Romania is known among the main European honey producers, due to the variety of landforms as well as the diversity of the flora. Thirty-four honey samples of the acacia, linden and multifloral types, produced in eastern Romania and collected during 2013–2018, were physico-chemically analyzed using methods provided by the national and EU standards. The results of water-insoluble solids, color and refractive index were found to be 0.023–0.131%, 0.3–76.4 mm Pfund and 1.485–1.499, respectively. The moisture content ranged between 15.20% and 20.77%, solid substances content ranged between 79.23% and 84.80% and total soluble substances content ranged between 77.83 °Brix and 83.26 °Brix. The obtained values of specific gravity were from 1.414 to 1.450 g/cm3, pH ranged from 3.673 to 5.503 and free acidity ranged between 2.4 meq and 50 meq kg−1. The ash content and the electrical conductivity varied between 0.030 and 0.543% and 130 and 679 µS cm−1, respectively. Pearsonʹs correlation analysis showed an intense association of the ash content with electrical conductivity (r = 0.81). Our findings reveal the qualitative level of Romanian honey and the variation in quality parameters due to factors such as geographical region, climatic conditions, botanical origin and handling or storage conditions.
This study aimed to nutritionally and technologically characterize the meat produced by rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus, Flemish Giant breed, 50 farmed individuals) and hare (Lepus europaeus Pallas, 50 hunted individuals). Muscles were sampled from several carcass regions: dorsal torso—Longissimus dorsi (LD), thigh—Semimembranosus (SM), and upper arm—Triceps brachii (TB). To better depict the meat’s nutritional quality, the proximate composition and fatty acid profile were assessed, and then gross energy content and lipid sanogenic indices (Polyunsaturation—PI, atherogenic—AI, thrombogenic—TI, hypocholersyerolemic/hypercholesterolemic ratio—h/H, Nutritional Value Index—NVI) were calculated. pH values at 24 and 48 h post-slaughter, cooking loss (CL), and water-holding capacity (WHC) were the investigated technological quality traits. Gross energy was higher in rabbit TB samples, compared with hare, due to more accumulated lipids (p < 0.001). pH value was higher for TB muscles in both species; the WHC was higher for hare (p < 0.001), and CL was higher for rabbit (p < 0.001). The PI values were 6.72 in hare and 4.59 in rabbit, AI reached 0.78 in hare and 0.73 in rabbit, TI was calculated at 0.66 in hare and 0.39 in rabbit, and the h/H ratio reached 3.57 in hare and 1.97 in rabbit, while the NVI was 1.48 in hare and 1.34 in rabbit samples. Meat from both species is nutritionally valuable for human consumers, meeting nutritional values better than the meat of farmed or other wild species of fowl and mammals. Hare meat was found to be healthier than rabbit in terms of lower fat content, lighter energy, and better lipid health indices.
This study aimed to evaluate the fatty acid profile and health lipid indices of sheep meat (from 52 Karakul sheep from NE Romania). The effect of age at slaughter and the influence of muscle region were studied for nutritional parameters, especially the fatty acids from lipid fractions. Based on the fatty acid profiles and lipid contents, the sanogenic indices were determined for two sheep muscle groups. Thus, two different muscle regions from lamb and adult sheep were analysed from both genders, the Longissimus dorsi and Triceps brachii, to argue the advantages of each category and the rationalization, in terms of meat consumption, regarding their impact on human health. Sheep meat has many components with beneficial effects on human health. Apart from the fact that it is an important source of nutrients due to its high content of proteins, lipids, and minerals, it is also a product that can provide fundamental bioactive compounds for maintaining metabolic functions. The qualitative indices assessment revealed that lambs have meat with high PUFA content on Longissimus dorsi muscles (approx. 25% of total fatty acids), 0.68 for PUFA/SFA, with highest values for n-3 (approx. 8%) and n-6 (approx. 14%). Appropriate values can also be observed in Triceps brachii muscles from adult sheep. The sanogenic indices also presented good values for Longissimus dorsi from lambs and Triceps brachii from adult sheep (polyunsaturation index = 7.2–10.2; atherogenic index = 0.56–0.67; thrombogenic index = 0.78–0.96; hypocholesterolemic/hypercholesterolemic index = 2.4–2.7 (for Longissimus dorsi)).
The growing demand for food worldwide, along with the increasing need for animal protein, lead to the identification of other sources of highest quality meat, then the conventional ones, such as it is the hare meat. The aim of this study was to characterize the sensorial, physico-chemical and nutritional traits of hare meat (Lepus europaeus Pallas) issued from hunting funds in North-East of Romania. The biological material consisted of 79 hares (34 males and 45 females), slaughtered by shooting at the age of about 18 months, during the regular hunting season (1 November to 31 January). Different muscle groups were collected: Longissimus dorsi (LD), Triceps brachi (TB) and Semimembranosus (SM). For physicochemical determinations (measurement of the pH at 24 and 48 hours, of water, proteins, lipids, fatty acids and of ash) were analyzed 237 samples (79 for each muscle group). The results obtained from the sensory analysis are relatively close as a score for the three muscle groups studied. The pH value was higher for TB muscles. The highest amount of protein was observed for LD muscles collected from males (21.65%), while the richest in lipids were the females TB muscles (2.38%). The fatty acids levels were predominantly higher for males (for the most of the assessed fatty acids). Very favorable ratio of PUFA:SFA was identified in LD muscles (1.695 for males and 1.531 for females), in SM muscles (1.679 for males and 1.527 for females), and in TB muscles, as well (1.885 for males and 1.820 for females). The variance analysis revealed insignificant gender related differences for the three muscle groups, concerning the sensorial traits, the pH level, ash content and energy value. However, in proteins, lipids and water levels, there were observed highly significant gender related differences in TB muscles. Also, for some fatty acids, significant statistical differences were found between genders, in all three muscle groups.
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