Nutritional Value of Wild-Harvested Game Meat of Fallow Deer (Dama dama), Red Deer (Cervus elaphus), and Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus)

The study aimed to compare the chemical composition (proximate, mineral, fatty acid, and amino acid composition) and nutritional value of meat from three deer species (fallow deer, red deer, and roe deer). A total of eighteen male carcasses of three species were collected. Proximate composition of deer meat (M. longissimus lumborum) did not differ among the three deer species, while deer species affected the content of most minerals (Ca, P, Na, Mg, Fe, Mn, and Zn). In the present study analysis of the fatty acid profile of deer meat showed that the polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) to saturated fatty acid ratio and n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio were, for all three deer species, within the recommended values. Furthermore, based on nutritional indexes (n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio, atherogenicity index, hypocholesterolaemic to hypercholesterolaemic fatty acid ratio, and nutrition value index), it is concluded that roe deer meat had the highest, while fallow deer meat had the lowest nutritive value. Although the content of certain essential amino acids (isoleucine and valine) was lower in fallow deer meat than in red deer and roe deer meat (p≤0.05), the ratio of essential to non-essential amino acids was higher in fallow deer than in the two other deer species (p≤0.05).