Qualitative and quantitative analysis of lipid extracts from rabbit meat by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

Analyses of lipid extracts from rabbit meat were carried out by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/mS) using both electron and chemical ionisation. Ten rabbit carcasses were randomly acquired on the market, from different farms; for each of them muscular tissues from hindleg and breast were analysed. The lipid fractions were extracted, separated and hydrolysed. The fatty acid fractions were derivatised by 2,2-dimethoxypropane. The GC/mS data obtained using electron ionisation (EI) did not allow the complete characterisation of the fatty acid fraction, and for this reason chemical ionisation (CI) was employed using acetonitrile as reactant gas. The data thus obtained show that, for both samples of rabbit tissue, the mean abundance ratio of plasma cholesterol lowering fatty acids and plasma cholesterol elevating fatty acids (PCL/PCE), taken as a parameter describing a desirable lipid uptake, is 2.2 +/- 0.3, significantly higher than the values reported for other meats (0.8-1. 8). These data, together with the high concentration of (n-6) fatty acids, provide a good indication of the high nutritional value of rabbit meat.