Meat quality in lambs supplemented with three concentrations of zinc in an energy diet
Main Article Content
Keywords
Zinc, dose, lambs, meat quality.
Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the effect of three doses of Zn supplemented in the diet on the quality and concentration of Zn in meat.
Design / methodology / approach: 3 doses of Zn were supplemented: a) 21 mg Zn / Kg of dry matter (DM) from diet only, b) Zn80 (diet + ZnSO4) and c) Zn400 (diet + ZnSO4). Twelve Katahdin lambs randomly distributed in three groups, weighing 29.72 ± 2.16 Kg and age 9 ± 1 months. The consumed DM was restricted for all lambs to 718.62 ± 10.84 g.
Findings / Conclusion: The luminosity of the psoas major muscle was Zn21 = 36.50, Zn80 = 38.14 and Zn400 = 35.35 (quadratic effect, P <0.01). The redness of the psoas major muscle was between 18.81 to 19.72 and the intensity of the yellow color was from 3.63 to 3.82. The pH of the gracilis and psoas major muscles were 6.21 and 6.91 and there were no differences in pH, lightness and hardness. The water retention capacity of the gracilis muscle was Zn21 = 63.68%, Zn80 = 65.32% and Zn400 = 83.80% (linear effect, P <0.05). The 80 mg / kg dose of Zn improved the Zn content in meat.
