Fatty acid contents in the chicken thigh muscles as affected by vegetable oils

Content of fatty acids in chicken muscles can be altered through dietary strategies. Increased content of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) in diets results in its increased content in muscles as well. Nowadays consumers pay more attention to the n-3 PUFA and n-6 PUFA / n-3 PUFA ratio in their diets. In our research, chickens were fed diets that contained 22% of protein and 12.64 MJ/kg ME. Chickens of the 1st group were fed finisher diets which, among other forages, contained 5% of sunflower oil. The 2nd group had diets supplemented with 5% of rapeseed oil, and the 3rd group was given diets containing 5% of linseed oil. Portions of saturated (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), as well as n-6 PUFA and n-3 PUFA were shown as a percentage of total fatty acids in lipids of thigh muscles. Based on our research into plant oils supplemented to chicken diets and their effect on the profile of fatty acids in lipids of thigh muscles, it can be concluded that statistically significantly higher (P<0.05) content of MUFA was found in the 2nd group, while the 1st group exhibited higher content of n-6 PUFA. If compared to the 1st and 2nd group, the 3rd group exhibited statistically significantly higher (P<0.05) content of n-3 PUFA (with slightly higher portion of α -linolenic, α -LNA) in lipids of drumstick muscles. The n-6 PUFA / n-3 PUFA ratio in lipids of thigh muscles was 12.23 for the 1st group, 7.17 for the 2nd group and 2.75 for the 3rd group. It should be emphasized that oil sources in chicken diets affected deposition of fatty acids and their content in lipids of thigh muscles.