CONSUMER SENSORY EVALUATION OF MEAT FROM GROWING RABBITS FED DIET CONTAINING MULBERRY LEAVES

The nutritional profile of rabbit meat, when compared with other species, is characterized by relatively higher protein content, higher proportions of n-3 fatty acids, and low amounts of intramuscular fat, cholesterol and sodium, thus indicating that its consumption may provide health benefits to consumers. With regard to the sensory characteristics, studies on consumer preferences found mixed results. People who consume rabbit meat think it has a pleasant delicate flavour and was tender. On the contrary, consumers who avoid rabbit meat judge it to have an unpleasant taste. The main cause of refusal is its typical taste of wild meat, partially due to the fat content. Morus alba is a fast growing, small to medium sized deciduous mulberry tree. Mulberry leaves are rich in nutrients and have a large number of unique bioactive substances, which can be used as high-quality livestock feed. Moreover, mulberry leaves are rich in aldehydes, alcohols, esters and ketones, which are the main characteristic compounds of meat flavour, so that feeding rabbits mulberry leaf could improve the composition of fatty acids in the meat, which in turn could enhance the flavour. Maintaining meat quality is essential to sustainable livestock management. Therefore, identifying alternative feed materials while considering consumer acceptance is crucial. Based on these considerations, this study was conducted to investigate the effect of the mulberry leaf meal supplementation in dietary concentrate on rabbit meat sensory quality.