The profile of fatty acids in intramuscular fat of chickens

The aim of the research was to determine the profile of the fatty acids in the lipids of breast muscles and in the lipids of thighs with drumsticks muscles. The research was carried out on male Ross broilers. They were fed ad libitum from 1st to 28th day with mixture, which contained 22.67% crude proteins and 14.19 MJ ME ; from 29th to 42nd day they were fed with finisher mixture, which contained 20.43% crude proteins and 14.18 MJ ME. Besides other forage ingredients, both mixtures contained 5% animal fat and 1% fish oil. The fattening period lasted 35 days. After cutting carcasses into the main parts, the breast - white meat and thighs with drumsticks - red meat (n=10), without skin and visible fatty tissue, were used for analysis. Data about deposition of SFA, MUFA, PUFA n-6 and PUFA n-3 enable new insights about nutritive qualities of white and red chicken meat. The analysis of fatty acids content shows in most cases significant (P<0.05) and very significant differences (P<0.01) between white and red meat. The statistical significance has not been confirmed only in the difference of the content of pentadecaenoic (C15:0) and heptadecanoic (C17:0) acids in these two kinds of meat. In the group of saturated acids of the both kinds of meat the major portion have palmitic acid (C16:0) and stearic acid (C18:0), which make 23.43% and 13.88% in the white meat, and 2.77% and 9.90% in the red chicken meat. Oleic acid (C18:1) is better represented in the red meat than in the white meat (31.98% and 26.02%). Polyunsaturated linoleic acid (C18:2n-6) is also higher in the red meat than in the white meat (17.23% and 13.38%). Taking into consideration that the eicosapentaenoic (C20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acids (C22:6n-3) are especially important for human health as well as for prevention of cardiovascular diseases, scientists recommend the decreasing of their portion in the meat (Okuyama and Ikemoto, 1999). Our results show that the saturated fatty acids (C12:0, C14:0, C15:0, C16:0, C17:0, C18:0, C20:0, C22:0, C24:0) are stored in higher amount in the white meat in comparison to the red meat (39.46% and 33.81%). Polyunsaturated fatty acids (C18:3n-3, C20:5n-3, C22:5n-3 and C22:6n-3) are also contained in higher amounts in the white meat than in the red meat (5.50% and 3.23%). In the case of monounsaturated fatty acids (C16:1, C18:1, C20:1, C24:1) we found just the opposite, because these fatty acids are contained in the red meat in higher amounts than in the white meat (32.50% and 29.62%. The chicken meat (red and white) can be very valuable source of essential fatty acids. Profile of fatty acids in the lipids of breast muscles, as well as of the thighs with drumsticks can be also one of the criteria of nutritive value of these meat kinds. In the lipids of the white meat there are more SFA and PUFA n-3, and the lipids of red meat are richer in MUFA and PUFA n-6. Relation of PUFA n-6 /PUFA n-3 is more favourable in the white meat than in the red chicken meat.