Study concerning the chemical composition of meat in young Tsigai sheep, rusty variety.

In last four years, Romania occupies the first place within the European countries concerning the number of exploited sheep heads, destined to slaughtering. Over 97 % of the volume of this export is represented by the Turcana young sheep, and difference of 3 % is represented by Tsigai young sheep. The emphasizing of the chemical composition of the meat from Tsigai young sheep Rusty variety fattened both on pasture and shelter is the aim of our paper. The determination of the chemical composition of the meat allows a deep analyze of its quality traits, making possible the evolutive characterization of the breed and the correlation between the breed and functional parameters of the used fattening system. The work methodology involved analyze of the chemical composition of the meat harvested from cutlet (Longissimus dorsi, LD) and muscle (Biceps femoris, BF), according to Weende pattern: water content, water, crude protein, crude fat, ash and non nitrogen extractives. The results obtained for the young sheep fattened on pasture in group exclusively fattened with green mass emphasize in L.D. a water content of 74.55 ± 0.19 %, dry matter of 25.46 ± 0.20 %, and group that received combined forage have water percent of 73.38 ± 0.21 % and dry matter a share of 26.62 ± 0.21 %; in B.F. water was between 74.81 – 74.57 %, and dry matter of 25.19 – 25.43 %. In group made up of young individuals fattened in shelters, the water content of L.D. is 62.44 ± 1.46 %, and dry matter of 37.56 ± 0.95 %; in B.F. water shares 66.88 ± 1.06 % and dry matter 33.12 ± 0.85 %. As general conclusion, we can afirm that the applied fattening technology significantly influences the chemical composition of the meat, and this imposes its correlation witrh the qualitative preferences of the consumers. Kay words: cutlet, muscle, chemical composition, meat INTRODUCTION The sheep meat represents an aside category inside world meat production, because as concerns its qualities is considered meat with especial organoleptic and nutritive features. Besides physical and psycho-sensorial qualities the chemical composition recommends it in human alimentation because of high content in lysine and PUFA fatty acids, from which we mention CLA and LA [2]. The ruminants, among farm animal species, provide by the milk and meat 90% from CLA quantity from human food [1]. However, even these features make it special, the ovine meat consumption is different from a country to another one, the greatest one on world level being registered in Mongolia with about 65.20 kg/inhabitant head, in Europe the greatest consumption being registered in Island with 29.80 kg, and in our country that is traditionally in breeding and among the first four European countries producing ovine meat, the consumption is about of 2.90 kg of meat/inhabitant head [4]. From these reasons we approached such a theme that is part of an ample study concerning the ovine meat quality, to have data for the market help and to contribute for stimulation of this product consumption especially as concerns the culinary point of view and also the dietary-alimentary one. Universitatea de Ştiinţe Agricole si Medicină Veterinară Iasi Lucrări Ştiinţifice vol. 52, Seria Zootehnie 405 MATERIAL AND METHOD The biological material submitted for experiments was represented by ovine youth of Tzigaie breed, Rusty variety, as native breed characterized by a good adaptability to hill, and plateau zones, having a medium body development and being framed in the mixed morpho-productive type of semi-fine wool-milk-meat. The ovine youth derived from the force bred inside the former Research and Development Station for Meadows Jucu, Cluj County, in present being ovine sector inside Didactic Station of UASVM Cluj-Napoca. The experimental design comprised two lots of ovine male youth fattened on pasture and a lot fattened in stalling, the young rams from the three experimental lots being halfbrothers after father. In the case of fattening on pasture were formed two lots, each of 10 heads, one of them being fed exclusively with green crop on pasture (lot P), and the other one (lot P+C) gets beside green crop also reduced quantities of concentrated fodder with different energetic and protein levels depending on fattening phase. The youth age in moment of experience beginning from the two experimental lots varied between 90 and 95 days with a body weight comprised between 21.62 ± 0.39 kg in case of lot P, and 21.82 ± 0.33 kg in case of lot P+C, and in the end of the 150 fattening days the lot P registered a body weight of 35.49 ± 0.11 kg, and the lot P+C a body weight of 39.44 ± 0.14 kg, in final the differences between the two lots being very significant (*** p<0,001). The lots’ maintenance was done on a pasture appertaining to subtype Festuca rupicola-Agrostis capillaris, with an average productivity about 14940 kg green crop/ha, according the next experimental scheme (table 1). The concentrated fodder administration was done in the evening after animal arriving from pasture and the watering was done three times per day. Table 1. The scheme of maintenance manner of the two experimental lots