Meat texture and antioxidant status are improved when carnosic acid is included in the diet of fattening lambs.

Thirty-two Merino lambs fed barley straw and a concentrate alone (CONTROL group) or enriched with carnosic acid [0.6 g kg(-1) dry matter (DM), CARN006 group; 1.2 g kg(-1) DM, CARN012 group] or vitamin E (0.6 g kg(-1) DM, VITE006 group) were used to assess the effect of these antioxidant compounds on meat quality. After being fed the experimental diets for at least 5 weeks, the animals were slaughtered with the 25 kg intended body weight and the different muscles (longissimus lumborum; LL, gluteus medius; GM) were sliced and kept refrigerated under modified atmosphere packaging during 0, 7 and 14 days. The results indicate that carnosic acid seemed to be useful to delay lipid peroxidation in a medium colour-stable muscle such as GM, but this effect was lower than that observed when vitamin E was supplemented to fattening lambs. On the contrary, meat texture and protection against cholesterol oxidation were equally improved with both compounds.