Mediterranean Italian buffalo young bull production. Note II: supplementation with vitamine E in the last growing phase.

Despite its nutritional characteristics, buffalo meat is not highly required by the Italian market. One of the characteristics that is responsible for the low diffusion of buffalo meat in Italy, is represented by its earlier (4-5 days after cutting) darkening compared to bovine meat. This phenomenon is favoured by the same nutritional characteristics that make buffalo meat more suitable for some categories of consumers. The higher concentrations of Fe and unsaturated fatty acids in buffalo meat compared to bovine, are the main causes of the earlier qualitative deterioration, due to the oxidation following air exposition. Soon after death, auto-catalytic processes occur, such as lipid oxidation, that results in the production of free radicals that may be inactivated by Vitamin E. This Vitamin has also a protective role on the process of oxidation of oxyhaemoglobin to metahaemoglobin, that is the main factor responsible of colour alterations of the meat. The aim of this study was to verify if the administration of vitamin E per os is able to improve the macroscopic characteristics and the shelf-life of buffalo meat. The trial was performed on 30 buffalo calves that were 403 days old and had an average live weight of 333 kg The animals were divided in 3 groups: 1) 1500 I.U. of vitamin E/die; 2) 600 I.U. of vitamin E/die; 3) control. Buffaloes were controlled until the live weight for slaughter (426 kg) and received the same diet (mixed hay and concentrate. 38%/62%) ad libitum. All buffalo calves were slaughtered between 102 and 123 days from the beginning of the trial. The carcase were kept at 8°C for four days after slaughter, and then processed and cut according to local habits and weighed. Samples of shoulder (Caput longum tricipitis brachii), loin (Longissimus dorsi) and buttock or rump (Semimembranosus) were sent to the meat laboratories T.M. Bettini and B. Ferrara of the DISCIZIA, to the DSA of Federico II University and to the Department of Chemistry and Alimentary Engineering of the UNISA. After dissection, some slices of shoulder clod were allocated containers at 4°C, without additives. In this paper the macroscopic characteristics of the meat samples after some days of storage are reported. No differences in terms of both growth and meat yield at slaughter were recorded among the groups. Seven days after slaughter the slices of the subjects treated with 1500 I.U. of vitamin E were judged saleable, as well as those of the subjects treated with 600 I.U. of vitamin E, whereas the slices of the control group were considered at the end of their shelf-life. Eleven days after slaughter the slices of the subjects treated with 1500 I.U. of vitamin E were still judged saleable, whereas those of the subjects treated with 600 I.U. of vitamin E were considered at the end of their shelf-life. The slices of the subjects belonging to the control group were considered not saleable. The supplementation of the diet with 1500 I.U. of vitamin E throughout the trial (102-123 days) significantly prolonged the shelf-life of the meat compared to the samples of subjects treated with 600 I.U. and above all versus the samples of the controls. The cost of the treatment with 1500 I.U. of vitamin E was 0.86 and 0.30 € respectively for kg of meat and of live weight.