Table 2.
Performance, carcass and meat quality traits (means ± s.d.) of Dorper x Santa Ines lambs fed a high-concentrate diet with different antioxidants.
| Traits | Treatment | p-Value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Control | FO | FO Plus SeE | SeE | ||
| Initial BW, kg | 22.26 ± 2.41 | 22.32 ± 2.50 | 22.79 ± 1.97 | 22.32 ± 2.18 | 0.9621 |
| Final BW, kg | 40.21 ± 2.06 | 38.79 ± 3.32 | 41.71 ± 3.24 | 39.88 ± 3.04 | 0.234 |
| ADG, kg | 0.35 ± 0.05 | 0.32 ± 0.03 | 0.36 ± 0.04 | 0.34 ± 0.06 | 0.359 |
| DM intake, kg/day | 1.49 ± 0.09 | 1.50 ± 0.05 | 1.46 ± 0.22 | 1.41 ± 0.20 | 0.817 |
| Feed efficiency, g/kg DMI | 0.23 ± 0.04 | 0.21 ± 0.03 | 0.25± 0.02 | 0.24± 0.04 | 0.229 |
| Hot carcass weight, kg | 19.46 ± 0.99 | 18.94 ± 1.97 | 20.28 ± 0.04 | 19.58 ± 1.07 | 0.252 |
| Hot carcass yield, % | 48.42 ± 1.46 | 48.78 ± 1.67 | 48.61 ± 1.07 | 49.16 ± 1.67 | 0.791 |
| pH 1 h | 6.45 ± 0.19 | 6.58 ± 0.14 | 6.63 ± 0.12 | 6.49 ± 0.20 | 0.144 |
| Temperature 1 h, °C | 30.11 ± 2.82 | 29.35 ± 1.34 | 29.59 ± 2.51 | 29.49 ± 1.81 | 0.915 |
| Cold carcass weight, kg | 18.94 ± 1.05 | 18.41 ± 2.06 | 19.71 ± 1.59 | 19.08 ± 1.06 | 0.298 |
| Cold carcass yield, % | 47.10 ± 1.48 | 47.39 ± 1.79 | 47.25 ± 1.14 | 47.91 ± 1.61 | 0.741 |
| pH 24 h | 5.87 ± 0.42 | 5.82 ± 0.34 | 5.68 ± 0.06 | 5.69 ± 0.09 | 0.423 |
| Temperature 24 h, °C | 11.59 ± 3.25 | 12.99 ± 3.49 | 12.98 ± 2.48 | 13.26± 2.95 | 0.699 |
| Loin eye area, cm2 | 28.00 ± 5.13 | 30.25 ± 7.18 | 30.38 ± 6.05 | 32.38 ± 4.65 | 0.560 |
| Subcutaneous fat thickness, mm | 7.75 ± 4.40 | 5.75 ± 2.18 | 7.88 ± 2.35 | 6.50 ± 2.56 | 0.447 |
| Cooking loss, % | 24.58 ± 4.30 ab | 26.66 ± 3.34 ab | 29.91 ± 4.32 a | 23.81 ± 4.35 b | 0.028 |
| Shear force, N | 39.66 ± 11.77 | 42.34 ± 12.56 | 50.85 ± 8.41 | 47.33 ± 11.40 | 0.231 |
| Muscle selenium, mg/kg | 0.07 ± 0.01 b | 0.05 ± 0.007 b | 0.10 ± 0.01 a | 0.11 ± 0.01 a | <0.0001 |
| Serum selenium, mg/kg | 0.11 ± 0.001 b | 0.11 ± 0.01 b | 0.15 ± 0.009 a | 0.13 ± 0.01 a | <0.0001 |
BW, body weight; ADG, average daily gain; DM, dry matter; DMI, dry matter intake. Means in the same row followed by different lowercase letters differ significantly at the 5% level. Control: without additives; FO: functional oils, 0.50 g/kg DM of castor and cashew nut shell oils; SeE: hydroxy-selenomethionine and vitamin E, 0.50 mg/kg of selenium and 100 IU/kg DM of vitamin E; FO plus SeE, at the same doses as the other groups.