ORIGINAL PAPER
The effects of diets enriched in omega-3 fatty acids
on carcass characteristics and the fatty acid profile
of intramuscular and subcutaneous fat in pigs
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The Kielanowski Institute of Animal Physiology and Nutrition, Polish Academy of Sciences,
Department of Protein and Energy Metabolism,
05-110 Jabłonna, Poland
Publication date: 2012-11-15
Corresponding author
M. Wojtasik
The Kielanowski Institute of Animal Physiology and Nutrition, Polish Academy of Sciences,
Department of Protein and Energy Metabolism,
05-110 Jabłonna, Poland
J. Anim. Feed Sci. 2012;21(4):635-647
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to determine the effect of the concentration of C18:3 n-3 and
the total concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and n-3 PUFA in the diet on the
performance of pigs, carcass characteristics, and fatty acid profile of intramuscular fat of Musculus
longissimus dorsi (MLD) and subcutaneous tissue (ST) fat. Twenty-four crossbred pigs ♂Duroc x
♀(Polish Large White x Danish Landrace) were divided into 3 groups (A, B, and C) and from 60 to
105 kg body weight (BW) were fed isoenergetic (average 13.5 ME MJ·kg-1) and isolysinic (average
7.4 g·kg-1 standardized ileal digestible lysine) diets in which 10% of the metabolizable energy had
been replaced by fat mixtures totaling 3.5% per kg diet. Diet A contained 1% rapeseed oil, 2% fish
oil, and 0.5% lard; diet B contained 2.5% rapeseed oil and 1% linseed oil; and diet C contained 2.5%
linseed oil and 1% fish oil. The diets had similar amounts of C18:2 n-6, but differed in the amounts
of C18:3 n-3 (ALA), 20:5 n-3 (EPA), and 22:6 n-3 (DHA).
Fat mixtures in the diet did not influence growth, carcass performance, lipid or fatty acid
concentrations in the tissues of the pigs, but changed their PUFA concentration. ST fat compared
with MLD fat had a higher (P<0.01) ratio of both PUFA/SFA (0.61 and 0.38 vs 0.74 and 0.32 vs 0.77
and 0.41, respectively, in groups A, B, and C) and PUFA n-6/n-3 PUFA (9.0 and 4.45 vs 6.18 and
3.82 vs 3.99 and 3.51, respectively, in groups A, B and C). Meat and fat from pigs of group C had
PUFA/SFA and PUFA n-6/n-3 PUFA values consistent with WHO recommendations. Thus, it can be
concluded that supplementation of the diet for pigs with a mixture of linseed oil and fish oil makes
it possible to obtain good quality pork with health-promoting properties.
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