Meal of Nile Tilapia carcass in diets for rabbits: chemical composition and bone resistance

Abstract

Much of fish produced and processed terminates in the form of industrial waste, which may be used to produce nutritious and low cost food. This study aimed to assess the carcass quality and bone resistance in rabbits fed with diets enriched with meal filleting residue of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). There were 50 animals distributed in five treatments in which the diets were 0%, 1%, 2%, 3% and 4% for inclusion of meal. The values of crude protein, calcium and phosphorus from muscle of rabbits responded quadratically. The major fatty acids in the muscle of rabbits were 16:0, 18:1 n9 and 18:2 n6. The average resistance (23.40 kgf) and chemical composition of bones and calcium (20.36 g/100 g) phosphorus (0.17 g/100g) and iron (0.17 mg/100 g) were not influenced by the inclusion of the meal. It was concluded that the meal of tilapia filleting residue influenced carcass quality characteristics of rabbits but did not influence the resistance and the chemical composition of bones.