The effect of cooking on the fatty acid composition of longissimus muscle from beef heifers fed rations designed to increase the concentration of conjugated linoleic acid in tissue

• Published in: Meat science Vol. 81; no. 2; pp. 307 - 312
• Main Authors: Sarriés, M.V., Murray, B.E., Moloney, A.P., Troy, D., Beriain, M.J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.02.2009; [Amsterdam]: Elsevier Science; Elsevier
• Subjects: beef carcasses; beef cattle; Biological and medical sciences; cattle feeding; CLA; conjugated linoleic acid; Cooking; cooking quality; crossbreds; Dietary composition; dietary fat; fatty acid composition; feed concentrates; feed conversion; finishing; Food industries; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; grass silage; grazing; Heifers; linseed oil; longissimus dorsi; meat aging; Meat and meat product industries; oxidative stability; pastures; polyunsaturated fatty acids; sunflower oil; CLA; Cooking; Dietary composition; Heifers; Heat treatment; Bovine; Polyunsaturated fatty acid; Meat product; Lipids; Concentration; Linoleic acid; Vertebrata; n-6 fatty acid; Mammalia; Chemical composition; Muscle; Artiodactyla; Beef; Ungulata
• ISSN: 0309-1740; 1873-4138
• DOI: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2008.08.006

Longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle from 60 Charolais crossbred heifers, aged for 14 days was used to investigate the effect of cooking on the content of PUFA and CLA fatty acids. Animals were offered a control diet of grass silage and concentrates (CO) or rations designed to enhance the concentration of CLA in tissue, i.e. unsupplemented grazed pasture (G), sunflower-oil supplemented grazing (SFG) or linseed-oil oil supplemented grazing (LSG). The SFG diet was the most effective for increasing the concentration of CLA but also caused the highest n−6/ n−3 fatty acid ratio. There were no changes in the relative distribution of fatty acids upon cooking (140 °C for 30 min) and this procedure can be recommended because it preserves the nutritional value of the meat. It is concluded that irrespective of the change in the fatty acid composition of LD due to alteration in the diet of the cattle, cooking did not cause thermal degradation of PUFA, or thermal degradation or oxidative synthesis of CLA.