Effect of dietary vitamin E on the oxidative stability of raw and cooked rabbit meat

The effect of dietary alpha-tocopheryl acetate supplementation (200 mg/kg diet) on plasma and muscle levels of alpha-tocopherol and the oxidative stability of raw and cooked rabbit meat was determined. Two groups of 20 male hybrid rabbits were fed the experimental diets from 35 to 80 days of age. Feed intake, live weight, feed efficiency and qualitative traits of the carcass and meat were recorded. The alpha-tocopherol levels in plasma and muscle were significantly higher (p less than or equal to 0.01) in the supplemented group, which also showed an increase in oxidative stability in both raw and cooked meat. The higher alpha-tocopherol level improved the physical traits of the meat, significantly reducing shear value and increasing water-holding capacity; n-3 fatty acids in raw and cooked meat increased (p less than or equal to 0.05) and the thrombogenic index decreased (p less than or equal to 0.05). Dietary vitamin E did not influence weight gain, feed intake and dressing yield. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved