Effects of oils rich in linoleic and α-linolenic acids on fatty acid profile and gene expression in goat meat.

Mahdi Ebrahimi,Mohamed Rajion,Yong Goh

doi:10.3390/nu6093913

Abstract

Alteration of the lipid content and fatty acid (FA) composition of foods can result in a healthier product. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of flaxseed oil or sunflower oil in the goat diet on fatty acid composition of muscle and expression of lipogenic genes in the semitendinosus (ST) muscle. Twenty-one entire male Boer kid goats were fed diets containing different levels of linoleic acid (LA) and α-linolenic acid (LNA) for 100 days. Inclusion of flaxseed oil increased (p < 0.05) the α-linolenic acid (C18:3n-3) concentration in the ST muscle. The diet high in α-linolenic acid (p < 0.05) decreased the arachidonic acid (C20:4n-6) and conjugated linolenic acid (CLA) c-9 t-11 content in the ST muscle. There was a significant (p < 0.05) upregulation of PPARα and PPARγ gene expression and downregulation of stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) gene in the ST muscle for the high α-linolenic acid group compared with the low α-linolenic acid group. The results of the present study show that flaxseed oil as a source of α-linolenic acid can be incorporated into the diets of goats to enrich goat meat with n-3 fatty acids, upregulate the PPARα and PPARγ, and downregulate the SCD gene expression.

Highlights

Alteration of the lipid content and fatty acid (FA) composition of foods can result in a healthier product
The results of the present study show that flaxseed oil as a source of α-linolenic acid can be incorporated into the diets of goats to enrich goat meat with n-3 fatty acids, upregulate the PPARα and
Flaxseed oil contained the highest amount of α-linolenic acid and sunflower oil contained the highest amount of linoleic acid

Summary

Introduction

Alteration of the lipid content and fatty acid (FA) composition of foods can result in a healthier product. The results of the present study show that flaxseed oil as a source of α-linolenic acid can be incorporated into the diets of goats to enrich goat meat with n-3 fatty acids, upregulate the PPARα and PPARγ, and downregulate the SCD gene expression. Ruminant meat can be a good dietary source of some nutrients with health benefits, such as long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) isomers [3,4,5]. Development of chevon (goat meat) with enhanced levels of total n-3 fatty acids, through dietary supplementation with high n-3 oils or breeding techniques [12] would result in a considerable elevation in long chain omega-3 human intake, and provide an option to add value to goat meat

Objectives

Results

Conclusion