Résumé:
The first objective of this research was to study the situation of the cunicultural sector
in eastern Algeria by launching a survey with herders, butchers and consumers, the second
objective being the comparison of morphological, physico-chemical, biochemical and sensory
parameters determining the quality of the meat for the local Algerian breed ""El Arbia"" and the
""New Zealand"" foreign breed.
To reach our objectives, a survey was carried out among 80 breeders, 32 butchers and
360 consumers across 15 towns in eastern Algeria. The main results of the survey show that
rabbit farms are concentrated mainly in Mila, Setif, Bordj Bou Arreridj, and Constantine. The
situation of cuniculture has been judged to be continuously evolving, but several constraints
hinder its development. As for butchers, rabbit meat is considered among the most expensive
meats. Concerning consumers, rabbit meat is as appreciated as that of broilers. But its
frequency of consumption is low.
Thirty rabbits (15/15) of the two breeds were used for the extraction of the muscle
Longissimus dorsi (LD), for the analysis of the physicochemical and biochemical parameters
as well as the instrumental measurement of tenderness at Penetrometer. While the thighs were
taken for use in sensory analysis, and muscle weight loss.
Comparison of morphological, biochemical and physico-chemical parameters revealed
the following main results:
The breed factor has significantly affected slaughter yields, muscle weight loss, as
well as the juiciness of the meat, and also morphological parameters such as: length Total,
length of the loins ... at 5% threshold
An identical pattern of fall in temperature, pH, water holding capacity, cooking losses,
myofibril fragmentation index, the profile of penetration depth, the electrophoretic
characterization (SDS-PAGE) of sarcoplasmic and myofibril proteins
The results obtained morphologically confirm the defects of the local population; on
the other hand, the quality of the meat seems to be very interesting organoleptically and
technologically.
