Study on fatty acids composition and fat oxidation of Ira rabbit meat

The fat content and the fatty acids composition of hind leg muscle of Ira rabbit was determined in this study. And the lipid oxidation stability of rabbit stored at (4±0.5) ℃ and (15±0.5) ℃ was assayed. The result showed that there were 19 principal fatty acids in the rabbit muscle, wherein the content of palmitic acid (16∶0) , stearic acid (18∶0) , oleic acid (18∶1) and linoleic acid (18∶2) was accounted for 71.06% of the total content of fatty acids. Rabbit intramuscular fat was the main content of unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) , especially the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) . Stored at (4±0.5) ℃ and (15±0.5) ℃, the difference of POV, TBA of rabbit meat were significant (p<0.01) . Under normal temperature conditions, on the fifth day, the meat smelled a unpleasant odor and gradually turned into a stink, and under refrigeration, on the seventh day, the meat smelled a slight odor. So the low-temperature refrigeration was important to ensure the quality of meat.