Impact of Dietary Supplementation with Goji Berries (Lycium barbarum) on Microbiological Quality, Physico-Chemical, and Sensory Characteristics of Rabbit Meat

• Published in: Foods Vol. 9; no. 10; p. 1480
• Main Authors: Castrica, Marta, Menchetti, Laura, Balzaretti, Claudia M., Branciari, Raffaella, Ranucci, David, Cotozzolo, Elisa, Vigo, Daniele, Curone, Giulio, Brecchia, Gabriele, Miraglia, Dino
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 16-10-2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Amino acids; Berries; Cold storage; Composition; Diet; Dietary supplements; Feeds; Food; Food science; Fruits; Functional foods & nutraceuticals; Goji berries; Health aspects; Laboratory animals; Meat; Meat quality; Meatballs; microbiological quality; Microbiota; Physiological aspects; Properties; rabbit meat; Rabbits; sensory characteristics; Sensory properties; Thiobarbituric acid; Yogurt; Italy; United Kingdom > UK
• ISSN: 2304-8158; 2304-8158
• DOI: 10.3390/foods9101480

Forty-two New Zealand White rabbits (n = 21/group) were fed with two different diets: a commercial diet (control group) and a diet supplemented with goji berries (3% w/w). After slaughtering, the effect of dietary supplementation on microbiological, physico-chemical, and sensory characteristics of the rabbit loins, packed in an oxygen-permeable package, was evaluated at 6 h post mortem (day 0), after 4 and 10 days of refrigerated storage. No relevant results were obtained for pH and total volatile basic Nitrogen (TVBN) values but with regards to the color, some significant differences were observed between the groups. The goji berries (GBs) dietary supplementation had positive effects by reducing thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) values in all the observations (p < 0.001). Moreover, microbiological results showed that the supplementation had a significant impact on Lactobacillus spp. (p < 0.001) prevalence, indeed the goji group had higher means on day 0 (p < 0.05) and on day 4 (p < 0.001) than the control group. Lastly, with regards to the consumer’s test, the tasters assigned a higher score to GBs rabbit meatballs and the purchase interest increased when the rabbit diet was known. Overall, these results indicate that the goji berries inclusion in the rabbit diet could represent a valuable strategy to improve quality and sensory traits of meat.