Abstract
This study compared pasture-fed sheep receiving no supplementation (PF) or whole corn grain supplementation (PFS) to evaluate meat quality and flavor compounds in the biceps femoris muscle. E-tongue analysis distinguished the groups, and PLS regression identified Asp, Glu, Lys, Arg, Ala, and Gly as predictors of umami and saltiness. Lipidomics identified 2104 lipids across 45 subclasses; PFS contained higher levels of triglycerides (TG), ceramides (Cer), and cholesteryl esters (ChE). HS-SPME-GC-MS detected 78 odor-active volatiles (rOAV ≥1). O2PLS analysis showed that, in the PF group, amino acids (Asp, Glu, Leu), lipids including acyl carnitines (AcCa), phosphatidylglycerols (PG), and dihexosylceramides (Hex2Cer), and volatiles including (E)-2-hexenal, (E,Z)-2,6-nonadienal, and dodecanoic acid were positively associated. In the PFS group, Arg and His, Cer and ChE, and volatiles such as 1-octen-3-ol, (E)-2-octen-1-ol, and 1-decanol were positively associated. These findings indicate that diet affects lamb flavor through changes in lipid and amino acid precursors, providing a scientific rationale for producing premium lamb via optimized feeding.