Research regarding fatty acid profile and health lipid indices in the lambs meat of employing feed supplemented with different vegetable oils

Abstract

Enhancing healthy fatty acids (FA) in lamb tissues is a important research issue in meat science. The present study examined the effects of feeding-protected lipid supplements rich in linoleic acid or linolenic acid on the lipid composition of muscle and adipose tissues of lambs. Thirty, 10-week-old Tsigai breed ram lambs were assigned to one of three experimental diets (forage/concentrate ratio 40:60): no oil Ca soap (CControl), with 4% sunflower oil Ca soap (SO-high in 18:2n-6), with 4% camelina oil Ca soap (CO-high in 18:3n-3). The diet high in a-linolenic acid (CO diet) produced the highest levels of n-3 FAs: 18:3n-3 (ALA), 20:5n-3 (EPA) and 22:6n-3 (DHA) intramuscular fat. In addition, the animals fed with the diet CO have intramuscular fat the lowest n-6/n-3 ratio, atherogenic (AI) and thrombogenic index (TI). In the intramuscular fat of the animals fed with the diet high in linoleic acid (SO diet), conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) isomers and trans 18:1 reached their highest concentrations. The results of this study indicated that linoleic acid was more effective in enhancing contents of CLA in muscle and adipose tissue than linolenic acid, which contributes to the enrichment of n-3 FA lamb meat. Feeding camelina oil Ca soap has been shown to be the most effective dietary management to improve health lipid indices (n-6/n-3 ratio, AI, TI) in lambs' meat.