Dietary vitamin E dosage and source affects meat quality parameters in light weight lambs

Area of Science:

• Animal Science
• Food Science
• Nutritional Biochemistry

Background:

• Supra-nutritional vitamin E supplementation is used to preserve meat quality in modified atmosphere packaging.
• Current applications lack precise dosage calibration and information on natural vitamin E efficacy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effects of different sources and dosages of vitamin E on lamb meat quality.
• To determine the appropriate biological activity value for vitamin E in meat applications.

Main Methods:

• Rasa Aragonesa lambs were fed diets with varying levels of all-rac-α-tocopheryl acetate and RRR-α-tocopheryl acetate for 14 days.
• Meat quality parameters including lipid oxidation, color stability, and myoglobin forms were assessed.
• Effects of vitamin E supplementation were compared to display time and basal diet.

Main Results:

• Vitamin E supplementation did not affect lamb growth performance or feed efficiency.
• Display time had a greater impact on meat quality than vitamin E supplementation.
• Both vitamin E sources and dosages significantly extended meat shelf-life, improving lipid oxidation, redness, and metmyoglobin formation.

Conclusions:

• The standard biological activity value (1.36) is inappropriate for differentiating vitamin E's meat quality enhancing effects.
• Specific vitamin E sources and dosages can effectively improve lamb meat shelf-life.