Meat Science 82 (2009) 450455

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Meat Science
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Nutrient composition and technological quality of meat from alpacas reared in Peru
Bettit K. Salv a, Jos M. Zumalacrregui b, Ana C. Figueira c, Mara T. Osorio b, Javier Mateo b,*
a b c

Departamento de Tecnologa de Alimentos y Productos Agropecuarios, Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina UNALM, Av. La Molina s/n, Lima 12, Peru Department of Food Hygiene and Technology, University of Len, Campus Vegazana s/n, 24071 Len, Spain School of Technology, University of the Algarve, Campus da Penha, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal

a r t i c l e

i n f o

a b s t r a c t
The aim of this study was to increase the knowledge on alpaca meat quality characteristics. Twenty Huacaya breed alpacas, reared under a traditional unspecialized production system at the Andean region of Peru, were slaughtered at ages between 18 and 24 months. Analyses were carried out on Longissimus thoracis and lumborum muscle (LTLM), unless otherwise specied. These included composition parameters: moisture, fat, protein, ash, minerals, amino acids, fatty acid prole (of both LTLM and perirenal fat), retinol and tocopherol concentrations and myoglobin and collagen contents. Other meat quality parameters were evaluated: pH, colour, water holding capacity and WarnerBratzler shear-force. Alpaca LTLM was characterized by a low intramuscular fat content and mineral and amino acid compositions, polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acids ratio and conjugated linoleic acid content comparable to those found for beef and sheep meat. However, specically, alpaca meat showed a relatively high n6 to n3 (3.7) ratio and low vitamin E concentration. Values of alpaca meat technological quality parameters were in the ranges reported for more conventional red meats, the exception being a lower b* value. 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Article history: Received 9 December 2008 Received in revised form 18 February 2009 Accepted 20 February 2009

Keywords: Meat quality South American camelids Lama pacos

1. Introduction Alpaca (Lama pacos) is one of the domesticated South American camelids whos natural habitat is localized in the Altiplano, the high Andean zone extending through Bolivia, Peru, Argentina and Chile. Alpacas are reared for their bre and meat using unspecialized production systems (Arstegui, 2005), in which alpacas are bred to thrive on the tough vegetation of that zone at altitudes over 4000 m above sea level (Neely, Taylor, Prosser, & Hamlyn, 2001). Alpacas represent an important meat resource for rural Andean families (Faireld, 2006). In Peru, the number of alpacas annually slaughtered is around half a million producing more than 11,000,000 kg of meat (Hack, 2001) the alpaca-carcass dressing percentage expected is at least 50%, with carcass weight averaging around 23 kg. The main acceptability problems of alpaca meat appear to be related to prejudices on the supply and demand sides, involving hygiene and safety issues (poor meat hygiene and the presence of Sarcocystis aucheniae), eating quality and socio-cultural aspects (Faireld, 2006). According to Hack (2001), not only is alpaca meat consumed locally in Andean rural sectors, but the meat of healthy and young alpacas is demanded by consumers from upper-income sectors. The preferred animals are those up to two years of age, which is partially explained as, at this early age, meat is tender
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +34 987291247; fax: +34 987291284. E-mail address: jmato@unileon.es (J. Mateo). 0309-1740/$ - see front matter 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.meatsci.2009.02.015

and a much lower number of alpacas are affected by Sarcocystis. However, most alpacas in Peru are slaughtered at 78 years of age, due to the small producers reluctance to sacrice young animals (Faireld, 2006). In recent publications the quality of alpaca meat for human consumption was evaluated. Steele, Cox, Hope, Robinson, and Hawkins, (2006) studied the effect of age (between 3 and 5 years) and castration on proximate composition of male alpaca meat and found a positive effect of both factors on fat content. In addition, Cristofanelli, Antonini, Torres, Polidori, and Renieri (2004, 2005) studied and compared several carcass and meat quality characteristics of alpacas and llamas (Lama glama) slaughtered at 25 months of age. These authors stated that llamas were more favourable than alpacas for meat production. Thus, carcasses of llamas showed both higher carcass weights and higher proportion of muscle than those of alpacas, although the dressing percentage was more favourable for alpaca. These studies also revealed that alpaca and llama meat showed remarkably low intramuscular fat and cholesterol contents. Moreover, mineral contents and shearforce values of alpaca and llama meats were studied recently (Polidori, Antonini, Torres, Beghelli, & Renieri, 2007a). Cristofanelli et al. (2004), based on the quality characteristics of alpaca carcass and meat, and considering both the socio-economic conditions of local populations in the Andean regions and the high added-value obtained in richer countries for the alpaca natural bre, suggested that alpaca should be bred as a bre animal rather than a meat animal. On the other hand, in spite of the good reasons

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for promotion of bre sector, Faireld (2006) stated that alpaca meat production should also be promoted, since small producers need to be able to benet from their animals in a variety of complementary ways. Apart from the above-mentioned studies, no further information could be found on the physico-chemical quality of alpaca meat, as stated by Saadoun and Cabrera (2008). Therefore, the aim of this study was to contribute to the knowledge of the composition and technological quality characteristics of alpaca meat. 2. Materials and methods 2.1. Sample collection The study involved 20 Huacaya breed alpacas 1824 months old, reared under extensive conditions on pasture characteristic of the Peruvian Andean highlands these animals can be classied as young males and females produced on pasture, exclusively forage fed, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) standard for Alpaca and Llama meat (2006). After two weeks of forage and grain feeding in feedlot in Lima, animals were conventionally slaughtered in conformity with Peruvian regulation. The carcasses were obtained by eliminating the head (cut at the occipitalatlantoidal articulation), feet (cut at tarsalmetatarsal and carpalmetacarpal articulations), skin, and viscera (except for the kidney and perirenal fat); macroscopical sarcocysts were not found in muscles by visual inspection. Carcasses were stored for 24 h in a cold room (4 C) and then split into two sides. Longissimus thoracis and lumborum muscle (LTLM) was dissected and collected from the left-hand side of each carcass. The muscle portion between the 6th and the 10th thoracic vertebrae was homogenized. A part was lyophilised, and then, vacuum-packed and frozen (40 C) until further chemical analysis (2 months). The other part was used immediately after muscle dissection for expressible juice determination. The portion from the 10th to the last thoracic vertebrae was used immediately for pH and colour studies and, after maturation at 4 C for 3 days, for cooking loss and texture. In addition, fat around the kidney from each left-hand carcass was sampled and frozen at 40 C for 2 months until fatty acid (FA) analysis. 2.2. Chemical composition analysis Moisture, fat, protein and ash contents were estimated according to methods recommended by the AOAC (AOAC, 1999, chp. 39) Ofcial methods nos. 950.46, 991.36, 981.10 and 920.153, respectively. For mineral content, aliquots of approximately 0.25 g (0.01) of lyophilised muscle sample were accurately weighed, and digested with concentrated HNO3 in tightly closed screw-cap glass tubes and mineral contents were determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) according as described previously (Osorio et al., 2007a). Amino acid contents were assessed by reverse-phase high pressure liquid chromatography. Firstly, the hydrolysis of proteins of meat samples (0.1 g) was carried out in screw-capped tubes, using 6 M HCl acid (5 ml) at 110 C for 24 h. Afterwards, 1-ml aliquots of a standard of free amino acids (Alltech Grom, RottenburgHailngen, Germany) or the hydrolyzed samples were derivatized with phenylisothiocyanate (PITC) as described by Bidlingmeyer, Cohen, and Tarvin (1984). The chromatographic system was composed of a 2690-model separation module (Waters Corporation, Milford, MA, USA), equipped with a Waters 996 Photodiode Array detector and a C18 Symmetry (Waters) column (250 mm long 4.6 mm i.d. and 5 lm pore size). The column temperature was maintained at 50 C with a SP8792 column heater (Spectra-Physics, San Jose,

CA, USA). Samples were injected in a volume of 20 ll. The solvent system consisted of two eluents: (A) 0.14 M pH 6.5 sodium acetate buffer and (B) 60% (v/v) acetonitrile in water. The solvent gradient was as follows: 0 min, 100%A; 20 min, 78%A22%B; 40 min, 54%A 46%B; 42 min, 100%B; 44 min, 100%A. Elutions were followed at 254 nm, spectra were taken between 205 and 400 nm. For analysis of retinol, tocopherols and FA of LTLM samples, intramuscular fat (IMF) was rst extracted from 10 g of lyophilised sample previously re-hydrated with 30 ml of water for 12 h, as described by Bligh and Dyer (1959). Vitamins were then extracted from the IMF after saponication and their contents were determined by reverse-phase high pressure liquid chromatography (Osorio, Zumalacrregui, Cabeza, Figueira, & Mateo, 2008). Haem pigment content was estimated as described by Hornsey (1956) and hydroxyproline (collagen) content was measured colorimetrically according to AOAC (1999, Chp. 39) Ofcial method 990.26. Finally, for FA determination, 3050 mg aliquots of the previously extracted IMF or the homogenized PRF samples were used for the methylation of the FA with 5% methanolic HCl (Carrapiso, Timn, Petrn, Tejeda, & Garca, 2000). Gas chromatographic analysis of FAME was performed as described previously (Osorio, Zumalacrregui, Figueira, & Mateo, 2007b). The individual fatty acid contents were expressed as g 100 g1 total fatty acids. 2.3. Analysis of meat quality parameters The pH, meat colour and expressible juice were measured 24 h after slaughter. For pH measurement, a pH meter probe was inserted into the LTLM (at the level of the 13th thoracic vertebrae and 2.5 cm below the dorsal surface). Colour was determined on the transversal surface of the LTLM, just after the last thoracic vertebra with a Minolta (CR-400) chromameter (KonicaMinolta, Osaka, Japan). Colour measures were taken in the CIE L*a*b* colour space (illuminant: D65; visual angle: 10; SCI mode; 11-mm aperture for illumination and 8 mm for measurement; chromometer was calibrated with the white calibration tile provided with the equipment), as described by Honikel (1997). Expressible juice was determined according to a modication of the Grau and Hamm (1957) method. Before homogenization, duplicate 300-mg samples of each LTLM sample were weighed, placed over a previously weighed Whatman no. 1 lter paper (Whatman International Ltd., Kent, UK) and pressed between two rigid plastic plates, using a 1.000 kg weight, for 5 min. Afterwards, the muscle samples were removed, lters were reweighed and the increase in weight, which corresponds to the juice loss, was expressed in terms of percentage of the initial meat weight. For cooking loss and shear-force determinations, the abovementioned muscle portions, maturated (at 4 C for 3 days), were cooked in a water bath at 75 C, to a core temperature of 70 C; afterwards, cooking loss was obtained (Honikel, 1997). Then, two to three rectangular prisms (1 cm2 3 cm long), parallel to muscle bre orientation, were obtained from each cooked sample and shear-force was evaluated using a QTS-25 texture analyzer (Brookeld Engineering Laboratories, Inc., Middleboro, Massachusetts, USA) equipped with a Warner-Bratzler device, with a 50 mm min1 cross head speed, using a 25-kg load cell, with the sample prisms being sheared at right angles to the bre axis (Honikel, 1997). 2.4. Statistical analysis Statistical analyses were performed using STATISTICA for Windows (StatSoft Inc., 2001). Effects of fat deposit (two groups) on FA contents were studied by one-way analysis of variance.

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3. Results and discussion 3.1. Chemical composition parameters Chemical composition of the alpaca LTLM samples, which were obtained from carcasses with a mean cold carcass weight of 27.4 6.3 kg, is shown in Table 1 carcass weight was slightly higher than the 23.3 1.5 kg found by Cristofanelli et al. (2004) for carcasses of 25-month old male Peruvian alpacas. LTLM of alpaca showed mean moisture, protein, IMF and ash contents of 74.1, 22.7, 2.2 and 1.1%, respectively. Moisture and protein values were very similar to those listed by Cristofanelli et al. (2004) for both alpaca and llama LTLM. However, discrepancies in IMF percentage were observed. The IMF content of alpaca LTLM was higher than the 0.50 0.01% reported by Cristofanelli et al. (2004) for both llama and alpaca LTLM. On the other hand, it was lower than the 3.5 1.1% reported the same group (Polidori, Renieri, Antonini, Passamonti, & Pucciarelli, 2007b) for Peruvian llama LTLM. In addition, the ash content found was lower than the 2.5% reported by Cristofanelli et al. (2004) for alpaca and llama LTLM. Furthermore, the proximate composition of alpaca meat in the present study was very similar to that described for LTLM of Arabian camel (Hoffman, 2008; Kadim et al., 2006). The mineral composition of LTLM of alpaca is shown in Table 1. Potassium, phosphorous, sodium and magnesium were the major minerals found. Mineral contents were in general agreement with those reported by Polidori et al. (2007a) for the LTLM of Peruvian male alpacas; the only notable discrepancies being for magnesium
Table 1 Composition of alpaca muscle Longissimus thoracis and lumborum. Parameter Proximate composition (%) Moisture Protein Intramuscular fat Ash Minerals (mg 100 g1) Potassium Phosphorus Sodium Magnesium Calcium Zinc Iron Copper Manganese Amino acids (% on total amino acids) Glutamic acid Aspartic acid Isoleucine + leucine Lysine Histidine + threonine Alanine Arginine Glycine Phenylalanine + tryptophane Serine Valine Proline Tyrosine Methionine Vitamins (lg g1 of meat) a-Tocopherol d-Tocopherol c-Tocopherol Retinol Other composition parameters (mg g1) Myoglobin Collagen Mean SD (n = 20) 74.07 1.57 22.69 1.70 2.05 0.85 1.10 0.11 419 48 295 30 88.4 15.2 33.8 4.11 10.7 4.0 4.44 2.14 2.69 0.96 0.101 0.058 0.015 0.004 16.61 1.80 12.06 1.82 11.40 1.08 11.05 2.76 7.63 0.52 7.30 0.48 6.90 1.46 5.97 0.48 5.17 2.93 4.76 0.29 3.33 0.26 3.27 0.28 2.36 0.32 2.19 0.84 0.31 0.21 <0.02 <0.02 0.17 0.16 4.99 0.76 4.92 1.61

and iron contents, which were, respectively, approximately 30% higher and 30% lower than in the results reported by these authors. Mineral contents in alpaca LTLM were within the ranges found for camel meat (E1-Faer, Rawdah, Attar, & Dawson, 1991; Kadim et al., 2006). Table 1 also shows the amino acid concentrations of alpaca LTLM. To our knowledge, no data on amino acid composition of the meat of South American camelids have been reported, although it has been studied in camel meat (Dawood & Alkanhal, 1995). In general, amino acid composition of alpaca meat was comparable to that of the meat from other species (Kadim, Mahgoub, & Purchas, 2008; USDA, 2008). The tocopherol content of meat is a relevant parameter, since increased levels of it improves overall meat quality, primarily by inhibiting fatty acid oxidation and the loss of desirable colour during storage (Wood et al., 2008). Mean a-tocopherol and retinol concentrations in alpaca meat were respectively, 0.31 0.21 lg g1 and 0.17 0.16 lg g1; d- and c-tocopherol were not detectable. Values for tocopherol concentration in alpaca meat as well as in the meat of other camelids could not be found in the literature. Values found in alpaca meat were far lower than the critical level of 3.5 lg g1 suggested for optimum lipid stability in beef (Arnold, Scheller, Arp, Williams, & Schaefer, 1993), which is usually reached in beef derived from pasture feeding (Descalzo & Sancho, 2008). However, tocopherol values found in sheep meat are usually lower (Demirel et al., 2004; Kasapidou, Wood, Sinclair, Wilkinson, & Enser, 2001). Total myoglobin concentration in alpaca LTLM was 4.99 0.76 mg g1. No data on the content of haem pigments of camelid meat was found in the literature. However, values found in alpaca meat were similar to those obtained in other studies for beef (Krzywicki, 1982) and for the meat of approximately 2year old ovine animals (Ledward & Shorthose, 1971). Collagen contents of camelid meat, to our knowledge, have not been determined until now. Mean collagen content of alpaca LTLM was 0.49 0.16%. Similar amounts have been detected in Longissimus muscle of young (12 years old) bulls (Rhee, Wheeler, Shackelford, & Koohmaraie, 2004; Serra et al., 2008; Torrescano, Snchez-Escalante, Gimnez, Roncals, & Beltrn, 2003) and lower amounts (0.260.29%) in that muscle of 810-month old lambs (Tschirhart-Hoelscher, Baird, King, McKenna, & Savell, 2006). FA proles of alpaca IMF and PRF are shown in Table 2. In IMF, the major FA was C18:1 n9 (with 24.2% of total FA), followed by C16:0 (22.0%) and C18:0 (19.8%). In PRF, the major FA was C18:0 (with 33.4% of total FA), followed by C16:0 (19.1%), and C18:1 n9 (14.1%). Signicant differences (P < 0.05) were found for almost all individual FA between IMF and PRF. Saturated FA (SFA) represented, for IMF and PRF samples 51.2% and 63.9% of total FA, respectively, monounsaturated FA (MUFA), 37.1% and 30.3%, and polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) 11.7% and 5.8%. Signicant differences between both fat deposits were observed for all the three sums. Alpaca IMF had a PUFA:SFA ratio of 0.26, which is intermediate between those reported for ruminant meat; meanwhile, the n6:n3 ratio of alpaca IMF (3.74) was higher compared to the ratios (23) reported for beef and sheep meat (USDA, 2008). PUFA:SFA and n6:n3 ratios of alpaca IMF were near to the minimum and maximum recommended dietary ratios of 0.4 and 4, respectively (British Department of Health, 1994). Additionally, the contents of conjugated linolenic acid (CLA), were 1.2% and 1.0% of total fatty acids for the alpaca IMF and PRF, respectively. These values were between the ranges reported for beef, 0.121.0%, and lamb, 0.431.9 (Schmid, Collomb, Sieber, & Bee, 2006). Finally, some peculiar polymethyl-branched FA (PMBFA), presumably resulting from dietary phytol intake by the grazing animals (Hansen, 1968), were detected in alpaca IMF and PRF at amounts up to 0.5%.

B.K. Salv et al. / Meat Science 82 (2009) 450455 Table 2 Fatty acid contents, expressed as weight percentage of total fatty acids, of alpaca intramuscular and perirenal fat. Intramuscular fat Mean SD (n = 20) Individual fatty acids C8:0 C10:0 C12:0 C13:0 monomethyl-br undiff (2,2) C13:0 C14:0 monomethyl-br C14:0 C16:0 trimethyl-brA C14:1 undiff C14:1 n5 RC15:0 monomethyl-br undiff (2,2) C15:0 C15:1 n5 C16:0 monomethyl-br C19:0 tetramethyl-brA C16:0 C16:1 n7 RC16:1 undiff (3,5) RC17:0 monomethyl-br undiff (2,2) C20:0 tetramethyl-brA C17:0 C17:1 undiff C17:1 n7 C18:0 monomethyl-br C18:0 C18:1 n9 RC18:1 undiff (5,8) C18:2 n-6 RC18:2 undiff (2,3) C19:0 C19:1 n9 C18:3 n3 CLA RCLA undiff (3,3) C20:0 C20:1 n9 C20:2 n6 C20:3 n6 C20:3 n3 C20:3 undiff C20:4 n6 C21:0 C22:0 Sums and ratios SFA MUFA PUFA BCFA OFA PUFA/SFA n3 n6 n6/n3 0.06 0.04a 0.20 0.08a 0.18 0.05a 0.06 0.03a 0.06 0.03a 0.17 0.05a 2.67 0.42a 0.05 0.05a 0.04 0.02a 0.07 0.04a 1.19 0.35a 1.03 0.22a 0.07 0.04a 0.41 0.10a 0.02 0.02a 22.01 1.05a 3.15 1.13a 0.75 0.88a 1.23 0.16a 0.29 0.11a 0.86 0.18a 0.25 0.21a 0.41 0.21a 0.14 0.04a 19.82 1.78a 24.24 5.04a 7.63 1.41a 6.02 2.52a 0.71 0.13a 0.29 0.04a 0.19 0.06a 1.75 0.61a 0.79 0.11a 0.41 0.10a 0.36 0.10a 0.26 0.15a 0.16 0.06a 0.22 0.13 0.30 0.16a 0.07 0.06a 1.28 0.51a ND 0.10 0.08a 51.23 1.60a 37.06 3.63a 11.71 3.68a 3.57 0.70a 5.67 0.75a 0.26 0.08a 2.05 0.69a 7.69 3.02a 3.74 1.01a Perirenal fat Mean SD (n = 20) 0.02 0.01b 0.07 0.03b 0.17 0.05b 0.08 0.03b 0.09 0.03b 0.27 0.05b 2.24 0.40b 0.05 0.02a 0.01 0.01b 0.04 0.02b 1.84 0.38b 1.33 0.25b 0.10 0.04b 0.59 0.13b 0.06 0.03b 19.06 2.29b 1.64 0.57b 1.36 0.19b 0.91 0.12b 0.31 0.12a 1.22 0.22b 0.09 0.04b 0.37 0.09a 0.19 0.04b 33.44 4.14b 14.12 2.77b 11.99 1.23b 2.58 0.65b 0.74 0.12a 0.54 0.08b 0.25 0.08b 1.10 0.37b 0.41 0.14b 0.59 0.07b 0.96 0.23b 0.26 0.14a 0.07 0.03b ND 0.08 0.04b 0.06 0.03b 0.13 0.05b 0.16 0.03 0.33 0.10b 63.92 2.49b 30.33 2.29b 5.75 1.11b 4.29 0.71b 7.09 0.72b 0.19 0.04b 1.18 0.38b 2.78 0.68b 2.44 0.33b

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2007b) and free-range guanacos (Gonzlez, Smulders, Paulsen, Skewes, & Knig, 2004). In contrast to the present study, where more than thirty FA were quantied, in those studies only the 8 10 major FA were determined. Total SFA percentage observed in alpaca IMF where within the range reported for llama IMF. However, average MUFA and PUFA percentages were lower (37.1% vs 42%) and higher (11.7% vs 7%), respectively, in alpaca IMF than in llama IMF. For individual FA contents, the most noticeable differences between both species were that C18:2 and C18:3 contents were approximately two times higher in alpaca IMF. In contrast, compared to alpaca, guanaco IMF showed higher amount of PUFA (16% vs 11.7%) and lower of MUFA (32% vs 37.1%). Specie and dietary (differences in the vegetation of the grazing lands) effects could be responsible for these differences. Furthermore, FA composition of llama, alpaca and even guanaco meat appears to differ from those of camel meat as reported by Rawdah, El-Faer, and Koreish (1994), with the latter containing substantially more PUFA and less MUFA mean differences for PUFA and MUFA percentages between camel and alpaca and llama equalled or exceeded 7%. 3.2. Technological meat quality characteristics Results on technological quality characteristics of alpaca meat obtained from the LTLM samples are shown in Table 3. Alpaca showed a mean pH value of 5.63 0.22; a similar pH (5.6) was found by Cristofanelli et al. (2004) in alpaca and llama LTLM at 48 h post-mortem, which was considered normal for meat after that time. LTLM samples from alpaca showed mean L*, a* and b* values of 36.17 2.12, 15.05 1.44 and 1.16 2.30, respectively. Although no information was available in the literature for alpaca meat, it was found that both L* and a* fell within the values reported for camel meat (32.2337.74 for L* and 13.3717.13 for a*) by Babiker and Yousif (1990) and Kadim et al. (2006), and were intermediate between the ranges observed for lamb meat (Tschirhart-Hoelscher et al., 2006) and beef (Muchenje et al., 2009). However, considerably lower b* (yellowness) values were found for alpaca with respect to those (between 4 and 11) found in the above studies. We have no explanation for these differences, which might result in alpaca meat having a characteristic colour. Water holding capacity (WHC) has been related with nutritional value, appearance and juiciness of meat. Values for alpaca meat were 26.41% as expressible juice and 23.73% as cooking loss. Previously, Cristofanelli et al. (2004) determined the WHC of alpaca and llama meat but using a different methodology (an imbibing method) and found that WHC was not very different compared with meat from other species. Cooking loss percentage in the present study was comparable with those reported for the meat of 2-years camels (Kadim et al., 2006) or young bulls (Rhee et al., 2004; Serra et al., 2008). Tenderness of meat is one of the most important meat eating quality attributes. Mean shear-force values obtained for the cooked samples of alpaca LTLM were 4.67 0.84 kg cm2. These values

CLA: conjugated linoleic acid; SFA: saturated fatty acids; MUFA: monounsaturated fatty acids; PUFA: polyunsaturated fatty acids; BCFA: branched chain fatty acids; OFA: odd fatty acids; ND: not detectable. br: branched. undiff (n,n0 ): undifferentiated isomers (number of detected undifferentiated isomers in intramuscular fat and perirenal fat, respectively). a,b Mean values in the same row with different letter presented signicant differences (P < 0.05) by the post hoc NewmanKeuls analysis. A C16:0 trimethyl-br: 4,8,12-triymethyltridecanoic acid; C19:0 tetramethyl-br: 2,6,10,14-tetramethyl-pentadecanoic acid (pristanic acid); C20:0 tetramethyl-br: 3,7,11,15-tetramethyl-hexadecanoic acid (phytanic acid).

Table 3 Technological meat quality characteristics of alpaca Longissimus dorsi muscle. Characteristic pH Lightness (L*) Redness (a*) Yellowness (b*) Cooking loss (%) Expressible juice (%) WBSF (N) WBSF: WarnerBratzler shear-force. Mean SD (n = 20) 5.63 0.22 36.17 2.12 15.05 1.44 1.16 2.30 23.73 3.98 26.41 4.22 45.81 0.84

No data on the FA composition of alpaca meat were found (Saadoun & Cabrera, 2008), although FA composition of IMF has been studied in meat of other South American camelids, i.e. llamas reared on pasture under extensive conditions (Polidori et al.,

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were not signicantly correlated with collagen content the linear correlation coefcient r was 0.32 (data not shown). In agreement, although collagen content has seemed to be highly correlated with raw meat shear-force, low correlations have been frequently observed in cooked meat (Lepetit, 2007). Shear-force values in the present study were approximately 20% lower than those reported by Polidori et al. (2007a) for oven-roasted LTLM samples of Peruvian 25-months-old male alpacas after two days post-mortem storage. This variation could be attributed, at least partially, to differences in methodology, i.e. sample size and heating process, as well as differences in sexes, since Polidori et al. (2007a) used only male animals whereas in this study both sexes were included. Shear-force values of alpaca meat were similar to those obtained for Longissimus dorsi muscle of camel (Babiker & Yousif, 1990). 4. Conclusions The present study provides data on the composition and technological quality of meat from young alpacas (1824 months; which is considered an optimum slaughtering age range for alpaca meat quality). Since there is very limited information available in the literature on this subject, the data obtained might be useful for the development of quality standards to promote commercialization of alpaca meat in different markets. Alpaca meat appears to be not only suitable but also attractive for human consumption, from both chemical composition and technological meat quality points of view. More specically, (1) proximate composition of alpaca muscle was characterized by a relatively low intramuscular fat content (2%) and a high ratio of protein to fat, (2) mineral and amino acid compositions, PUFA:SFA ratio and CLA content were similar to those of beef and sheep meat (3), alpaca intramuscular fat seems to have an interesting n6:n3 ratio of 3.7 (higher in comparison with available data on beef and sheep meat). Moreover, values obtained for the technological alpaca meat characteristics, in general, were comparable to those reported for conventional red meats; the only notable difference being a low b* value. In addition, in spite of alpacas being reared in extensive conditions on pasture, the vitamin E content in their meat was relatively low. In this sense, the need for further studies to assess the patterns of lipid oxidation and colour stability of alpaca meat during storage and the effect on them of tocopherol concentration and fatty acid prole would be desirable. Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank to the Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina (Peru), the Fundacin Carolina (Spain) and the University of Len (Spain) for funding this study, to the Laboratorio de Tcnicas Instrumentales at the University of Leon where the analysis of minerals were realized and to Jorge Espino Salazar for his valuable help with the experimental work carried out in Peru. References
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