engleski

Effect of sex on meat chemical composition and fatty acid composition in suckling Pag sheep lambs

The objective of this paper was to analyse the chemical composition of musculus longissimus dorsi (MLD), and the fatty acid composition of MLD, and kidney knob fat in Pag sheep suckling lambs carcasses, and to determine the effect of sex on those parameters. Although the Pag sheep belongs to a group of breeds of combined production traits, it is primarily bred for milk production, while the meat of suckling lambs is another important source of income. For this research muscle and fat samples were collected from 12 Pag sheep lamb carcasses (6 males and 6 females), slaughtered at the average age of 33 days. Although female lambs were heavier at slaughter, male lambs had heavier carcasses on average (P<0.05). The chemical composition of MLD was not affected by sex ; meat from male and female lambs contained 25.82 % and 26.00 % of dry matter, 74.18 % and 74.00 % of moisture, 19.37 % and 19.13 % of protein, 5.25 % and 5.93 % of fat, and 1.17 % and 1.15 % of ash, respectively. Moreover, the sex had no signifi cant effect on the fatty acid composition of MLD and kidney knob fat in Pag sheep lamb carcasses. However, the kidney knob fat of the experimental lambs contained more SFA than the muscle tissue, whilst the long-chain PUFA content of the former was concurrently lower than that of the latter. Total SFA, MUFA and PUFA contents in the MLD of Pag sheep lambs are in accordance with the results reported by other authors for the edible parts of the carcasses of Mediterranean suckling lambs, slaughtered at the age of 25 - 45 days.

Pag sheep lambs ; longissimus dorsi ; kidney knob fat ; chemical composition ; fatty acid

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