Carcass characteristics and meat quality of male goat kids supplemented by alternative feed resources: Olive cake and cactus cladodes.

Abstract Background The current study was carried out to evaluate the effect of olive cake and cactus cladodes incorporation on carcass characteristics and meat quality of goat kids.Methods Forty-eight male goat kids were divided into four groups. The control group received a conventional supplementation and the test groups were supplemented with a concentrate containing, on dry matter basis, 35% of olive cake (OC), 30% of cactus cladodes (CC), or 15% OC and 15% CC (OC+CC) respectively. After 3 months, all animals were slaughtered and the carcass quality was characterized. Samples of Longissimus dorsi and Semimembranosus were collected to determine meat quality.Results The diets did not affect final body weight and carcass characteristics, except for muscle index that decreases with 35% OC, and redness and yellowness at tail outline and belly (P < 0.05). The OC incorporation increased yellowness at tail and decreased redness at belly (P < 0.05), while the CC inclusion decreased redness at tail outline (P < 0.01), and redness (P < 0.05) and yellowness at belly (P < 0.01). Meat ultimate pH, color, moisture and tenderness were not affected by diets. In Longissimus dorsi, higher proteins (P < 0.001) and lower fat and ash (P < 0.05) content were observed with CC, and lower proteins content with OC and OC+CC (P < 0.001). In Semimembranosus, a low initial pH (P < 0.05) was observed with OC and high protein content (P < 0.001) with CC and OC+CC. Generally, groups, ratios, and indexes of fatty acids (FA) were similar between groups, except FA profile that was affected by diet, especially for Semimembranosus. In Longissimus dorsi, the OC and CC introduction decreased C16:1, and C20: 3n3 increased with CC and OC+CC (P < 0.05). While in Semimembranosus, OC increased C6, C8, C18:3n3, C20:2 and C22:2, whereas CC incorporation reduced C8, C10, and C15:1, and OC+CC reduced C10 (P < 0.05).Conclusions This study was shown that OC and CC could be introduced in goat kids’ diet, without a negative effect on carcass characteristics and meat quality.