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Variations in stable isotope ratios in lamb blood fractions following dietary changes: a preliminary study
Rationale In meat production it is common practice to use finishing diets based on concentrates, even for those animals previously raised on pasture. No studies have investigated the variations of stable isotope ratios in lamb plasma and erythrocytes, following a switch from pasture to a concentrate...
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Published in: | Rapid communications in mass spectrometry 2016-01, Vol.30 (1), p.170-174 |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Subjects: | |
Citations: | Items that this one cites Items that cite this one |
Online Access: | Get full text |
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Summary: | Rationale
In meat production it is common practice to use finishing diets based on concentrates, even for those animals previously raised on pasture. No studies have investigated the variations of stable isotope ratios in lamb plasma and erythrocytes, following a switch from pasture to a concentrate‐based diet during the last days before slaughter. For meat traceability it is important to verify how and whether these parameters are affected in blood fractions.
Methods
Blood of ten male Italian Merino lambs, whose diet was switched from pasture to concentrate, was sampled 8 times (days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 14) in the last 14 days before slaughter. The variations in the δ13C, δ15N, δ18O and δ34S values of blood plasma and erythrocytes were investigated. The stable isotope ratios of the samples were measured using a stable isotope mass spectrometer coupled with an elemental analyser (C, N, S) and a CO2/H2O equilibration system (Oplasma).
Results
The δ13Cplasma, δ18Oplasma and δ34Splasma values were shown to be different 7 days after the abrupt variation in the diet. The comparison between erythrocytes and plasma stable isotope ratios could be suitable for verifying whether the animal was actually pasture‐raised and could merit a higher price. The erythrocytes isotopic signature was not affected by very short finishing periods in previously grazed animals and maintained the pasture‐raised fingerprint, while the analysis of plasma could detect very short finishing periods with concentrate and hay.
Conclusions
The present study has demonstrated that the combination of blood plasma and erythrocytes stable isotope ratios of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and sulphur can be used to infer the dietary background of lambs and thus offers a tool for the authentication of the animal production system. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
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ISSN: | 0951-4198 1097-0231 |
DOI: | 10.1002/rcm.7428 |