title: Creating ω-3 Fatty-Acid-Enriched Chicken Using Defatted Green Microalgal Biomass.
abstract: This study was to create an ω-3 (n-3) fatty-acid-enriched chicken product using defatted green microalgae (DGA, Nannochloropsis oceanica) biomass out of biofuel research. Hatching Ross broiler chicks were fed a corn-soybean meal diet containing 0 (control), 2, 4, 8, or 16% DGA for 6 weeks (n = 6 cages/diet). The DGA inclusion resulted in a linear (p < 0.001) increase in total n-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in plasma, liver, breast, and thigh at weeks 3 and 6. The increase in the breast EPA + DHA by the 16% DGA diet reached 60-fold (p < 0.0001) over the control. The 8 and 4% DGA diets elevated (p < 0.05) liver mRNA levels of Δ-9 (88%) and Δ-6 (96) desaturases. In conclusion, 8-16% of the DGA can be added in diets for broilers to produce a n-3 fatty-acid-enriched chicken meat.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Cornell University , Ithaca, New York 14853, United States.
authors.forename: Stephanie K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Gatrell
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Cornell University , Ithaca, New York 14853, United States.
authors.forename: JongGun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Cornell University , Ithaca, New York 14853, United States.
authors.forename: Theodore J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Derksen
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Cornell University , Ithaca, New York 14853, United States.
authors.forename: Eleanore V
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: O'Neil
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Cornell University , Ithaca, New York 14853, United States.
authors.forename: Xin Gen
authors.initials: XG
authors.lastname: Lei
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens / Q000378:metabolism*; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008460:Meat / Q000032:analysis*; D058086:Microalgae / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3
keywords: broiler chicken; defatted microalgal biomass; docosahexaenoic acid; eicosapentaenoic acid; gene expression