Influence of dietary cardoon meal on volatile compounds and flavour in lamb meat.

Cardoon meal is a by-product retained after oil extraction from the seeds of cultivated Cynara cardunculus var. altilis that has been proposed as a valuable resource for animal feeding. The study aimed to assess the influence of its dietary inclusion on volatile profile and flavour of meat and kidney fat from lambs. Fifteen Sarda × Comisana male lambs were randomly divided in two groups and fed for 75 days with a concentrate-based diet containing 15% cardoon meal (CMD, n = 7) or dehydrated alfalfa (CON, n = 8). Cardoon meal inclusion reduced the "barnyard/animal" odour perceived by a trained panel in kidney fat, which could be associated with the aromatic compound p-cresol (4-methylphenol), detected only in CON diet. Considering the other aroma volatiles regarded as the main contributors for the characteristic lamb flavour, both diets were characterized by moderate to low levels of 4-methyloctanoic acid, skatole and indole while 4-methylnonanoic acid and 4-ethyloctanoic acid were not detected.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None of the authors of this paper has a financial or personal relationship with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias the content of the paper. This manuscript has not been published earlier in any journal and is not being considered for publication elsewhere. All authors have approved the manuscript and agree with its submission to Meat Science.
(Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)