Contributions on the Sensorial, Physico-chemical and Nutritional Characterization of Hare Meat (Lepus europaeus pallas)

Abstract

The growing demand for food worldwide, along with the increasing need for animal protein, lead to the identification of other sources of highest quality meat, then the conventional ones, such as it is the hare meat. The aim of this study was to characterize the sensorial, physico-chemical and nutritional traits of hare meat (Lepus europaeus Pallas) issued from hunting funds in North-East of Romania. The biological material consisted of 79 hares (34 males and 45 females), slaughtered by shooting at the age of about 18 months, during the regular hunting season (1 November to 31 January). Different muscle groups were collected: Longissimus dorsi (LD), Triceps brachi (TB) and Semimembranosus (SM). For physicochemical determinations (measurement of the pH at 24 and 48 hours, of water, proteins, lipids, fatty acids and of ash) were analyzed 237 samples (79 for each muscle group). The results obtained from the sensory analysis are relatively close as a score for the three muscle groups studied. The pH value was higher for TB muscles. The highest amount of protein was observed for LD muscles collected from males (21.65%), while the richest in lipids were the females TB muscles (2.38%). The fatty acids levels were predominantly higher for males (for the most of the assessed fatty acids). Very favorable ratio of PUFA:SFA was identified in LD muscles (1.695 for males and 1.531 for females), in SM muscles (1.679 for males and 1.527 for females), and in TB muscles, as well (1.885 for males and 1.820 for females). The variance analysis revealed insignificant gender related differences for the three muscle groups, concerning the sensorial traits, the pH level, ash content and energy value. However, in proteins, lipids and water levels, there were observed highly significant gender related differences in TB muscles. Also, for some fatty acids, significant statistical differences were found between genders, in all three muscle groups.

Study on the Profile of Fatty Acids of Broiler Chicken Raised and Slaughtered in Industrial System

“…The extraction of lipids from meat samples was performed with a mixture of chloroform and methanol (2:1 v/v), as described by Folch [24]. Next, lipid extracts were converted to fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) through a consecutive trans-esterification with methylene chloride [25][26][27].…”

Nutritional Composition of Game Meat from Wild Species Harvested in Europe

“…So, an optimal FA profile has been shown particularly during early spring, when fresh spontaneous vegetation is available, which increases the amount of PUFA, particularly n-3, and lower SFA and MUFA concentration, as demonstrated in wild rabbits hunted in Greece [36]. Additionally, there are differences on some FA depending on sex [46].…”

“…Considering the variability for each of the parameters mentioned above, it is clear that the available food where animals are harvested has a significant influence on meat composition. On the other hand, some studies have found that several factors influence protein and fat content, and consequently energetic value, the most important being: (i) sex, as meat from females has a higher fat content and lower protein content [45,46]; (ii) the hunting period, with higher fat and protein content in winter compared to spring [47]; (iii) muscle type, with a higher fat content in the legs compared to the loin [37,46].…”

“…The predominant FA in hare and wild rabbit are C18:2 n-6, 16:0, 18:1, 20:4 n-6 and 18:0 [36,48], but hares have a higher n-6/n-3 ratio compared to rabbits. In any case, the fatty acids profile in hares and rabbits have been poorly studied, as only three studies have been conducted in Europe [36,46,48].…”

Contributions at Capitalization Study on Chemical Content from Mulberry Tree Leave by Bombyx Mori Larvae

“…The working methods used were mainly the specific ones used to determine the nutritional value of the worm leaf and they were based on the chemical composition (the proximate analysis scheme), the digestibility of its components (the in vivo method -simple digestibility, with a single control period) and crude energy (use of specific computation equations and regression coefficients recommended by the OKIT system), digestible (calculation equation recommended for monogastric species) and metabolizable (equations recommended for monogastric animals and birds) contained [39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58].…”