Modulation of omega‐3 fatty acid profile in the duck liver by various dietary fats

Abstract

Omega‐3 fatty acids, especially long‐chain EPA and DHA, have been suggested to inhibit inflammation and prevent chronic diseases. To offer omega‐3 fatty acid enhanced duck products, our previous studies found that dietary omega‐3 fatty acids could be accumulated in the meat and eggs in a duck model. However, little study has been reported regarding the omega‐3 fatty acid profile in the liver. In this study, 585 Shan Partridge Ducks were randomly assigned to five groups fed basal diet with or without 2% of flaxseed oil, rapeseed oil, beef tallow, or fish oil. In addition, a dose response study was further conducted for flaxseed and fish oil diets at 0.5%, 1%, and 2%, respectively. In the end of five weeks, fatty acids were extracted from the liver samples and analyzed by GC‐FID. As expected, the total omega‐3 fatty acids and the ratio of total omega‐3/omega‐6 significantly increased in both flaxseed and fish oil groups when compared with the control diet. No significant change of omega‐3 fatty acids was found in both rapeseed and beef tallow groups. It is interesting that the short‐chain omega‐3 ALA‐enriched flaxseed oil was efficiently converted to long‐chain DHA in the duck liver. The dose‐response study further indicated that 1% of dietary flaxseed oil produced DHA synthesis to an extent similar to a 0.5% of dietary fish oil supplement. Taken together, this study showed the fatty acid profiling in the duck liver after various dietary fat consumption, provided insight into a dose response change of omega‐3 fatty acids, indicated an efficient conversion of short‐ to long‐chain omega‐3 fatty acid, and suggested a long‐chain omega‐3 fatty acid‐enriched duck product for potential health benefits.Support or Funding InformationSupported by International Science & Technology Cooperation Program of China 2013DFA31880