Source and Level of Dietary Fat on Fatty Acid and Cholesterol in Lambs

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
In trial one, 34 lambs were allotted to an incomplete 3 × 3 factorially designed experiment to determine the effect of basal dietary fat or 2.5 or 4% added tallow, corn oil, or medium chain triglycerides (MCT) upon performance, fatty acid composition and cholesterol levels of the blood and adipose tissue. Total plasma cholesterol was determined initially and after 2 months of ad libitum feeding, at which time one-half of the lambs were slaughtered and carcass measurements taken. Adipose tissue was collected from the kidney knob, back and hind leg. Tallow added isocalorically to the basal diet improved (P<.05) feed efficiency and at the 2.5% level lowered (P<.05) carcass specific gravity. Tallow at the 2.5% level increased the concentration of C14:1, C17:0 and C17:1 in leg fat while the 4% level produced a smaller change. Tallow at the 4% level decreased the concentration of C18:2 in kidney knob fat while in back fat C18:0 was increased and C18:1 was decreased. Tallow did not significantly alter the plasma cholesterol levels. The addition of corn oil to the basal diet increased feed efficiency. The 2.5% level of corn oil increased C17:0 in leg fat and C14:1 and C18:1 in back fat while C16:0 was decreased in back fat. Only C18:1 in back fat was increased by the 4% level of corn oil. No significant differences due to corn oil were found in kidney knob or plasma cholesterol levels. The addition of the saturated oil, MCT, increased the level of C18:0 while decreasing the level of C18:1 in back fat. MCT also increased C14:1 in kidney knob fat. Feed efficiency was decreased by MCT as was the blood plasma cholesterol level. In trial two, six lambs each were individually fed enough of the basal and 4% corn oil diets to maintain body weight. The level of cholesterol in the blood was positively correlated with the level of feed intake. The plasma cholesterol difference decreased in all lambs fed at maintenance whereas it increased in lambs fed ad libitum. Plasma cholesterol levels were negatively correlated to the saturated fat intake of all sheep fed ad libitum. Copyright © 1974. American Society of Animal Science . Copyright 1974 by American Society of Animal Science

This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit: