EFFECTS OF DIETARY VITAMIN E SUPPLEMENTATION ON MEAT QUALITY, VITAMIN E CONTENTS AND OXIDATIVE STABILITY OF RABBIT MEAT

One hundred and twenty weaned meat rabbits were randomly allocated to one of six diets. The diets contain 0, 40, 80, 160, 320 and 640 mg/kg α-tocopheryl acetate. Forty-eight rabbits were slaughtered at age of 90 days. Effects of dietary vitamin E (VE) supplementation on meat quality, α-tocopherol contents and oxidative stability were evaluated. The α-tocopherol contents in the serum, liver and meat increased when the dietary VE levels increased (p�0.0001). The dietary VE supplementation significantly affected the pH of the Biceps femoris (BF) 45 min post-mortem and day 1 (p<0.05). The dietary VE supplementation significantly increased the tenderness of meat and decreased the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) in serum, liver and meat (p=0.005, p=0.014 and p<0.0001).