Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T06:25:57.120Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Maternal grazing on stubble and Mediterranean shrubland improves meat lipid profile in light lambs fed on concentrates

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 December 2017

L. Mateo ,
P. Delgado ,
J. Ortuño  and
S. Bañón
L. Mateo
Affiliation:
Department of Food Science and Technology and Nutrition, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Murcia, Campus Espinardo, 30071 Murcia, Spain
P. Delgado
Affiliation:
Department of Food Science and Technology and Nutrition, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Murcia, Campus Espinardo, 30071 Murcia, Spain
J. Ortuño
Affiliation:
Department of Food Science and Technology and Nutrition, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Murcia, Campus Espinardo, 30071 Murcia, Spain
S. Bañón*
Affiliation:
Department of Food Science and Technology and Nutrition, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Murcia, Campus Espinardo, 30071 Murcia, Spain
*
†E-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Concentrates-fed lamb meat is often associated with an unfavourable lipid profile (high levels of saturated and/or n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids; SFA and PUFA). For this reason, Spanish sheep producers from Mediterranean areas are turning to traditional grazing by ewes to obtain healthier lamb meat. The objective of this research was to determine the effects of maternal grazing on the fatty acid (FA) composition of weaned lamb meat. The ewes (Segureña breed) were allocated to two different rearing systems during pregnancy (5 months) and lactation (45 days): (i) feeding indoors on barley grain and lucerne pellets; (ii) grazing on cereal stubble, fallow land and seasonal pastures consisting of Mediterranean shrubs, herbs and trees. Two groups of 20 autumn and spring lambs were sampled. The lambs were weaned at 13.1±0.9 kg and 45.0±4.1 days age and fed on grain-based concentrates until they reached 24.8±2.1 kg live weight (light lambs slaughtered at 98.3±3.6 days of age). The FA content was determined in the intramuscular loin fat by gas chromatography using a flame ionization detector. The ewe diet did not affect the levels of the main lamb FAs (C18:1c+t, C16:0 and C18:2c), and so did not provide any additional reduction in fat saturation. Saturated fatty acids represented around 40% of total FAs determined in the meat. Ewe grazing acted as an n-3 PUFA-promoting diet, providing a lamb meat with a lower n-6/n-3 ratio. Spring lamb meat had higher proportions of n-3 PUFA (C18:3n-3, C20:5, C22:5 and C22:6) and conjugated linoleic acid (C18:2c9t11+c11t9) to the detriment of the n-6 PUFAs (C20:4, C20:2 and C22:4), while autumn lamb meat also had higher levels of C18:3n-3 and C18:3n-6, and lower level of C20:4, which points to little seasonal differences. The n-6/n-3 ratio achieved by ewe grazing fell from 8.2 to 4.1 (Spring) and from 7.6 to 5.5 (Autumn), values which are close to those recommended in human diet for good cardiovascular health. These n-6/n-3 reductions were associated with lower levels of total PUFA and C20:4n-6. Our research concluded that grazing on stubble and Mediterranean shrubland by ewes, a sustainable rearing practice involving local agro resources, contributed to obtaining weaned lamb meat with a more favourable lipid profile and so can be recommended to sheep farmers.

Keywords

sheep grazingfatty acid profilepasturen-3 polyunsaturated fatty acidconjugated linoleic acid
Type
Research Article
Information
animal , Volume 12 , Issue 7 , July 2018 , pp. 1547 - 1554
Copyright
© The Animal Consortium 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bakoglu, A, Kilic, O and Kokten, K 2016. Fatty acid composition of the leaves of some Salvia Taxa from Turkey. Chemistry of Natural Compounds 52, 676–678.Google Scholar
Blanco, C, Giráldez, FJ, Prieto, N, Morán, L, Andrés, S, Tejido, ML and Bodas, R 2015. Efecto de la inclusión de oleína de girasol en la dieta de corderos en fase de crecimiento-cebo sobre el perfil de ácidos grasos de la carne. Conference paper at XVI Jornadas sobre producción Animal 2, Zaragoza, Spain, 675–677.Google Scholar
Campo, MM, Muela, E, Resconi, VC, Barahona, M and Sañudo, C 2016. Influence of comercial cut on proximate composition and fatty acid profile of Rasa Aragonesa light lambs. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 53, 7–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cardenia, V, Massimini, M, Poerio, A, Ventrurini, MC, Rodríguez–Estrada, MT, Vecchia, P and Lercker, G 2015. Effect of dietary supplementation on lipid photooxidation in beef meat, during storage under commercial retail conditions. Meat Science 105, 126–135.Google Scholar
Cividini, A, Levart, A, Žgur, S and Kompan, D 2014. Fatty acid composition of lamb meat from the autochthonous Jezersko–Solčava breed reared in different production systems. Meat Science 97, 480–485.Google Scholar
Dallali, S, Llovera, M, Eras Joli, J, Houcine, S.i and Canela-Garayoa, R 2015. Rapid gas chromatographic determination of free fatty acids in rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.). Leaves Gas Chromatography 467–476.Google Scholar
De La Fuente, LF, Barbosa, E, Carriedo, JA, Gonzalo, C, Arenas, R, Fresno, JM and San Primitivo, F 2009. Factors influencing variation of fatty acid content in ovine milk. Journal of Dairy Science 92, 3791–3799.Google Scholar
Díaz, MT, Cañeque, V, Sánchez, CI, Lauzurica, S, Pérez, C, Fernández, C, Álvarez, J and De la Fuente, J 2011. Nutritional and sensory aspects of light lambs meat enriched in n-3 fatty acids during refrigerated storage. Food Chemistry 124, 147–155.Google Scholar
European Council Directive 2010. European Council Directive 2010/63/EU. Legislation for the protection of animals used for scientific purpose. Retrieved on 20 September 2017 from http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2010:276:0033:0079 Google Scholar
FEDNA Fundación Española para el Desarrollo de la Nutrición Animal 2016. Tablas ingredientes para piensos. Retrieved on 20 September 2017 from http://www.fundacionfedna.org/ingredientes_para_piensos.Google Scholar
Güvenç, A, Küçükboyaci, N and Gören, AC 2012. Fatty acid composition of Juniperus species (Juniperus section) native to Turkey. Natural Product Communications 77, 919–922.Google Scholar
Haro, AM, Artacho, R and Cabrera-Vique, C 2006. Ácido linoleico conjugado: interés actual en nutrición humana. Revisión. Medicina Clínica 127, 508–515.Google Scholar
ISO 1443 1973. International Organization for Standardization. Determination of total fat content. In International standards meat and meat products. Retrieved from http://www.iso.org.Google Scholar
Joy, M, Ripoll, G and Delfa, R 2008. Effects of feeding system on carcass and non- carcass composition of Churra Tensina light lambs. Small Ruminant Research 78, 123–133.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Joy, M, Ripoll, G, Molino, F, Dervishi, E and Álvarez-Rodriguez, J 2012. Influence of the type of forage supplied to ewes in pre- and post- partum periods on the meat fatty acids of suckling lambs. Meat Science 90, 775–782.Google Scholar
Landau, S, Perevolotsky, A, Bonfil, D, Barkai, D and Silanikove, N 2000. Utilization of low quality resources by small ruminants in Mediterranean agro-pastoral systems: the case of browse and aftermath cereal stubble. Livestock Production Science 64, 39–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lourenço, M, Van Ranst, G, Vlaeminck, B, De Smet, S and Fievez, V 2008. Influence of different dietary forages on the fatty acid composition of rumen digesta as well as ruminant meat and milk. Animal Feed Science and Technology 145, 418–437.Google Scholar
Luciano, G, Biondi, L, Scerra, M, Serra, A, Mele, M, Lanza, M and Priolo, A 2013. The effect of the change from a herbage- to a concentrate-based diet on the oxidative stability of raw and cooked lamb meat. Meat Science 95, 212–218.Google Scholar
Manso, T, Bodas, R, Vieira, C, Mantecón, AR and Castro, T 2011. Feeding vegetable oils to lactating ewes modifies the fatty acid profile of suckling lambs. Animal 5, 1659–1667.Google Scholar
Martins, N, Barros, L, Santos-Buelga, C, Henriques, M, Silva, S and Ferreira, ICFR 2015. Evaluation of bioactive properties and phenolic compounds in different extracts prepared from Salvia officinalis L. Food Chemistry 170, 378–385.Google Scholar
Majdoub-Mathlouthi, L, Saïd, B and Kraiem, K 2015. Carcass traits and meat fatty acid composition of Barbarine lambs reared on rangelands or indoors on hay and concentrate. Animal 9, 2065–2071.Google Scholar
Mazzone, G, Giammarco, M, Vignola, G, Sardi, L and Lambertini, L 2010. Effects of the rearing season on carcass and meat quality of suckling Apennine light lamb. Meat Science 86, 474–478.Google Scholar
Mel´uchova, B, Blasko, J, Kubinec, R, Górová, R, Dubrasvská, J, Margetín, M and Soják, L 2008. Seasonal variations in fatty acid composition of pasture forage plants and CLA content in ewe milk fat. Small Ruminant Research 78, 56–65.Google Scholar
Molendi-Coste, O, Legry, V and Leclercq, I A 2011. Why and how meet n-3 PUFA dietary recommendations? A review. Gastroenterology Research and Practice 2011, 1–11.Google Scholar
Moñino, I 2010. Incorporación de hoja destilada de romero y tomillo en la dieta de oveja Segureña. Estudio de la transmisión de antioxidantes a carne de cordero. PhD thesis, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.Google Scholar
Nieto, G 2013. Incorporation of by-products of rosemary and thyme in the diet of ewes: effect on the fatty acid profile of lamb. Meat Science 236, 379–389.Google Scholar
Ortuño, J, Serrano, R and Bañón, S 2015. Antioxidant and antimicrobial effects of dietary supplementation with rosemary diterpenes (carnosic acid and carnosol) vs vitamin E on lamb meat packed under protective atmosphere. Meat Science 110, 62–69.Google Scholar
Popova, T, Gonzales-Barron, U and Cadavez, V 2015. A meta-analysis of the effect of pasture access on the lipid content and fatty acid composition of lamb meat. Food Research International 77, 476–483.Google Scholar
Raes, K, De Smet, S and Demeyer, D 2004. Effect of dietary fatty acids on incorporation of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid in lamb, beef and pork meat: a review. Animal Feed Science and Technology 113, 199–221.Google Scholar
Rota, MC, Herrera, A, Martínez, RM, Sotomayor, JA and Jordán, MJ 2008. Antimicrobial activity and chemical composition of Thymus vulgaris, Thymus zygis and Thymus hyemalis essential oils. Food Control 19, 681–687.Google Scholar
Sánchez-Camargo, AP and Herrero, M 2017. Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) as a functional ingredient: recent scientific evidence. Current Opinion in Food Science 14, 13–19.Google Scholar
Santé-Lhoutellier, V, Engel, E and Gatellier, P 2008. Assessment of the influence of diet on lamb meat oxidation. Food Chemistry 109, 573–579.Google Scholar
Santos-Silva, J, Bessa, RJB and Santos-Silva, F 2002. Effect of genotype, feeding system and slaughter weight on the quality of light lambs. II Fatty acid composition of meat. Livestock Production Science 77, 187–194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sañudo, C, Enser, ME, Campo, MM, Nute, GR, María, G, Sierra, I and Wood, JD 2000. Fatty acid composition and sensory characteristics of lamb carcasses from Britain and Spain. Meat Science 54, 339–346.Google Scholar
Scerra, M, Caparra, M, Foti, F, Galofaro, V and Scerra, V 2007. Influence of ewe feeding systems on fatty acid composition of suckling lambs. Meat Science 76, 390–394.Google Scholar
Serra, A, Mele, M, La Comba, F, Conte, G, Buccioni, A and Secchiari, P 2009. Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) content of meat from three muscles of Massese suckling lambs slaughtered at different weights. Meat Science 81, 396–404.Google Scholar
Simopoulos, AP 2002. The importance of the ratio of omega-6/omega-3 essential fatty acids. Biomedical & Pharmacotherapy 56, 365–379.Google Scholar
Ulbricht, L and Southgate, DAT 1991. Coronary heart disease: seven dietary factors. The Lancet 338, 985–992.Google Scholar
Urrutia, O, Mendizabal, JA, Insausti, K, Soret, B, Purroy, A and Arana, A 2015. Effect of linseed dietary supplementation on adipose tissue development, fatty acid composition, and lipogenic gene expression in lambs. Livestock Science 178, 345–356.Google Scholar
Vasta, V and Luciano, G 2011. The effects of dietary consumption of plants secondary compounds on small ruminants’ products quality. Small Ruminant Research 101, 150–159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar