Fatty acid profile, physicochemical composition and sensorial attributes of salted and sun-dried meat from young Nellore bulls supplemented with condensed tannins

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of condensed tannin inclusion (0, 10, 30 or 50 g/kg of dry matter (DM) total) from Acacia mearnsii extract on the fatty acid profile, physicochemical quality and sensorial analysis of salted and sun-dried meat from young Nellore bulls. The inclusion of condensed tannin extract in the young bulls’ diets promoted a quadratic reduction in the lipid content. There was a linear increase in the water retention capacity, cooking weight loss and C18:3n–3 and a linear reduction in collagen, C16:0, C16:1cis–9, C18:1, MUFAs, and Δ9–desaturaseC18 in the salted and sun-dried meat from young Nellore bulls supplemented with condensed tannin. The myristic fatty acid (C14:0) and the flavor sensory attribute presented a quadratic increase. The inclusion of condensed tannin extract in the young Nellore bulls’ diets did not influence most of the physicochemical characteristics, fatty acids and nutraceutical compounds, including CLA, atherogenicity, thrombogenicity and the h:H index, the tenderness and the global appearance of the salted and sun-dried meat. Condensed tannins reduce ruminal biohydrogenation and improve the PUFA content of salted and sun-dried meat from young Nellore bulls.