatty acid profile, and mineral content. No significant differences in LTL physical quality were observed in C1, although LTL was brighter in C2 (p < 0.001). THM in C2 had higher fat content (p < 0.001). Dietary supplementation with ELS and PP extract significantly increased polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) and improved the n-6/n-3 ratio (p < 0.001) in rabbit meat, demonstrating their positive impact on meat quality.