Muscle and Subcutaneous Fatty Acid Composition and the Evaluation of Ageing Time on Meat Quality Parameters of Hispano-Bretón Horse Breed

Abstract

A full-randomized block design was used for the study of the FA composition and meat quality parameters, considering ageing time as a split-plot factor. Chemical and fatty acid composition of steaks (longissimus thoracis and lumborum muscle) from 15 month old semiextensively reared Hispano-Bretón horses were characterized (day 0), and the effect of vacuum ageing (0, 7, 14 and 21 days) on several meat quality parameters (pH, instrumental color and texture and cook loss) was determined. The average fat content of horse loin was 3.31%, and the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid content, although higher than in ruminant meats, suggested that the finishing on a high-grain diet limited muscle n-3 accumulation. Results revealed that ageing affected all meat quality measurements; color started to turn brownish at 14 days of ageing, with a decrease in redness but not in yellowness. Tenderness improved during the first two weeks, and the Warner-Bratzler shear force scores showed that meat aged for 7 days could be considered as ‘intermediate tender’. Under the present study conditions, an ageing period between 7 and 14 days is recommended for an optimum horse meat quality.

Effect of Gender on Meat Quality from Adult Obsolescent Horses

“…However, m. pectoralis profundus has not been evaluated by any authors. WBSF decreased during aging and this is in agreement with authors [47,48] who showed lower WBSF values in different muscles after aging.…”

“…Many authors who investigated the fatty acid composition of young foal meat [14,16,20,22,45,48] reported higher proportions of SFA than those found in old horse meat in the present study. Moreover, no significant differences have been found, either between males and females or between age groups.…”

Fatty Acid Composition and Volatile Profile of longissimus thoracis et lumborum Muscle from Burguete and Jaca Navarra Foals Fattened with Different Finishing Diets

“…In detail, considering the majority fatty acid, C16:0, both groups presented similar amounts and corresponding to those found in 24-month female BU foals [20] and in 11-month male Italian Heavy Draught Horses (IHDH) [13]. Conversely, JN foals showed C18:0 values comparable to the contents obtained by Lorenzo et al [9] and Beldarrain et al [10] in Galician Mountain (GM) and Hispano-Bretón (HB) horse breeds, respectively. On the contrary, the BU group reported C18:0 contents less than those previously reported by other authors [18,20], who studied the same foal breed.…”

“…In particular, owing to their unique digestive physiology, they are characterized by a higher intake capacity, lower methane emissions, and the ability to efficiently absorb and transfer dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) (before the anaerobic microbial hydrogenation) from feed (pasture) to muscle tissues with very low deposition of trans-fatty acids [ 2 , 8 , 9 ]. Therefore, its fatty acid profile is usually described as “healthy” due to its high levels of essential and other PUFAs, such as α-linolenic (C18:3 n -3) and other long-chain fatty acids, that have been reported to have beneficial properties for preventing chronic diseases [ 2 , 10 , 11 ]. In this regard, several studies have pointed out that horses produce nutritionally valuable meat, characterized by high-value proteins, iron, B type vitamins, as well as a low fat and cholesterol amounts and a favorable dietetic fatty acids profile [ 4 , 6 , 7 , 9 , 12 , 13 ].…”

Effects of Donkeys Rearing System on Performance Indices, Carcass, and Meat Quality

“…Among trans FAs, reported in horse meat as 9t- and 11t-C18:1, it is known that ruminants’ meat has markedly greater CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) concentration compared to meat produced by monogastric animals [ 43 ]. For this reason, equid meat shows only trace CLA content compared to beef or lamb [ 44 ], as this study also confirms.…”