Abstract:

The effect of freeze-thaw cycles on the contents of proteins, amino acids, fatty acids in rex rabbit meat was
investigated during frozen storage. It was found that the increased number of freeze-thaw cycles could result in an obvious
decrease in the content of proteins in rabbit meat (p < 0.05). Compared with fresh rabbit meat, the protein contents in frozen
loin and hind leg decreased by 5.91% and 10.30% after the forth freeze-thaw cycle. Although delicious amino acids did not
significantly decrease (p > 0.05), essential amino acids and total amino acids exhibited a significant decrease (p < 0.05). The
content of lysine in rabbit loin fell by 16.42% and fell by 14.69% in hind leg meat compared with fresh rabbit meat. The contents
of total fatty acids, saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids decreased obviously (p < 0.05).
In a conclusion, the number of freeze-thaw cycles had a detrimental effect on the quality of rabbit meat.

Key words: rabbit meat, freeze-thaw cycles, protein, amino acid, fatty acid