Comparison of Meat Quality between Tibetan Sheep from Gannan and Haibei
ZHONGLA Maocao, ZHOU Jia, JIANG Chunde, YANG Yao
1. Gannan Animal Disease Prevention and Control Centre, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture 747000, China; 2. College of Food Science and Engineering, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
Abstract：To compare the meat quality characteristics of Tibetan sheep from Gannan and Haibei, this study analyzed the meat quality, nutrient and volatile components and harmful substance residues in rump off from eight-month-old fattened lambs. The results showed that the L*, a* and b* values of Gannan Tibetan lamb meat were significantly higher than those of Haibei Tibetan lamb meat (P < 0.05), but there were no significant differences in pH, water loss, cooked meat yield or shear force between the two breeds of Tibetan lamb. The protein content of Gannan Tibetan lamb meat was significantly higher than that of Haibei Tibetan lamb meat (P < 0.05), while there were no significant differences in the contents of fat, moisture and ash between them. The contents of glycine, valine, methionine, isoleucine, alanine and arginine were significantly different between the two breeds; the contents of valine, methionine, isoleucine, alanine and arginine were significantly lower in Gannan than those in Haibei Tibetan lamb meat (P < 0.05), while glycine was the opposite and the other amino acids were not significantly different (P > 0.05). The meat flavor of Gannan Tibetan lambs was better than that of Haibei Tibetan lambs. Lead, mercury and chromium were detected in both Gannan and Haibei Tibetan sheep meat; the mercury content in Haibei Tibetan lamb meat was significantly higher than that in Gannan Tibetan lamb meat. Cadmium was also detected in Gannan Tibetan lamb meat at 0.006 mg/kg, while other harmful substances were not detected. In summary, the meat of Gannan Tibetan lambs has better processing properties and high protein content, and different Tibetan sheep breeds should be chosen according to different purposes in production.
2023, Vol. 37 
