Effect ofCaesalpinia coriariaFruits and Soybean Oil on Finishing Lamb Performance and Meat Characteristics

Abstract

To evaluate phenolic compounds and whether the combination of a tanniferous fruit and soybean oil could improve the performance, meat characteristics, and fatty acid (FA) profile in lambs, an experiment was conducted over 40 days with twenty creole male lambs (23.71±3.46 kg). The lambs were allotted in a completely randomised design, with factorial arrangement 2 × 2, with the following dietary treatments: (1) control diet, (2) 2%Caesalpinia coriariaground fruit dry matter (DM), (3) 2% soybean oil DM, and (4) 2%Caesalpinia coriariafruit plus 2% soybean oil. The concentration of condensed tannins (CT) inCaesalpinia coriaceawas 21.71 g/kg DM. No interactions were detected (P>0.05) among soybean oil andCaesalpinia coriaria, and there were no differences in daily gain, intake, and feed conversion. Soybean oil reduced (P<0.05) DM digestibility (68.05 versus 59.56%). In fat from thelongissimus thoracis et lumborum(LTL) muscle, only linoleic acid presented differences (P<0.05) between treatments. The combination ofCaesalpinia coriaceafruit and soybean oil did not improve lamb performance at the included levels.