Dietary pomegranate by-product improves oxidative stability of lamb meat

This study investigated the effect of including whole pomegranate by-product in lamb diet on meat oxidative stability. Seventeen lambs were assigned to two experimental treatments and fed a cereal-based concentrate (CON) or the same concentrate where 200 g/kg DM of cereals were replaced by whole pomegranate by-product (WPB). Meat from WPB-fed lambs had a greater concentration of vitamin E (α- and γ-tocopherols), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), highly peroxidizable PUFA and a higher peroxidability index (P < .05). Feeding WPB limited the formation of metmyoglobin (P = .05) and reduced lipid oxidation (TBARS values) after 7 days of storage for raw meat (P = .024) or 4 days for cooked meat (P = .006). Feeding WPB increased meat antioxidant capacity (ORAC assay) in the lipophilic fraction (P = .017), but not in the hydrophilic. These results suggest that vitamin E in the pomegranate by-product contributed to the higher antioxidant capacity of meat from the WPB-fed lambs.