Meat quality attributes of the Longissimus lumborum muscle of the Khʹara genotype of llama (Lama glama) reared extensively in northern Chile

Twenty male llama of the Khʹara genotype, reared extensively in the north of Chile, were slaughtered at ages between 2 and 4 permanent teeth (2 to 3.5 years) and analyses were carried out on the Longissimus lumborum muscle, including composition (moisture, fat, protein, ash, cholesterol, amino acids, fatty acid profile and collagen content) and meat quality parameters (pH, color, water holding capacity and Warner–Bratzler shear-force). Llama meat was characterized by a low cholesterol (39.04 mg/100 g) and intramuscular fat (1.56%) content, a total collagen content of 6.28 mg/g, of which 20.28% was soluble collagen. Amino acid composition and fatty acid profile were similar to those found for beef finished on forage. Llama meat showed a low n − 6/n − 3 (4.69) and hypocholesterolemic/hypercholesterolemic (1.55) ratio and acceptable values of DFA (65.78%). Quality parameters in llama Longissimus muscle were within the ranges reported for more traditional meats such as beef and lamb.