Nutritional Characterization of Edible Viscera of an Autochthonous Swine Breed of Assam, India

Abstract

Scientific information about the nutritional quality on meat by-products is very scarce when compared with muscle meats (e.g., physicochemical composition, meat quality, sensory and their utilization etc.). The meat by-products are widely accepted as edible foods by the consumers. Therefore, the current study aims to examine the nutritional composition of edible viscera namely, liver, kidney, spleen, heart, large intestine and small intestine of Doom pig of Assam, India. The samples were collected from semi-extensively reared pig farms of Kokrajhar district, Assam. The approximate composition range of these edible viscera was found to be: moisture 50.67-68.47%, fat 0.47-9.85%, ash 0.16-0.92%, protein 6.85-22.36%, carbohydrate 10.18-24.65% and calorie 124.31-198.16 k/cal/100g. Among the samples the maximum protein, carbohydrate and calorie were found in liver. Most numbers of the essential amino acids was found in spleen with lysine contributing the largest amount. Fat content was maximum in large intestine, similarly the saturated fatty acid content too was found highest in large intestine. Furthermore, the saturated fatty acid, mono unsaturated fatty acid and poly unsaturated fatty acid content range from 35.97-51.42%, 2.03-3.44% and 2.05-18.79% respectively. The study reports that the edible viscera are excellent sources of nutrients. The data may be utilized by the nutritionist and dieticians which may help in value addition and the promotion of the consumption of edible viscera, as well as their utilization in meat processing industry.