Factors affecting the fatty acid composition and fat oxidative stability in pigs

Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of selected factors affecting fatty acids (FA) composition in pig fat. In the experiment, the influence of nutrition, gender,carcass weight, lean meat proportion (LMP) and intramuscular fat (IMF) were monitored. The effect of diet, specifically the influence of added linseed or corn on the fatty acids composition in the backfat was studied in pigs. From the perspective of the required increase of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) only the addition of the linseed proved to have a significant effect.Another evaluated aspect concerning the FA spectrum was the gender. While the backfat in barrows showed higher (P≤0.05) amount of monounsaturated fatty acids(MUFA), the backfat in gilts displayed a significantly higher proportion (P≤0.01) of the PUFA and total unsaturated fatty acids (UFA). A significant effect on the PUFA proportion has also been demonstrated for the lean meat proportion (LMP)parameter, which therefore represents not only a qualitative carcass meat parameter but also plays an important role in relation to the FA composition in the fat in pigs.In connection to the FA proportion changes the study also monitored the fat oxidative stability with the use of the TBARS method. Concerning the oxidative stability the effects of nutrition, FA groups, gender, carcass weight and LMP were studied. The relationship between the above mentioned factors and oxidative stability was found to be insignificant.