Table 3.

Effect of the feeding system during lactation and the inclusion of quebracho in the concentrate during fattening on the pH and chemical composition of the meat

	Lactation1			Concentrate2			P-value
Item	Indoor	Alfalfa	Sainfoin	Control	QUE	RMSE3	Lactation	Concentrate
pH	5.5	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.6	0.03	0.420	0.640
DM	24.8	24.7	24.4	24.7	24.5	0.69	0.122	0.270
Intramuscular fat, % FM4	2.9a	2.4ab	2.3b	2.4	2.6	0.23	0.007	0.440
CP, % FM	18.3	18.5	18.3	18.4	18.3	0.59	0.379	0.301
α-Tocopherol, mg/kg FM	0.4b	1.0a	1.26a	1.0	0.8	0.33	0.001	0.019

^a,bMeans within a row with different superscripts significantly differ among feeding system during lactation (P < 0.05).

¹Indoor = ewes fed a total mixed ration; Alfalfa = grazing on alfalfa; Sainfoin = grazing on sainfoin.

²Control = commercial concentrate; QUE = commercial concentrate with 5% quebracho.

³RMSE = root mean square error.

⁴FM = fresh matter.