Effect of a supplementation of Euphorbia heterophylla on nutritional meat quality of Guinea pig (Cavia porcellus L.) N'Goran David Vincent Kouakou a , Jean-François Grongnet b , Nogbou Emmanuel Assidjo c , Eric Thys d , Pierre-Guy Marnet b , Daniel Catheline e , Philippe Legrand e , Maryline Kouba b, ⁎ a Département de Formation et de Recherche Agriculture et Ressources animales, Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët Boigny, B.P. 1313 Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire b Unité Mixte Recherche (UMR) PEGASE INRA-Agrocampus Ouest, 65 rue de Saint-Brieuc, 35042 Rennes cedex, France c Département de Formation et de Recherche Génie chimique Agro-alimentaire, Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët Boigny, B.P. 1313 Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire d Institut of Tropical Medecine, Department of Animal Health, Nationalestraat 155-B-2000 Antwerp, Belgium e Laboratoire de Biochimie-Nutrition Humaine, Agrocampus Ouest-INRA 65 rue de Saint-Brieuc, 35042 Rennes cedex, France abstract article info Article history: Received 19 May 2012 Received in revised form 10 November 2012 Accepted 19 November 2012 Keywords: Guinea pigs Euphorbia heterophylla Omega 3 fatty acids Meat quality The aim of the present work was to study the effect of dietary supplementation of Euphorbia heterophylla on the quality of the Guinea pig meat. Forty guinea pigs were divided into two groups fed ad libitum during 46 days a Panicum maximum diet (Panicum diet) or a mixed diet (75% Panicum maximum +25% Euphorbia heterophylla) (Paneuphorbia diet) to compare their effects on performances and on the composition of guinea pig tissues and carcass. Daily weight gain, liver weight, carcass yield, and the lipid content of both the carcass and the perirenal fat were significantly increased by the Paneuphorbia diet. Feeding Paneuphorbia diet in- creased (P b 0.05) the n-3 PUFA content in perirenal fat, muscle, liver and in the carcass and decreased (P b 0.05) the n-6/n-3 ratios in all these tissues and the carcass. In conclusion, this study shows that Euphorbia heterophylla is a source of n-3 fatty acids which can improve significantly the n-3 PUFA content of Guinea pig meat and carcass. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Considered in developed countries as pets, guinea pig is native to the Andes where its meat has been eaten for thousands of years (Zaldivar, 1997). The meat is healthy and delicious. Its protein content is about 20% and its fat content is about 8%, which is interesting from a nutrition- al point of view (Rosenfeld, 2008). Guinea pig breeding is an economical source of animal proteins for the poor and malnourished humans in South America, the Philippines and sub-Saharan Africa (Lammers, Carlson, Zdorkowski, & Honeyman, 2009). Guinea pig advantages are prolificity and rusticity (Cicogna, 2000; Manjeli, Hardouin & Thys, 1997; Tchoumboue, Njwe, & Teguia, 1998: Hardouin & Thys, 1997; Zaldivar, 1997). Guinea pigs can be an additional source of family in- come. However, one major problem of Guinea pig breeding in Saharan Africa is the low growth rate (3 to 4 g/day) and the small size of adults (Manjeli et al., 1998; Nuwanyakpa, Lukefahr, Gudahl, & Ngoupayou, 1997), due to the diets being based on Panicum maximum (Kenfack, Tchoumboue, Kamtchouing, & Ngoula, 2006). These diets lead to a low productivity because of chronic malnutrition (Kouakou, Thys, Danho, Assidjo, & Grongnet, 2012). As a solution, several guinea pig breeders associate Euphorbia heterophylla, a weed commonly known as “poison milk” with Panicum maximum to improve the productivity of guinea pigs, in particular during lactation. Originated from tropical and subtropical America, Euphorbia heterophylla is a weed that also occurs in Africa and Asia. It is consid- ered as a toxic plant for humans. In West Africa (Ivory Coast, Ghana, southern Togo, southern Nigeria), it is a serious problem because it can grow among many cultivations. In the Ivory Coast, it is found in 70% of cotton fields (Ipou, Marmotte, Kadio, Ake, & Toure, 2004). The duration of Euphorbia heterophylla life is about 45 to 50 days and consequently it can have many reproductive cycles per year. The nutritional value of Euphorbia heterophylla was determined in 1985 by the Laboratory Central of Nutrition and Food in Abidjan (Ivory Coast) and Bindelle et al. (2007) showed that it has a good crude protein content (16% to 27% of DM) and a fat content of 7.7% of DM. It is very good forage for Guinea pigs. In fact, its high availability, its palatability, its high digestibility and its low fiber content (22% of DM) make this weed one of the most ingested by Guinea pigs in Africa (Bindelle, Kinsama, Picron, Umba di M'Balu, Kindele, & Buldgen, 2009; Bindelle et al., 2007; Kouakou, Thys, Assidjo, & Grongnet, 2010). Its high αlinolenic acid content (ALA, C18:3 n-3) is higher than in flax (Linum usitatissimum)(Earle, Mcguire, Mallan, Bagby, & Wolff, 1960). If the association of Euphorbia heterophylla and Panicum maximum significantly improves digestibility, fecundity, birth weight and weaning weight in guinea pigs (Bindelle et al., 2007; Bindelle et al., 2009; Meat Science 93 (2013) 821–826 ⁎ Corresponding author at: Agrocampus Ouest, Département Sciences de l'Animal 65 rue de Saint-Brieuc, 35042 Rennes cedex, France. Tel.: +33 223485367; fax: +33 223485900. E-mail address: maryline.kouba@agrocampus-ouest.fr (M. Kouba). 0309-1740/$ – see front matter © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.meatsci.2012.11.036 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Meat Science journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/meatsci