Lipid composition and nutritional quality of intramuscular fat in Charneca-PDO beef

Fatty acid composition, cholesterol content and lipid oxidation indices of intramuscular fat from skeletal muscles of beaver (Castor fiber L.)

The lipid characteristics of the intramuscular fat (IMF) from skeletal muscles of different beaver carcass parts (the loin, hind leg and shoulder) were characterised in detail for the first time. The shoulder muscles had higher (P < 0.05) proportion of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) than the loin muscles, which had higher percentages of saturated fatty acids (SFA), odd-chain fatty acids (OCFA) and sum of conjugated linoleic acids (ΣCLA). Moreover, the shoulder muscles were found to contain higher fat, cholesterol and total fatty acids (FA) concentrations, as well had a beneficial fatty acid profile, especially in terms of the absolute content of PUFA and some nutritional FA indices (thrombogenic index and SFA/PUFA), as well as FA ratios (n-6/n-3 and PUFA/SFA). No differences (P > 0.05) in lipid oxidation parameters (FFA, PV and TBARS) were observed between muscles from different carcass parts. Irrespective of muscle location, the predominant class of FA in IMF of beaver was PUFA (averaging 49.39%), followed by SFA (27.81%) and MUFA cis (15.96%). Linoleic acid (LA, 18:2 n-6) was the most abundant FA in all muscles (>34% of total FA). Minor percentages of unusual FA (OCFA, trans FA and branched-chain FA), which are more typical for ruminants than monogastric animals, were also detected (3.46%, 1.92% and 1.22%, respectively).

Fatty Acid Composition of Muscle, Adipose Tissue and Liver from Muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) Living in West Greenland

Information about lipid content and fatty acid (FA) composition of muskoxen (Ovibos moschatos) edible tissues is very limited in comparison to other meat sources. Thus, this work aims to present the first in-depth characterization of the FA profile of meat, subcutaneous adipose tissue and liver of muskoxen living in West Greenland. Furthermore, we aim to evaluate the effect of sex in the FA composition of these edible tissues. Samples from muscle (Longissimus dorsi), subcutaneous adipose tissue and liver were collected from female and male muskoxen, which were delivered at the butchery in Kangerlussuaq (West Greenland) during the winter hunting season. The lipid content of muscle, adipose tissue and liver averaged 284, 846 and 173 mg/g of dry tissue, respectively. This large lipid contents confirms that in late winter, when forage availability is scarce, muskoxen from West Greenland still have high fat reserves, demonstrating that they are well adapted to seasonal feed restriction. A detailed characterization of FA and dimethylacetal composition of muskoxen muscle, subcutaneous adipose tissue and liver showed that there are little differences on FA composition between sexes. Nevertheless, the 18:1cis-9 was the most abundant FA in muscle and adipose tissue, reaching 43% of total FA in muscle. The high content of 18:1cis-9 suggests that it can be selectively stored in muskoxen tissues. Regarding the nutritional composition of muskoxen edible tissues, they are not a good source of polyunsaturated FA; however, they may contribute to a higher fat intake. Information about the FA composition of muskoxen meat and liver is scarce, so this work can contribute to the characterization of the nutritional fat properties of muskoxen edible tissues and can be also useful to update food composition databases.