Influence of ferulic acid and clinoptilolite supplementation on growth performance, carcass, meat quality, and fatty acid profile of finished lambs.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of ferulic acid (FA) and clinoptilolite (CTL) supplementation on the growth performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality of hair-breed lambs. Twenty-eight Kathadin male lambs (33.72 ± 3.4 kg) were randomly allocated to one of the four diets (n=7) under a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement to evaluate the effect of FA (0 or 300 ppm) and CTL (0% or 1%) during the last 40 days of the finishing phase. No interaction between additives was shown for growth performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality, with exception of the fatty acid profile ( p < 0.05). FA reduced feed intake and carcass conformation ( p < 0.05). Wholesale cuts were not affected by FA or CTL ( p > 0.05). The L*, a*, and C* color parameters and some intramuscular fatty acids of the longissimus thoracis muscle were positively modified by CTL supplementation ( p < 0.05). While there was no FA × CTL interaction, each additive could be used individually in animal nutrition to improve the feedlot performance and meat quality of the lambs.