Lamb meat quality and fatty acid composition from diets supplemented with water spinach waste

The research investigated the effect of feed-containing water spinach on meat quality in male and female sheep post-weaning. A total of 16 thin-tailed sheep aged five months old were distributed into two treatments. Feed treatment was control (T1) and pelleted feed with 20% water spinach (T2). Data physical properties and chemical composition of meat were analyzed variance using a 2 × 2 factorial completely randomized design. The result shows that feeding lambs with water spinach pellets did not significantly alter the physical properties, such as cooking loss, moisture content, tenderness, and pH, of either LD or BF muscles. However, male lambs showed increased tenderness in LD and a higher redness level (a*) in BF compared to females. Regarding chemical composition, feeding with water spinach pellets had no significant impact (P>0.05) on the moisture, protein, fat, and ash content of lamb meat, although sex differences were observed. Male lambs showed higher cholesterol levels and larger percentage of saturated fatty acids (SFA) in the LD, while female lambs had higher protein content in the BF (P<0.05). Fatty acid analysis found that the addition of water spinach on feed enhanced linolelaidic acid (C18:2n6t) in the LD muscle (P<0.05). This increase in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), particularly linolelaidic acid and linolenic acid, that is the nutritional potential of water spinach as a feed ingredient. Overall, the application of pelleting technology in this study has no negative impact on meat quality, and it will be a feasible technique for feeding animals efficiently.