1 Introduction
Red meat, particularly that from ruminant animals, has a bad reputation due to its high saturated fatty acids (SFA) content, low ratio of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) to SFA, and high n − 6:n − 3 ratio (Enser et al., 1998, Simopoulos, 2002 and Cabiddu et al., 2010). Regular intake of such fat is associated with atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and numerous cancers (Simopoulos, 2004 and Corpet, 2011). Response to the concerns of the health organizations and health-conscious consumers, research in meat production has been focused on alteration of meat FA content, which is primarily based on enhancing the concentration of n − 3 PUFA (Hocquette et al., 2010). The n − 3 PUFA are not only essential nutrients for human, but also significant in protection form CVD, inflammatory disease, diabetes, and some cancers, and behavioral disorders (Benatti et al., 2004).
Increasing n − 3 PUFA in meat contributes toward improving consumer health, and would help to combat the negative image of ruminant meat (Cabiddu et al., 2010) and open up a new market to fulfill the consumer’s demands. Despite ruminal biohydrogenation, studies in beef (Nassu et al., 2011, He et al., 2012, Juárez et al., 2012, Albertí et al., 2013 and Mapiye et al., 2013) and in sheep (Bas et al., 2007, Delmote et al., 2008, Berthelot et al., 2010, Noci et al., 2011 and Berthelot et al., 2012) have shown that inclusion of 18:3 n − 3 sources in ruminant’s diet have been shown to increase the concentration of n − 3 PUFA in their meat. However, at high level of n − 3 PUFA enrichment, effects on product quality must be considered (Palmquist, 2009).
Increasing the level of PUFA in meat, which can influence the oxidation, may be a crucial factor for quality deterioration. Lipid oxidation is responsible for the abusive alterations in flavor/odor, texture, color, and probable production of toxic compounds in meat (Ladikos and Lougovois, 1990, Gray et al., 1996, Akarpat et al., 2008, Mohamed et al., 2008 and Kouba and Mourot, 2011). However, different PUFA were reported to have different effects on meat quality and acceptability (Sanudo et al., 2000). In addition, species of animal and rearing conditions might indirectly affect the meat quality of animals and lipid oxidation stability (Ponnampalam et al., 2001). Moreover, vitamin E (concentration above 3.45 mg/kg muscle) has a greater influence on lipid oxidation than do PUFA, and beneficial on controlling lipid oxidation in meat stored for up to 4 weeks (Ponnampalam et al., 2014a).
Despite the fact that goat meat is considered inferior to mutton and beef, it is widely consumed in the tropics and sub-tropics. In fact, during the last decades, goat meat has gained a growing interest due to its nutritional features, as it has lower in fat and cholesterol content (Madruga and Bressan, 2011), and higher PUFA content compared to beef or lamb (Banskalieva et al., 2000). The naturally high level of PUFA may indicate that goat meat has a potential to play a role as a source n − 3 PUFA. Yet, information about possible effects of increasing n − 3 PUFA on goat meat by feeding sources of C18:3 n − 3 is rare. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of enriching goat meat with n − 3 PUFA on meat quality, sensory properties, and lipid oxidative stability at different postmortem aging times.