Fatty acid composition and sensory analysis in Boer kids meat

Abstract. This study was undertaken to characterize the fatty acid profile and sensory properties of longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle of Boer kids as affected by sex (17 male, 15 female) and slaughter weight (pre-weaned 20 kg, post-weaned 30 kg). Regarding sex differences, higher percentage amounts of lauric, myristic, pentadecanoic, linolenic and docosapentaenoic acids were found in LD muscle of male compared to female kids, whereas greater amounts of oleic acid were detected in LD muscle of female kids. Also, LD of male kids contained higher percentage amounts of saturated (SFA), polyunsaturated (PUFA) and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) while higher amounts of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) were detected in LD of female kids. Regarding slaughter weight, percentage amounts of lauric, myristic, margaric, pentadecanoic, linolenic, linoleic, arachidonic and docosapentaenoic acids significantly decreased with age (P≤0.001), while percentage amounts of heptadecenoic and oleic acids significantly increased (P≤0.001). LD muscle from lighter kids contained higher percentage amounts of SFA and PUFA, while heavier kids had higher percentage amounts of MUFA and n-3/n-6 fatty acid ratio. Except meat colour, sensory traits (marbling, off-odour, flavour, juiciness and tenderness) were neither significantly affected by sex nor slaughter age.