Fatty acid composition of the ovine longissimus dorsi muscle: Effect of feed restriction in three breeds of different origin

S. Van Harten, T. Kilminster, T. Scanlon, John Milton, C. Oldham, J. Greeff, A.M. Almeida

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

32 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

© 2015 Society of Chemical Industry. BACKGROUND: Muscle fatty acid profile reflects the body condition of animals and has a noticeable effect on meat quality. Herein, longissimus dorsi muscle of three different sheep breeds, Damara (a fat-tailed breed), Dorper and Australian Merino sheep, was analysed for fatty acid composition. The three breeds were subjected to two distinctive feeding levels (ad libitum and restricted feeding) over 42 days. RESULTS: The Damara sheep revealed several differences compared to the other two breeds, namely a higher concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids, which can be related to being a fat-tailed breed. Even in restricted feeding conditions, this breed revealed the highest levels compared to Merino and Dorper sheep respectively, of linoleic acid (+31% and +28%), linolenic acid (+97% and +51%), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) (+65% and +37%), docosapentanenoic acid (DPA) (+31% Merino) and dodosahexanenoic acid (DHA) (+63% and +77%). EPA, DPA and DHA are three omega-3 fatty acids, with described beneficial characteristics. CONCLUSION: With this work we show other qualities (higher levels of the omega-3 fatty acids, EPA, DPA and DHA) of Damara meat that might present this breed as an interesting alternative for animal production in semi-arid climates.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1777-1782
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of the Science of Food and Agriculture
Volume96
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 Mar 2016

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