Fatty acid composition of the meat and fat of the one-humped camel ( camelus dromedarius)

Abstract

The fatty acid composition of lean raw meat taken from the hind leg of seven young (1–3 years of age) male one-humped camels (Camelus dromedarius) has been determined by capillary gas-liquid chromatography; fat samples taken from the hump of these seven camels were also analysed. The saturated fatty acids in the meat account for 51·5% of the total fatty acids, while the monosaturated and polyunsaturated chains constitute 29·9 and 18·6%, respectively. The major fatty acids in camel meat are palmitic (26·0%), oleic (18·9%) and linoleic (12·1%), with smaller amounts of other fatty acids, both normal and branched, that range in chain lengths from C 14 to C 22. The fatty acids of dromedary fat are dominated by saturated even-numbered chains with smaller amounts (5·4%) of odd-numbered normal and branched chains. The main fatty acid of the hump fat is palmitic (34·4%) followed by oleic (28·2%), myristic (10·3%) and stearic (10·0%).