Effects of various n-3 lipid sources on fatty acid compositions in chicken tissues

Studies on the effects of feeding various sources of n-3 fatty acids on the fatty acid composition of lipids in edible tissues and lipoproteins in chickens were conducted. Commercial meat-type chicks were fed one of four dietary lipids: (1) linseed oil, (2) menhaden oil, (3) soybean oil, or (4) chicken fat, at 50 g/kg of the diet from hatch through 56 days. Chickens fed the polyunsaturated lipids, linseed oil, menhaden oil, and soybean oil, all had similar plasma and VLDL + LDL (very low density lipoproteins and low density lipoproteins) triacylglycerol levels all of which were lower than those for chickens fed chicken fat. The fatty acid compositions of the VLDL + LDL fractions and tissue lipids were similar to the dietary lipids fed. However, the fatty acid compositions of the abdominal fat pads and brains reflected de novo synthesis in addition to the influence of dietary lipids. The levels of 20:50 in tissue lipids of chickens fed linseed oil approached those levels found in chickens fed menhaden oil. Chickens fed linseed oil had the highest levels of polyunsaturates in tissues while those fed chicken fat had the lowest levels. Chickens fed soybean oil maintained the highest levels of 18:2n6 and 20:4n6 in tissue lipids. Both the linseed oil and menhaden oil treatments exhibited lower levels of 20:4n6 in tissue lipids compared with the soybean oil and chicken fat treatments. These data indicate that dietary n-3 lipid sources influence the fatty acid composition of tissues and can be effectively used to enrich chicken meat with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.