Feeding dietary essential oils of mountain aromatic plants to improve performance, meat quality, and sensory evaluations in lambs
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48162/rev.57.1.7Keywords:
essential oils, performance, nutritional quality, lamb meat, sensory qualityAbstract
Extracted eessential oils from aromatic and medicinal plants, due to having an antioxidant effect, have been supplemented into livestock diet as an alternative to artificial antioxidants to enhance animal production and sensory quality of meat. This trial was aimed to investigate the influence of supplementation of essential oils such (Thymus vulgaris (Th) and Artimisia herba alba (Ar)) on the nutritional and organoleptic quality of sheep meat. Forty D'man sheep were assigned to four dietary treatments for a period of 3-month with 15 days of adaptation. First group (Control (C) were animals fed a diet (concentrate and forage). Other three dietary treatment groups were offered C diets supplemented with 0.5g/kg of EO of (Ar), 0.5g/kg of T vulgaris (Th), and mixture of 0.25g/kg Ar with 0.25g/kg Th (Mix). There was no impact (P>0.05) of EO supplementations on animal performance such as dry matter intake (DMI) and average daily weight (ADG). Meat analyses were performed on 40 Longissimus dorsi (L. dorsi) muscle samples and in two replicates each. Although, the pH value of meat samples lowered (P=0.009) in lambs fed both Ar (5.60) and Mix (5.87) diets compared to those fed C (6.00) and Th (5.99) diets. Although, cooking loss, Ash, and fat of meat samples were not influenced (P>0.05) by the EO supplementation. All minerals contents were similar in control and in L. dorsi muscle of animal received diet treatments. The exception was P content, which reordered the highest content (16.32%) in meat of the lambs fed Mix diet. Eos supplementation increased (P=0.024) vitamin A content in Ar (96.22 mg/kg), Th (72.67 mg/kg), and Mix (48.21 mg/kg) compared to C groups (28.26 mg/kg). While, the highest (P<0.05) vitamin E content (0.034 mg/kg) was observed in lambs fed Mix diet. There were no changes (P>0.05) in sensory evaluation profile parameters such tenderness, juiciness, and flavour. The diets supplemented with a mixture of EO showed a better taste of meat (P<0.05). The use of extracted eessential oils as antioxidant could replace alternatively to artificial once in animal feeding with respect to improve quality of product, without have negative impact of animal performance.
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