Lower lipid oxidation in the muscle of rabbits fed diets containing oats

The susceptibility to oxidation of rabbit longissimus dorsi samples from animals receiving 300 g kg−1 oat in the feed was compared to samples from control animals receiving a diet based on barley. Dietary oat in rabbit diets balanced in digestible energy and protein did not affect feed efficiency, carcass weight and fatness. Also, intramuscular fat content was not affected by dietary treatment. Fat unsaturation, as assessed by the unsaturation index, was not modified by dietary treatment for neutral and polar lipids. After 8 days of storage thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) of muscle samples from rabbits fed the control diet and rabbits fed the diet containing 300 g kg−1 oats were 1.32 and 0.67 mg malonaldehyde kg−1 muscle (P < 0.001), respectively. Dietary oats also reduced drip loss in longissimus dorsi muscle (P < 0.05). The presence of oat antioxidants and their possible synergistic effects suggest an interesting way of improving meat stability during storage.