Principal component analysis on fatty acid composition of the meat deriving from calves, young bull and bull of Maremmana breed slaughtered at different age

ABSTRACT: This study evaluated the performance at slaughtering of calves; young bull and bull of Maremmana breed, and compared, through Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) on fatty acid composition, the characteristics of the resulting meat categories: veal, young bull meat and bull meat. The Maremmana cattle is a local endangered breed deriving from Tuscany and Latium. The animals of this study were raised under same conditions in pasture with hay and concentrate supplementations. Eighteen calves of 12-14 months, 27 young bulls of 18 months and 14 bulls of 20-24 months were slaughtered in this trial. The performances at slaughtering were considered, and on the meat samples, the chemical analysis and the fatty acid composition were carried out. Results were submitted to ANOVA and PCA, and a Heat map that considered the fatty acid distances among meat typologies was built. Slaughtering performances were better in young bulls and bulls. Chemical composition didn’t differ among meat categories. Saturated fatty acids (SFA) were similar among meats, but Monounsaturated (MUFA) and Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) were lower in veal. Desirable fatty acids and Healthy Indices were better in veal. The results of PCA and Heat map confirmed that veal was quite different from other meats. Maremmana meat deriving from animals of different age has shown overall good characteristics, suitable for the diet of western country population.