Nutritional Enhancement of Health Beneficial Omega-3 Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in the Muscle, Liver, Kidney, and Heart of Tattykeel Australian White MARGRA Lambs Fed Pellets Fortified with Omega-3 Oil in a Feedlot System

Abstract

The aim of this research was to evaluate the nutritional enhancement of omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3 LC-PUFA) composition of edible lamb Longissimus thoracis et lumborum muscle, heart, kidney, and liver in response to dietary supplementation of lot-fed lambs with or without omega-3 oil fortified pellets. The hypothesis tested was that fortifying feedlot pellets with omega-3 oil will enhance the human health beneficial n-3 LC-PUFA composition of edible lamb muscle tissue and organs. Seventy-five Tattykeel Australian White lambs exclusive to the MARGRA brand, with an average body weight of 30 kg at six months of age, were randomly assigned to the following three dietary treatments of 25 lambs each, and lot-fed as a cohort for 47 days in a completely randomized experimental design: (1) Control grain pellets without oil plus hay; (2) Omega-3 oil fortified grain pellets plus hay; and (3) Commercial whole grain pellets plus hay. All lambs had ad libitum access to the basal hay diet and water. Post-slaughter fatty acid composition of the Longissimus thoracis et lumborum muscle, liver, kidney, and heart were determined using thee gas chromatography–mass spectrophotometry technique. Results indicated significant variations (p < 0.05) in fatty acid profiles between tissues and organs. Omega-3 oil fortified pellets significantly (p < 0.05) increased ≥C20 n-3 LC-PUFA (C20:5n-3 eicosapentaenoate, EPA + C22:5n3 docosapentaenoate, DPA + C22:6n3 docosahexanoate DHA); C18:3n-3 alpha-linolenate, ALA; C18:2 conjugated linoleic acid, CLA; total monounsaturated fatty acids, MUFA; polyunsaturated fatty acids, PUFA contents; and reduced the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in all lamb organs and tissues without impacting shelf-life. The findings demonstrate that the inclusion of omega-3 oil in feedlot diets of lambs enhances the human health beneficial omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid profiles of edible muscle tissue and organs without compromising meat quality.

Fortification of diets with omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids enhances feedlot performance, intramuscular fat content, fat melting point, and carcass characteristics of Tattykeel Australian White MARGRA lambs

“…The animals, study location, dietary treatments, and experimental design have already been described in detail by Pewan et al ( 21 ). Briefly, TAW MARGRA lamb breed was developed from the rigorous selection, culling, and linebreeding of Texel, Van Rooy, Dorper, and Poll Dorset with an extensive utilization of natural mating, artificial insemination, and embryo transfer ( 21 ).…”

“…The animals, study location, dietary treatments, and experimental design have already been described in detail by Pewan et al ( 21 ). Briefly, TAW MARGRA lamb breed was developed from the rigorous selection, culling, and linebreeding of Texel, Van Rooy, Dorper, and Poll Dorset with an extensive utilization of natural mating, artificial insemination, and embryo transfer ( 21 ). TAW MARGRA lamb is a special breed of lamb with a low FMP (28–39 o C) compared to the ranges of 40.6–48.0°C and 41.5–44.0°C reported in the study by Flakemore et al ( 22 ) and Holman et al ( 23 ) for purebred and crossbred Merino, Dorset, Black, and White Suffolk sheep.…”

Lipogenic Gene Single Nucleotide Polymorphic DNA Markers Associated with Intramuscular Fat, Fat Melting Point, and Health-Beneficial Omega-3 Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Australian Pasture-Based Bowen Genetics Forest Pastoral Angus, Hereford, and Wagyu Beef Cattle

“…The procedures for primer design, PCR amplification, library preparation, SNP sequencing, bioinformatics, and data analysis have been described extensively by Pewan et al [ 50 ]. The single coding sequence of the Hereford breed deposited in the GenBank database for FASN, FABP4, and SCD genes with Accession Numbers NC_037346.1, NC_037353.1 and NC_037341.1, respectively, was utilized as a genotyping reference.…”

Genetics and nutrition impacts on herd productivity in the Northern Australian beef cattle production cycle

“…Dry distiller's grains represent a readily digestible source of fibre for feedlot rations, however, further investigation is required to maximise efficacy. Whole genome sequencing to target specific genes associated with meat quality characteristics ( Pewan et al. 2021a ; ( Pewan et al., 2021b ) ( Pewan et al., 2020a ); ( Pewan et al., 2020b ) are needed to further develop tropical cattle breeds with superior genes more suited to the North Australian beef industry ( Mwangi et al.…”