Dietary supplementation with oregano and linseed in garganica suckling kids: Effects on growth performances and meat quality

Meat from Garganica kids fed diets containing oregano and linseed was analysed for physical and sensory properties, chemical and fatty acid composition of intramuscular lipids. Twenty-one three-week-old kids were divided into three homogeneous groups (n = 7), according to age and body weight, and assigned to one of the following feeding treatments: C) control: commercial pelleted feed; L) pelleted feed containing 3% extruded linseed; LO) pelleted feed containing 3% extruded linseed and 0.6% dried oregano inflorescences. Kids were slaughtered at 60 days of age. Diet did not affect in vivo performances, dressing percentage, pH and meat colour, but it influenced meat tenderness, that was lower (P<0.01) in meat from kids receiving oregano, probably due to the lesser (P<0.05) fat content of their meat. The use of oregano also resulted in a lower muscle fat oxidation and in a better meat flavour. As for human health, the dietary supplementation with linseed improved the muscle fatty acid composition, resulting in higher levels of a-linolenic acid (P<0.05) and in a lower n-6/n-3 ratio.