Rosemary distillation residues reduce lipid oxidation, increase alpha-tocopherol content and improve fatty acid profile of lamb meat.

The experiment studied the effects of rosemary distillation residues (RR) intake on lamb meat quality, oxidative stability and fatty acid (FA) profile. Barbarine lambs of Control group were fed 600g of hay, which was substituted by 600g of pellets containing 60 and 87% of RR for RR60 and RR87 groups; all animals received 600g of concentrate. Meat protein and fat content was similar for 3 treatments. Lipid oxidation was strongly reduced with RR diets. Both RR diets resulted in a higher α- tocopherol content in muscle. The metmyoglobin and deoxymyoglobin percentages were similar for all groups; however oxymyoglobin was higher for RR groups. The saturated (SFA) and unsaturated FAs (UFA) were unaffected by the diets. However, the PUFA, n-6 and n-3 were higher for RR groups. In conclusion, rosemary residues resulted in higher vitamin E content, so it enhanced the oxidative status and improved the fatty acid profile of lamb meat.