Fatty acids, lipid and protein oxidation, metmyoglobin reducing activity and sensory attributes of <i>biceps femoris</i> muscle in goats fed a canola and palm oil blend

The link between the consumption of saturated fatty acids of ruminant meat and the incidence of chronic diseases in humans substantiates efforts to modify its lipid profile. However, altering the lipid profile of ruminant meat could affect its quality attributes and shelf life. This study investigated the effect of a blend of 80% canola oil and 20% palm oil (BCPO) and post mortem ageing on lipid composition, antioxidant status, colour, metmyoglobin reducing activity (MRA) and lipid and protein oxidation in biceps femoris muscle in goats. Twenty-four bucks were randomly assigned to diets containing on a dry matter basis, 0%, 4% or 8% BCPO, fed for 100 d, and slaughtered. The biceps femoris was subjected to 7 d post mortem ageing (4 oC). Neither diet nor post mortem ageing altered catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities or sensory attributes of the biceps femoris . Dietary BCPO improved α- and γ-tocopherol, but did not affect total carotenoids and δ-tocopherol, colour, metmyoglobin content, MRA, TBARS, carbonyl content and free thiol content. Goats fed 4% BCPO had higher cis-9 trans -11 CLA, while those fed 8% BCPO had higher C18:3n-3 and C20:5n-3 compared with other treatments. The 4% and 8% BCPO meat had lower C14:0, but higher C18:1n-9 and C22:5n-3 than the control goats. Post mortem ageing decreased muscle polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), antioxidant compounds, redness, MRA and oxidative stability of lipid and proteins, but increased metmyoglobin content. Dietary BCPO enhanced beneficial muscle lipids without compromising the sensory quality, and lipid and protein stability of the goat meat. Keywords: Antioxidants, carbonyl, fatty acids, metmyoglobin, thiol