Comparison of carcass and meat quality among three different types of Tibetan sheep

The objective of this study was to evaluate the slaughtering performance, meat quality, and muscle fatty acid composition of three different types of Tibetan sheep in Gannan, Gansu Province, which will provide a theoretical basis for the improvement of meat quality and breeding of fine varieties of Tibetan mutton. A total of 18, 3-year old Oula, Ganjia, and Qiaoke Tibetan sheep (6 individuals for each type) were slaughtered to measure their slaughter performance, meat quality, and muscle fatty acid. The results showed that 1) The slaughter performance, body weight, carcass weight, slaughter rate, leaf fat, leaf fat / carcass weight, back fat thickness, small intestine weight / body weight, rumen net weight / body weight, thigh muscle thickness, lumbar muscle thickness and left forequarter bone weight / carcass weight of three types Tibetan sheep were extremely significantly different (P < 0.01). The eye muscle area, carcass length, kidney weight / carcass weight of Oula sheep was higher than that of Ganjia sheep (P < 0.05). The left trunk muscle weight /carcass weight of Ganjia and Qiaoke sheep was higher than Oula sheep (P < 0.05). The left posterior bone weight / carcass weight of Ganjia sheep was higher than Qiaoke sheep (P < 0.05). 2) There were significant differences in lightness, yellowness and ΔE among the three different types of Tibetan sheep (P < 0.05). The water loss of the longissimus dorsi of Oula and Qiaoke sheep was much greater than that of Ganja sheep (P < 0.01). The muscle pH_{45 min} of Ganja sheep was much greater than that of Oula and Qiaoke sheep (P < 0.01). 3) There was no significant difference in dry matter, crude protein, crude fat, and crude ash content in the different types of Tibetan sheep muscles (P > 0.05). 4) The muscle fatty acid C18:0, C18:2 trans, C18:2 cis and C18:3 of Oula sheep were significantly higher than in Qiaoke sheep (P < 0.05). The C20:5 of the muscle fatty acids of Oula and Ganja Tibetan sheep was extremely significantly higher than that of the Qiaoke sheep (P < 0.01). From the above, the slaughter rate of Oula and Ganjia Tibetan sheep is better than that of Qiaoke, but the left muscle and left bone of Ganjia sheep were better, and there was no significant difference in the nutrient content of muscles of the three types of Tibetan sheep. In addition, the content of saturated fatty acids and unsaturated fatty acids in Oula muscle was higher than that of Qiaoke and Ganja sheep.