Características químicas de la carne de búfalos en un sistema de alimentación de autoconsumo

The exploitation of buffaloes is presented as an alternative for meat production in the northeast region of Argentina, as it adapts to special agroecological conditions due to the flooding of the land, the presence of low digestible pastures and ectoparasites in which cattle are not always expresses its maximum potentiality. In order to study the quality of post-weaning buffaloes meat from 12 to 15 months of age and with an average weight of 380 kg, the composition of the feed supplied by self-consumption system was studied as a strategic supplementation to achieve the slaughter weight and chemical composition of meat, as well as of the fatty acids present in intramuscular fat by gas chromatography. The meat values found were 28.09% DM, 71.91% humidity, 23.69% CP, 1.94% EE and 1.23% ash. With regard to fatty acids, values of 18.59% saturated and 81.4% unsaturated were found, among the latter being 77.34% monounsaturated and 4% polyunsaturated, concluding that buffalo meat is nutritionally healthy and productively profitable for the region.