Nutritional Quality of Rabbit Meat as Affected by Cooking Procedure and Dietary Vitamin E

The effect of two dietary treatments (50 as opposed to 200 mg kg ‐1 of α‐tocopheryl acetate) on rabbit meat, cooked by different procedures (boiling, frying, roasting), was evaluated. Cooking caused an increase of pH, shear force, lightness, hue and chroma, and a decrease of water holding capacity. The change in nutritional value was slight but lipid oxidation was increased and the fat quality worsened. Boiled meat had the lowest nutrient retention and the highest TBARS values. Supplemental vitamin E was effective in reducing oxidative processes and increasing the amount of n‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids also during cooking.