Fatty acid profile and proximal composition of meat from rabbits fed diets containing coconut meal

The objective of this work was to assess the effect of feeding rabbits diets containing coconut meal (CM) on meat proximal composition, the fatty acid profile, and the polyunsaturated to saturated (P/S) fatty acids ratio in the meat. The experiment utilized 60 rabbits fed diets containing five levels of CM (0.00, 6.25, 12.50, 18.75, and 25.00%) and 12 animals per treatment. Increasing levels of CM in the diet did not affect (p > 0.05) meat centesimal composition. The levels of palmitoleic, stearic, and linolenic acids in the meat were linearly affected by dietary CM levels. When compared to the levels of fatty acids in the meat from the 0.00% CM diet, the palmitic acid was lower (p < 0.05) in the meat from all diets containing CM, the myristic and stearic acids were higher (p < 0.05), and the palmitoleic acid was lower (p < 0.05) in the meat from the diet containing 25.00% CM. The Linolenic acid level was lower (p < 0.05) in meats from diets containing either 18.75 or 25.00% CM. The P/S relation in the meat was not affected (p > 0.05) by the levels of CM in the diets. This suggested that the inclusion of this by-product in the diets is feasible even at the 25.00% level.

fatty acid profile; proximal composition; nutritional quality