Abstract:

The research evaluated the effect of different dietary levels of jujube （Zyzyphus lotus） fruit powder on slaughter characteristics and meat quality of Northern Shaanxi white cashmere goats. Forty healthy goats with an average initial body weight of （20.15±1.63） kg were randomly selected and allotted to 5 dietary groups （Control， and Diets I to IV， 8 goats per group）. The control group was fed a basic diet， and the experimental groups I to IV were fed diets with 10%， 15%， 20%， and 25% jujube powder， respectively. After a pre-experiment adaptation period of 10 days， during which all goats were fed the basic diet； The five diets as described above were established and continued for a formal experiment of 70 days. All goats were slaughtered at the end of the experiment， and meat samples were measured the difference of muscle fiber characteristics， appearance quality， and fatty acid and amino acid contents. It was found that： 1） Dressing out and net meat percentages in all four groups receiving jujube powder were significantly higher than in the control group， and bone：meat in the control group and groups I and II were significantly higher than in groups III and IV （P<0.05）. 2） Intramuscular fat content in the control group was significantly lower than that in groups I， II， III and IV （P<0.05）. 3） The shear force， muscle fiber area and diameter of group III were significantly lower than in the other four groups （P<0.05）. 4） The contents of glutamic acid （C16：0） and stearic acid （C18：0） in group III were significantly lower than in the control group and group I （P<0.05）， while arachidonic acid （C20：4n6） and α-linolenic acid （C18：2n6c） in group IV were significantly higher than in the control group and group I （P<0.05）. 5） Aspartic acid， glutamic acid and alanine in group IV were significantly higher than that in the other four groups （P<0.05）. The addition of jujube powder in the experimental diets improved meat tenderness， which was beneficial to the accumulation of minerals， unsaturated fatty acids， amino acids and other nutrients in meat. As a result， the goat meat has higher nutritional value. Considering all the data， the meat quality was the best when Northern Shaanxi white cashmere goats were fed a diet with 20% jujube powder.

Key words: jujube power, Northern Shaanxi white cashmere goat, slaughter characteristics, meat quality