Effects of perilla (Perilla frutescens L.) seeds supplementation on performance, carcass characteristics, meat quality and fatty acid composition of rabbits

An experiment has been conducted to study the effects of increasing levels of Perilla frutescens L. seed (PFS) in the diet on the performance, meat quality traits, lipid oxidation and fatty acid profile of rabbit fat and meat. Thirty weaned, crossbred (Carmagnola Grey × New Zealand) rabbits aged thirty days and weighing on average, 1120 ± 193 g, were divided into three groups of 10 (five male and five female rabbits each). Three levels of PFS (0, 5, or 10%) were included in isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets. The experimental period lasted 50 days. The performance and meat quality traits were not affected by the dietary treatments. The impact of the PFS enrichment of the diets on the oxidative stability of frozen rabbit meat was significant, but with low values and without any important effect on the meat quality. The polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) concentration in the longissimus dorsi muscle and perirenal fat was significantly increased with increasing PFS inclusion, while the saturated fatty acid (SFA) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) decreased. The n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio of the rabbit meat decreased from 6.53 in the control group, to 1.00 in the 10% PFS group. These results shown that the use of a diet supplemented with PFS is effective in reducing the saturation, atherogenic and thrombogenic indexes in the rabbit tissues.