Effects of flaxseed oil and vitamin e supplementation on the physicochemical properties of sun-dried meat from lamb legs

Abstract

The inclusion of unsaturated lipids in lamb diets aims to improve the physicochemical characteristics of the meat. However, oxidation of meat components can compromise quality and consumer acceptance, especially in products like sun-dried meat, which is more prone to oxidation due to the salting process and exposure to ambient temperature. Antioxidants such as vitamin E can mitigate these effects, preserving meat integrity during processing and storage. This study evaluated the physicochemical properties of sun-dried meat produced from the legs of lambs fed diets containing flaxseed oil combined with vitamin E. Fifty male Dorper lambs, averaging 42.5 ± 3.8 kg final weight, were individually confined. Analyses were performed using near-infrared spectroscopy (FoodScan™) to determine moisture, protein, fat, salt, ash, collagen, cooking loss (CL), water retention capacity (WRC), and color parameters (L*, a*, b*, chroma). The experimental design was completely randomized with five vitamin E inclusion levels (0, 1, 2, 3, and 4% of total diet) as DL-alpha-tocopheryl acetate. Statistical analysis was conducted using PROC MIXED in SAS 9.4, with significance set at P < 0.05. No significant differences were found among vitamin E levels for CL (21.05%; P=0.3793), WRC (30.81%; P=0.1974), lightness L* (15.29; P=0.2940), redness a* (18.55; P=0.6583), yellowness b* (1.16; P=0.1162), chroma (18.98; P=0.5655), fat content (5.24%; P=0.9310), moisture (67.16%; P=0.5876), salt (3.82%; P=0.0628), protein (20.20%; P=0.8024), ash (3.81%; P=0.4576), or collagen (1.15%; P=0.3352). Therefore, supplementation with flaxseed oil and vitamin E at the tested doses did not alter the physicochemical properties of sun-dried meat from lamb legs, despite the increased susceptibility of this product to oxidation.