Effect of Coffee Silverskin on Meat Quality of Growing Rabbits

The aim of the present study was to assess the impacts of coffee silverskin (CSS) inclusion in rabbit diets in regard to meat quality. A total of 30 Hycole rabbits were divided into two groups of 15 animals per group and fed with a basal diet (C group) or with the same basal diet but with 10% of CSS (CSS10 group) as a partial cereal replacement. Integration of 10% CSS in the rabbit diet increased dry matter intake (DMI, <i>p</i> < 0.05) and tended to increase (<i>p</i> = 0.096) the final body weight. The CSS diet tended to reduce the concentration of C18:3 ω-3 (<i>p</i> = 0.089), C20:5 ω-3 (<i>p</i> = 0.064) and C22:5 ω-3 (<i>p</i> = 0.069) in muscle compared to the control diet, negatively affecting the ω-6/ω-3 ratio (<i>p</i> < 0.05), which was higher in the CSS10 group compared to the control group. Finally, the addition of CSS to the rabbit diet made the meat more resistant (<i>p</i> < 0.01) to lipid oxidation. Further research is needed to better understand the reasons for improved oxidative stability in meat following dietary CSS supplementation.