Characterization of Caiman latirostris Meat Enriched with Flax seeds and Chía seeds.

MARÍA C. LÁBAQUE ; GUSTAVO TEIRA; FLAVIA PERLO; ALEJANDRO LARRIERA; MELINA S. SIMONCINI; MARÍA E. FERNÁNDEZ; CARLOS I. PIÑA

Skukuza

Congreso; 24th working meeting of crocodile specialist group; 2016

Internationa Union Conservation of Nature/Crocodile Specialist Group

Caiman meat is a non-traditional dietary protein source, but based on its qualities could be presented as a healthy food product. In this work, we evaluated the physicochemical characteristics of meat from captive-bred individuals fed a regular diet, and individuals whose diet was enriched with flax and chia seeds. We found that with regular diet, Caiman meat is reduced in fat, high protein content, is tender and exhibits aesthetic appeal, with a high representation of oleic, linoleic and palmitic fatty acids. The addition of seeds to regular diets altered the color (b*coordinate) making meat more yellowish. The addition of flax seed altered the lipid profile, increasing the proportion of oleic acid, and with the addition of chia seed we observed increased polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are beneficial to human health