title: Dietary alpha-linolenic acid enhances omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid levels in chicken tissues.
abstract: The effects of enriching broiler chicken diets with a vegetable source of n-3 fat in the form of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA, 18:3n-3) on the accumulation of n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) in chicken meat were investigated. Sixty unsexed one-day-old broiler chickens (Cobb 500) were randomly allocated to one of six diets (n=10 birds/diet) for 4 weeks. The ALA levels varied from 1 to 8% energy (%en) while the level of the n-6 fatty acid linoleic acid (LA, 18:2n-6) was held to less than 5%en in all diets. At harvest (day 28) the levels of n-3 LCPUFA including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in breast and thigh meat increased in a curvilinear manner as dietary ALA increased, reaching 4- to 9-fold above the levels seen in control birds. In contrast, arachidonic acid (AA) was reduced in response to increasing dietary ALA.
authors.affiliation: FOODplus Research Centre, School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
authors.forename: L R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Kartikasari
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Geier
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Makrides
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Gibson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000378:metabolism*; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000378:metabolism; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects; D008460:Meat; D017962:alpha-Linolenic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D017962:alpha-Linolenic Acid; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid; C026219:docosapentaenoic acid