Meat quality characteristics of the Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius) at different ages and post-mortem ageing periods.

OBJECTIVE: Meat quality characteristics and sensory attributes were evaluated in three age groups (12, 18, and 24 mo) of one-humped camels of the Saudi Arabian Najdi breed. METHODS: Thirty-six male camels (12 for each age group) were used. The Longissimus dorsi muscle from each carcass was divided into three parts and subjected to three ageing periods (1, 5, or 10 d) and evaluated for shear force, myofibril fragmentation index (MFI), expressed juice, cooking loss, and sensory attributes. RESULTS: Age had a significant effect on shear force, MFI, expressed juice quantity, and organoleptic properties. Camels slaughtered at 12 mo exhibited lower shear force and MFI, and higher expressed juice quantity, tenderness, juiciness, and overall acceptability than those slaughtered at 24 mo. Ageing had a significant influence on shear force, MFI, expressed juice quantity, but not on cooking loss. Camel meat aged for 10 d exhibited significantly lower shear force values and expressed juice quantity, and significantly higher MFI compared to that aged for 1 d. However, ageing did not significantly affect sensory attributes, except for tenderness, in camels slaughtered at 18 mo. CONCLUSION: Both instrumental and sensory evaluations showed that young camel meat has desirable quality characteristics, with superior tenderness and juiciness.

Changes in fatty acid composition and distribution of N-3 fatty acids in goat tissues fed different levels of whole linseed.

The effects of feeding different levels of whole linseed on fatty acid (FA) composition of muscles and adipose tissues of goat were investigated. Twenty-four Crossed Boer bucks were assigned randomly into three treatment diets: L0, L10, or L20, containing 0%, 10%, or 20% whole linseed, respectively. The goats were slaughtered after 110 days of feeding. Samples from the longissimus dorsi, supraspinatus, semitendinosus, and subcutaneous fat (SF) and perirenal fat (PF) were taken for FA analyses. In muscles, the average increments in α-linolenic (ALA) and total n-3 PUFA were 6.48 and 3.4, and 11.48 and 4.78 for L10 and L20, respectively. In the adipose tissues, the increments in ALA and total n-3 PUFA were 3.07- and 6.92-fold and 3.00- and 7.54-fold in SF and PF for L10 and L20, respectively. The n-6 : n-3 ratio of the muscles was decreased from up to 8.86 in L0 to 2 or less in L10 and L20. The PUFA : SFA ratio was increased in all the tissues of L20 compared to L0. It is concluded that both inclusion levels (10% and 20%) of whole linseed in goat diets resulted in producing meat highly enriched with n-3 PUFA with desirable n-6 : n-3 ratio.

Effects of feeding whole linseed on ruminal fatty acid composition and microbial population in goats.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of feeding different levels of whole linseed, as a source of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), on ruminal fatty acid composition and microbial population in the goat. Twenty-four crossbred Boer goats were assigned to 3 dietary treatments: L0 (control), L10 and L20 containing 0, 10%, or 20% whole linseed, respectively. The ruminal pH and concentration of total volatile fatty acids (VFA) were not affected by dietary treatments. The feeding of L10 and L20 diets produced higher (P < 0.05) molar proportions of acetate and lower (P < 0.05) molar proportions of butyrate and valerate than the L0 diet. Molar proportions of myristic acid (C14:0) and palmitic acid (C16:0) were lower (P < 0.05) in the rumen of goats offered L10 and L20 diets than the control diet. However, stearic acid (C18:0), vaccenic acid (C18:1 trans-11), conjugated linoleic acid (CLA, C18:2 trans-10, cis-12) and α-lenolenic acid (C18:3 n-3) were higher (P < 0.05) in the rumen of goats fed L10 and L20 than L0. Both inclusion levels of linseed in the diet (L10 and L20) reduced the ruminal total bacteria, methanogens, and protozoa compared with L0 (P < 0.05). The effect of the dietary treatments on cellulolytic bacteria, varied between the individual species. Both inclusion levels of linseed resulted in a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in the population of Fibrobacter succinogenes, and Rumunococus flavefaciens compared with L0, with no significant difference between the groups fed linseed diets. The population of Rumunococus albus was not affected by the different dietary treatments. It was concluded that inclusion of whole linseed in the diet of goats could increase the concentration of PUFA in the rumen, and decrease the population of F. succinogenes, R. flavefaciens, methanogens and protozoa in rumen liquid of goats.