Chemical characterization (proximate composition, fatty acids content and volatile profile) of meat from the alpine Ciuta sheep breed.

This dataset originates from a study aiming to valorise Ciuta sheep, a local breed native from the Italian Central Alps, through the characterization of nutritional quality and chemical composition of fresh meat (loins) and one traditional dry-cured product. Specifically, the research focused on determining the chemical composition of Ciuta sheep meat and on identifying key changes in its chemical profile during dry curing process, hypothesizing that such chemical fingerprint may suggest some markers linked to the production system, geographical origin, and traditional processing techniques. For this reason, for bthe dry-cured product, both an aliquot of fresh meat before and after transformation and dry-curing was sampled and analysed. Regarding loins, three commercial categories (lambs, hoggets and mutton) were considered, in order to define any possible difference induced by age of the sheep (and physiological factors, such as rumen development). The dataset includes chemical data regarding the proximate composition (moisture, protein, fat, ash, salt content for the dry-cured product) and energy content of fresh and dry-cured meat; the fatty acids content of fresh and dry-cured meat product; the volatile profile of fresh and dry-cured meat product. Results from analysis performed in our study suggested that the development of high-quality dry-cured products could provide a strategy to valorise Ciuta sheep meat, especially from adult animals (culled ewes and rams), while fresh meat production could focus on lambs. The complex volatile profile detected was influenced by both the farming system and traditional processing methods.本数据集源自一项旨在通过表征意大利中央阿尔卑斯山本土品种丘塔羊（Ciuta sheep）鲜肉（腰肉）及一款传统风干制品（dry-cured product）的营养品质与化学成分，以实现该品种资源增值利用的研究。 具体而言，该研究旨在测定丘塔羊羊肉的化学成分，并明确其在风干加工过程中化学组成的关键变化，推测此类化学指纹图谱可作为关联生产体系、地理起源及传统加工工艺的潜在标记物。为此，针对该风干制品，分别采集并分析了加工前后的鲜肉等分试样。 针对腰肉样本，研究设置了羔羊（lambs）、青年羊（hoggets）及成年羊（mutton）三个商业分级类别，以明确羊只年龄以及瘤胃发育等生理因素所引发的各项差异。 本数据集包含如下化学分析数据：鲜样与风干制品的近似组成成分（proximate composition，含水分、蛋白质、脂肪、灰分，风干制品额外包含盐含量）与能量含量数据；鲜样与风干肉制品的脂肪酸组成数据；鲜样与风干肉制品的挥发性成分谱数据。 本研究的分析结果表明，开发高品质风干制品可作为提升丘塔羊羊肉资源价值的可行路径，尤其适用于成年动物（淘汰母羊与公羊），而鲜肉生产则可聚焦于羔羊群体。本次检测到的复杂挥发性成分谱同时受养殖体系与传统加工工艺的影响。