Despite the fact that the use of rosemary and thyme residues and essential oils in animal feeding was widely documented, that of myrtle is scarce. To test the hypothesis that myrtle essential oils (MEOs) could improve goats' carcass characteristics and meat quality traits, twenty-one male goats received a ration consisted of 40% oat hay and 60% concentrate. Experimental goat kids received the control diet supplemented with 0, 0.3 and 0.6% of myrtle essential oils (MEOs) for C, Myrt1 and Myrt2 groups respectively. The administration of MEO did not improve the daily DM intake (p > 0.05). Kids of C and Myrt2 groups had higher average daily gain than Myrt1 group (75 versus 55 g). The goats slaughtered at 19.9 kg of weight did not differ (p > 0.05) in carcass weights and carcass yield in terms of commercial dressing percentage (CDP = 41%) and real dressing percentage (RDP = 52%). The administration of MEO increased the meat polyphenol content, being higher in both Myrtle groups (87 versus. 56 μg gallic acid equivalents g^-1 fresh matter, p < 0.05). Myrtle EO administration protected kids’ meat against oxidation (0.48 versus. 0.91 mg MDA/kg of meat for Myrtle and C groups, respectively, at the 9th day of storage; p < 0.05). It could be useful to include MEO as a dietary supplement in goats’ rations since it improves meat's oxidative status without negative effects on FA profile.

中文翻译：

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桃金娘精油作为膳食抗氧化剂补充剂对山羊肉的胴体和肉质的影响

尽管在动物饲养中使用迷迭香和百里香残留物以及精油被广泛记录，但桃金娘却很少见。为了检验桃金娘精油 (MEO) 可以改善山羊的胴体特征和肉质特征的假设，21 只雄性山羊接受了由 40% 燕麦干草和 60% 浓缩物组成的口粮。对于 C、Myrt1 和 Myrt2 组，实验山羊孩子分别接受补充有 0、0.3 和 0.6% 的桃金娘精油 (MEO) 的对照饮食。MEO 的给药并没有改善每日 DM 摄入量（p  > 0.05）。C 组和 Myrt2 组的孩子比 Myrt1 组的孩子平均每日增重更高（75 对 55 克）。以 19.9 kg 的体重屠宰的山羊没有差异（p > 0.05) 以商业屠宰百分比 (CDP = 41%) 和实际屠宰百分比 (RDP = 52%) 计算的屠体重量和屠体产量。MEO 的施用增加了肉多酚含量，在两个桃金娘组中都更高（87 与 56 μg 没食子酸当量 g ^-1新鲜物质，p  < 0.05）。桃金娘 EO 给药保护儿童肉免受氧化（桃金娘和 C 组在储存第 9 天时分别为 0.48 和 0.91 毫克 MDA/kg 肉；p  < 0.05）。将 MEO 作为山羊日粮中的膳食补充剂可能很有用，因为它可以改善肉的氧化状态，而不会对 FA 产生负面影响。