Abstract
The nutritional quality of rabbit meat is represented by the content of proteins (with high biological value due to the increased content of essential amino acids), lipids (rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids), minerals, vitamins and by the low content of uric acid, cholesterol and saturated fatty acids. The purpose of this research was to observe the nutritional quality of rabbit meat, taking as representative the biggest specialized breed for meat production. Biological material consisted of a number of 46 rabbits (15 males and 31 females) from Belgian Giant breed. There have been sampled different muscle groups (the muscles Cervicalis, Intercostalis, Longissimus Dorsi, Psoas major, Triceps Brachi, Biceps femoris, Semimembranosus) and the main edible offal (heart, liver, kidney). The content of proteins, lipids and water was determined using automatic analyzer Food Check (infrared spectrophotometer), the mineral substances by calcination and energy value and the amount of non-nitrogenous extractive substances, on the bases of standardized calculation formulas. The results obtained were statistically processed (comparative, depending on gender) by analysis of variance test (ANOVA) and insignificant differences have been observed for the majority analyzed samples, except for the kidneys where significant differences were found.
