Vol. 12, Special Issue 12 (2023)

Author(s):
Anandhu A Kumar, Vasudevan VN, Sathu T, Sreekumar TR, Irshad A and Anoop S

Abstract:
This study is aimed to assess the total iron (TFe) and heme iron (HeFe)contents in meat obtained from rabbits which were subjected stunning by a developed stunner (DS, n=12) and by the percussive blow method (PB, n=12). Female crossbred (Soviet Chinchilla x White Giant) rabbits weighing 1.5-2 kg were selected as subjects for this investigation. Following stunning and scientific slaughtering procedures, samples of Biceps femoris muscle were harvested. The quantification of TFe concentration in these samples involved an acid digestion process, followed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). The HeFe content of Biceps femoris muscle was determined through the subtraction of non-heme iron (nHeFe) content from the total iron. Initially, the nHeFe content was assessed using an acid extraction technique along with AAS. The study results revealed that the mean TFe concentrations (mg/100 g) in meat from rabbits of DS groups were 0.168±0.008 and 0.102±0.013 and those from PB group were 0.185±0.009 and 0.182±0.009, respectively. The TFe content consistently remained below 1 mg/100 g in all meat cuts. Furthermore, approximately 60 percent of the iron content in mechanically stunned rabbit meat was found to be in the form of heme iron. The heme iron content in Biceps femoris was observed to be higher in the traditional percussive blow group compared to the developed stunner group. These findings indicate that Biceps femoris region of rabbit possesses low TFe concentrations, similarly to poultry, with the majority of iron existing in the form of heme iron. The stunning process with developed stunner induced more efficient bleeding in rabbits compared to the traditional percussive blow method.