The relationships between fat deposition, intramuscular fat content, fatty acid profile, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and meat texture of Blanc de Termonde rabbits

The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationships between fat deposition in the rabbit carcass, intramuscular fat content, fatty acid profile, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and meat texture of Blanc de Termonde rabbits and whether the fat content in different parts of the carcass affects the fatty acid profile or texture of rabbit meat. Visceral fat was removed from every part of the carcass: the scapula, kidney, stomach, and inguinal area. The amount of intramuscular fat in the longissimus lumborum muscle was estimated. The fatty acid profile was determined, and shear force and texture parameters were measured. The triglyceride and total cholesterol concentration in the plasma were assessed using commercial colorimetric assays. The weight of the fat was highest in the loin area, almost 40 g, and lowest in the hind part – only 3.5 g. The average intramuscular fat content in the meat was 2.42%. Highly significant negative correlations were found between fat content in the forepart of the carcass and decanoic acid content and between fat weight in the loin and the contents of both stearic and α-linolenic acid. Fat content in the loin was highly significantly and positively correlated with the content of palmitoleic acid and significantly positively correlated with the contents of heptadecenoic, cis-vaccenic, dihomo-γ-linolenic, arachidonic, eicosapentaenoic, adrenic and osbond acid. The fat content of the forepart was significantly and positively correlated with heptadecanoic acid content in the meat. The fat weight in the forepart showed a significant and negative correlation with plasma triglycerides and with the contents of lauric and palmitic acid in the meat. The effect of sex was found to be significant for the slaughter weight, hot carcass weight, shear force, and texture parameters of rabbit meat. Meat obtained from females had significantly lower shear force but higher chewiness, cohesiveness, springiness and hardness, with differences found to be highly significant. Our research showed that the contents of triglycerides and some SFAs, MUFAs and PUFAs are correlated with fat content in different parts of the carcass and intramuscular fat content in the loin. Research on the relationships between meat traits should be extended to include other traits for a thorough investigation, and then these traits should be taken into account in breeding programmes.