Variation in fatty acids in chicken meat as a result of a lupin-containing diet

Abstract

This study was designed to verify the effect of diets containing lupin meal on the composition of fat in meat from fattened broiler chickens. It follows from the results that an increasing level of lupin meal (E1 and E2) resulted in a gradual decrease in the average level of saturated fatty acids (SFAs) in fat in breast and thigh muscles from experimental chickens as compared to the control group. This decrease was characterized by a significant (<i>P</i> ≤ 0.05) to highly significant (<i>P</i> ≤ 0.01) reduction in the level of palmitic acid, which is the most common fatty acid. Diets containing lupin meal showed an increase in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs). Particularly oleic acid contributed significantly to an overall increase in MUFAs (<i>P</i> ≤ 0.01). Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) from the n-6 group showed only a slight decrease in fat in meat from chickens in the experimental group. Linoleic acid as the most common PUFA found in the fat from chicken muscles showed a significantly lower level in breast muscles in the E2 group (<i>P</i> ≤ 0.05) as compared to the control and the E1 group. A similar trend was also observed for γ-linolenic acid in fat from breast muscles. The level of arachidonic acid in fat from muscles in experimental groups also decreased. The levels of PUFAs n-3 in fat from chicken muscles were found to increase in experimental groups. Of all PUFAs n-3 examined in fat from breast and thigh muscles, α-linolenic acid was found at the highest levels. Its levels in fat from muscles varied with an increasing amount of lupin meal in a diet. However, a highly significant increase (<i>P</i> ≤ 0.01) was confirmed only in thigh muscles. A rise in PUFAs n-3 which is associated with the dietary supplementation of lupin meal is particularly beneficial as it affected the Σ PUFAs n-3:Σ PUFAs n-6 ratio, thereby enhancing the nutritional value of chicken meat with regard to human nutrition.