Effect of feeding regime on fatty acid composition of longissimus dorsi muscle and subcutaneous adipose tissue of akkaraman lambs

In this study, effect of feeding regime on fatty acid composition including conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) of Longissimus dorsi muscle and subcutaneous adipose tissue from lambs were investigated. From same flock, forty-five male Akkaraman suckling lambs, the most common lamb breeds in Turkey, were fed mainly maternal milk from birth to weaning and then were divided into three groups (only maternal milk-fed group, pasture-fed group and concentrate-fed group) at three months of age with an average live weight of 25 kg. Longissimus dorsi muscle from pasture fed-lambs contained significantly more total CLA, n-3 and n-3/n-6 ratio than other groups. In addition, pasture-fed lambs contained significantly more total saturated fatty acid (SFA), CLA, n-3 and n-3/n-6 ratio compared concentrate fed-lambs in subcutaneous adipose tissue. In conclusion, intramuscular muscle and subcutaneous adipose tissue fatty acid composition of lamb can be improved by pasture in the feeding regime.