Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T17:47:10.107Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Discrimination of pasture-fed lambs from lambs fed dehydrated alfalfa indoors using different compounds measured in the fat, meat and plasma

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2009

S. Prache*
Affiliation:
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, INRA, UR1213 Herbivores, Site de Theix, F-63122 Saint-Genès-Champanelle, France
N. Kondjoyan
Affiliation:
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, INRA, UR370 Qualité des Produits Animaux, Site de Theix, F-63122 Saint-Genès-Champanelle, France
O. Delfosse
Affiliation:
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, INRA, UMR FARE 0614, Centre de Recherche en Environnement et Agronomie, 2 Esplanade Roland Garros BP 224, F-51686 Reims Cedex 2, France
B. Chauveau-Duriot
Affiliation:
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, INRA, UR1213 Herbivores, Site de Theix, F-63122 Saint-Genès-Champanelle, France
D. Andueza
Affiliation:
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, INRA, UR1213 Herbivores, Site de Theix, F-63122 Saint-Genès-Champanelle, France
A. Cornu
Affiliation:
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, INRA, UR1213 Herbivores, Site de Theix, F-63122 Saint-Genès-Champanelle, France
Get access

Abstract

The last decade has seen important developments in the use of carotenoid pigments to authenticate pasture-feeding in ruminants. However, dehydrated alfalfa is sometimes incorporated in grain-based concentrates fed to stall-raised lambs, which may affect the reliability of the pasture-feeding authentication methods based on carotenoids in plasma and fat, due to significant residual carotenoid levels post-dehydration. The aim of this study was to examine whether other compounds can give additional information to authenticate diet and discriminate pasture-fed lambs from lambs fed high levels of alfalfa indoors. Two feeding treatments were compared: pasture-feeding (P) v. stall-feeding with dehydrated alfalfa (A). Each treatment group consisted of seven male Romanov × Berrichon lambs. Pasture-fed (P) lambs grazed a permanent graminaceae-rich pasture maintained at a leafy, green stage, offered ad libitum; they received no supplementation at pasture. A-group lambs were individually penned and fed dehydrated alfalfa and straw; their feed level was adjusted to achieve a similar growth pattern as for P-group lambs. Plasma carotenoid concentration was measured at slaughter by spectrophotometry. The reflectance spectrum of perirenal and subcutaneous caudal fat was measured at 24-h post mortem and used to calculate an index (absolute value of the mean integral (AVMI)) quantifying light absorption by carotenoid pigments present in the fat. The nitrogen (N) stable isotopes ratio (δ15N) in both feed and longissimus dorsi muscle was measured by isotopes ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). Volatile compounds were analyzed in perirenal fat for five randomly chosen lambs per treatment, using dynamic headspace–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Plasma carotenoid concentration and AVMI of the fat did not differ significantly between P- and A-group lambs, but there were significant between-treatment differences in meat δ15N values and in the terpene profiles of perirenal fat. A discriminant analysis performed using three compounds in different animal tissues (δ-cadinene in perirenal fat, δ15N value of the meat and plasma carotenoid concentration) clearly separated pasture-fed lambs from lambs fed high levels of alfalfa indoors.

Type
Full Paper
Copyright
Copyright © The Animal Consortium 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aufrère, J, Michalet-Doreau, B 1983. In vivo digestibility and prediction of digestibility of some by-products. EEC Seminar EUR 8918 EN on Feeding Value of By-products and their Use by Beef Cattle, Melle-Gontronde, Belgium, pp. 2535.Google Scholar
Cardinault, N, Doreau, M, Poncet, C, Nozière, P 2006. Digestion and absorption of carotenoids in sheep fed fresh red clover. Animal Science 82, 4955.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cornu, A, Kondjoyan, N, Martin, B, Ferlay, A, Pradel, P, Coulon, JB, Berdagué, JL 2002. Toward the recognition of the main diets distributed to cows by means of terpene profiles in milk. Rencontres autour des Recherches sur les Ruminants 9, 370.Google Scholar
Daget, P, Poissonnet, P 1971. Une méthode d’analyse phytosociologique des prairies. Critères d’application. Annales Agronomiques 22, 541.Google Scholar
Dian, PHM, Andueza, D, Barbosa, CMP, Amoureux, S, Jestin, M, Carvalho, PCF, Prado, IN, Prache, S 2007a. Methodological developments in the use of visible reflectance spectroscopy for discriminating pasture-fed from concentrate-fed lamb carcasses. Animal 1, 11981208.Google Scholar
Dian, PHM, Chauveau-Duriot, B, Prado, IN, Prache, S 2007b. A dose-response study relating the concentration of carotenoid pigments in blood and reflectance spectrum characteristics of fat to carotenoid intake level in sheep. Journal of Animal Science 85, 30543061.Google Scholar
Karijord, O 1978. Correlation between the concentration of carotenoids in depot fat and in plasma of sheep. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica 28, 355359.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kondjoyan, N, Berdagué, JL 1996. A compilation of relative retention indices for the analysis of aromatic compounds. Laboratoire Flaveur Publisher, INRA, Clermont-Ferrand, France.Google Scholar
Lyan, B, Azais-Braesco, V, Cardinault, N, Tyssandier, V, Borel, P, Alexandre-Gouabau, MC, Grolier, P 2001. Simple method for clinical determination of 13 carotenoids in human plasma using an isocratic high-performance liquid chromatographic method. Journal of Chromatography B: Biomedical Sciences and Applications 751, 297303.Google Scholar
Mariaca, RG, Berger, TFH, Gauch, R, Imhof, MI, Jeangros, B, Bosset, JO 1997. Occurrence of volatile mono- and sesquiterpenoids in highland and lowland plant species as possible precursors for flavor compounds in milk and dairy products. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 45, 44234434.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, B, Cornu, A, Kondjoyan, N, Ferlay, A, Verdier-Metz, I, Pradel, P, Rock, E, Chilliard, Y, Coulon, JB, Berdagué, JL 2005. Milk indicators for recognizing the types of forages eaten by dairy cows. In Indicators of milk and beef quality (ed. JF Hocquette and S Gigli), EAAP publication no. 112, pp. 127136. Wageningen Academic Publishers, Wageningen, The Netherlands.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Patterson, DSP 1965. The association between depot fat mobilization and the presence of xanthophyll in the plasma of normal sheep. Journal of Agricultural Science 64, 273278.Google Scholar
Piasentier, E, Valusso, R, Camin, F, Versini, G 2003. Stable isotope ratio analysis for authentication of lamb meat. Meat Science 64, 239247.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Prache, S, Thériez, M 1999. Traceability of lamb production systems: carotenoids in plasma and adipose tissue. Animal Science 69, 2936.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prache, S, Priolo, A, Grolier, P 2003a. Persistence of carotenoid pigments in the blood of concentrate-finished grazing sheep: its significance for the traceability of grass-feeding. Journal of Animal Science 81, 360367.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Prache, S, Priolo, A, Grolier, P 2003b. Effect of concentrate finishing on the carotenoid content of perirenal fat in grazing sheep: its significance for discriminating grass-fed, concentrate-fed and concentrate-finished grazing lambs. Animal Science 77, 225233.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prache, S, Cornu, A, Berdagué, JL, Priolo, A 2005. Traceability of animal feeding diet in the meat and milk of small ruminants: a review. Small Ruminant Research 59, 157168.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prache, S, Martin, B, Nozière, P, Engel, E, Besle, JM, Ferlay, A, Micol, D, Cornu, A, Cassar-Malek, I, Andueza, D 2007. Diet authentication in ruminants from the composition of their products and tissues. INRA Productions Animales 20, 295308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Priolo, A, Prache, S, Micol, D, Agabriel, J 2002. Reflectance spectrum to trace grass feeding in sheep: influence of measurement site and shrinkage time after slaughter. Journal of Animal Science 80, 886891.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Priolo, A, Cornu, A, Prache, S, Krogmann, M, Kondjoyan, N, Micol, D, Berdagué, JL 2004. Fat volatiles tracers of grass feeding in sheep. Meat Science 66, 475481.Google Scholar
Renou, JP, Bielicki, G, Deponge, C, Gachon, P, Micol, D, Ritz, P 2004. Characterization of animal products according to geographic origin and feeding diet using nuclear magnetic resonance and isotope ratio mass spectrometry. Part II: Beef meat. Food Chemistry 86, 251256.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rossmann, A, Kornexl, BE, Versini, G, Pichlmayer, F, Lamprecht, G 1998. Origin assignment of milk from alpine regions by multielement stable isotope ratio analysis (Sira). Journal of Food Science and Nutrition 1, 921.Google Scholar
Russel, AJF, Doney, JM, Gunn, RG 1969. Subjective assessment of body fat in live sheep. Journal of Agricultural Science 72, 451454.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmidt, O, Quilter, JM, Bahar, B, Moloney, AP, Scrimgeour, CM, Begley, IS, Monahan, FJ 2005. Inferring the origin and dietary history of beef from C, N and S stable isotope ratio analysis. Food Chemistry 91, 545549.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Serrano, E, Cornu, A, Kondjoyan, N, Figueredo, G, Agabriel, J, Micol, D 2007. Terpene accumulation in muscle and fatty tissues of calves supplemented with essential oils. Journal of Animal and Feed Sciences 16, 168179.Google Scholar
Statistical Analysis Systems Institute (SAS) 1999. SAS/STAT user’s guide, version 8. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA.Google Scholar
Suzuki, J, Bailey, ME 1985. Direct sampling capillary GLC analysis of flavor volatiles from ovine fat. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 33, 343347.Google Scholar
Young, OA, Berdagué, JL, Viallon, C, Rousset-Akrim, S, Thériez, M 1997. Fat-borne volatiles and sheep meat odour. Meat Science 45, 183200.Google Scholar