Management of lamb nutrition as a way for modeling fatty acid profiles in meat

Abstract

In addition to nutritional value, a very important criterion for the selection of meat, for the modern consumer is the health aspect, i.e. the content of fat and the profile of fatty acids in meat. The content of fat and fatty acids, among other things, is conditioned by the feeding system and the rearing method. Lambs fed on pasture have a lower share of fat in the carcass than animals fed with a concentrated mixture, in a closed system. The recommended value for the ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acids is up to 0.45, and below 4.0 for the n-6 and n-3 fatty acids ratio. Taking into account that the influence of lamb nutrition on these relationships is significant, modelling of fatty acid composition should be directed to the lamb nutrition system which leads to a decrease in the content of saturated and an increase in the concentration of polyunsaturated (PUFA) fatty acids in meat. A feeding strategy involving a grazing feeding system of lambs results in a higher content of n-3 PUFA, CLA and a more favourable n-6/n-3 ratio of fatty acids, while the lamb meat originating from animals fed concentrated diets has a higher proportion of n-6 PUFA and a higher n-6 ratio/n-3 fatty acids, which exceeds the recommended value of 4.0. Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is of great importance since it has an anticancer, antidiabetic effect as well as an effect on the immune system, suggesting a direction for future research on lamb meat.