Ureia em substituição ao farelo de soja: características físico-químicas e sensoriais da carne ovina.

Abstract

Feeding is a determining factor in the sensory characteristics of meat, with the aim of evaluating the influence of partial replacement of soybean meal with urea in diets with Mexican elephant ear palm on the physical and sensory characteristics of sheep meat. Forty Santa Inês male sheep, 4 months of age and average initial weight of 22 ± 1.0 kg, were used, distributed in a randomized block design. The experimental diets consisted of Mexican Elephant Ear palm (Opuntia stricta Haw), tifton hay (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers), soybean meal (Glycine max (L.)), ground corn, urea and mineral salt. The treatments consisted of increasing levels of urea (0%, 0.8%, 1.6% and 2.4%) to replace soybean meal. The variables analyzed were: determined physical attributes, such as shear force, color, water retention capacity and cooking weight losses, chemical parameters (moisture, protein, lipids and mineral matter) and sensory aspects of color, aroma, flavor, softness, juiciness and global 9 acceptance of sheep meat. The levels of substitution of soybean meal for urea did not influence the chemical characteristics, pH, water retention capacity, shear strength, color, allowed acceptable values in sensory attributes such as general appearance, color, characteristic sheep aroma, strange aroma, tenderness, juiciness and characteristic sheep flavor (P> 0.05), while increased levels provided less cooking loss (P <0.05) and less strange flavor (P <0.05) in physical and sensory characteristics, respectively. It is recommended to replace soybean meal with up to 2.4% urea in diets for sheep as it does not alter the physical, chemical and sensory characteristics of the meat product, making it an alternative source of protein synthesis.