The Effect of Breed, Age and Fasting Status on Macr o-nutrient Composition of Meat from Goat Breeds of North-Western Nigeria

Abstract

Carcasses of 32 male goats matching Conformation Sc ore 3 of the Australian standard for live goat evaluation, were randomly assigned to a 2x2x2 factorial experiment involving two breeds (Sahel, Sokoto Red), two ages (young, mature) and t wo fasting states (fasted, non-fasted) with four replicates. one and a half centimeter thick samples of the Longissimus dorsi muscle cut between the 12 th and 13 th ribs of the right halves of the carcasses were ana lyzed according to AOAC (1990) and found to contain an average of 75.59, 19.19, 3.67 and 1.55% moisture, protein, fat and total ash, respectively . None of the nutrients was affected significantly (P >0.05) by breed, age and fasting status (P>0.05). T his may imply that the three factors need not feature a s major considerations in the choice of goat meat f or nutritional advantage in the study area.