Abstract: The objective of this study was to investigate the differences in the color, myoglobin (Mb), malondialdehyde (MDA), oxymyoglobin (OMb) and metmyoglobin (MMb) contents, antioxidant enzyme activities and total antioxidant capacity of longissimus dorsi muscle (LDM) from cashmere goats subjected to two grazing conditions (pasture and mountainside). The results showed that redness value, catalase and peroxidase activity and radical scavenging capacity of LDM from pasture-grazed goats were significantly higher than those of mountainside-grazed goats (P < 0.05), while lightness value, yellowness value, and MMb and MDA contents of LDM from pasture-grazed goats were significantly lower (P < 0.05). However, as far as Mb and OMb contents and superoxide dismutase activity in goat meat were concerned, no significant difference existed between two grazing conditions (P > 0.05). Consequently, the meat from pasture-grazed goats had higher antioxidant capacity than the mountainside-grazed goats due to the consumption of abundant amounts of green herbage and appropriate exercise, which helped improve antioxidant enzyme activities and meat color stability and maintain the balance between the generation and scavenging of free radicals.

Key words: cashmere goat, grazing conditions, oxidation, antioxidant enzymes, antioxidant ability