Rump and shoulder muscles from grass and linseed fed cattle as important sources of n‐3 fatty acids for beef consumers

Abstract

Ground beef has potential to be a relatively inexpensive and sustainable source of n‐3 fatty acids (FA) for people who frequently consume it, but don't consume n‐3 containing fish. To enhance n‐3 FA content in ground beef, we evaluated FA content in pertinent muscles from grass‐fed cattle that were supplemented with flaxseed for 75 days before slaughter and compared them with loin muscle from these cattle. Lipids from rump (m. biceps femoris), shoulder (m. triceps brachii), and loin (m. longissimus dorsi) were separated into neutral and phospholipids and FA mass determined using gas liquid chromatography. In phospholipids, concentration of α‐linolenic acid (ALA; 18:3n‐3), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n‐3), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA; 22:5n‐3), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n‐3) were higher in shoulder and rump compared to loin (p < 0.0001). Compared to shoulder, FA concentration was higher in the rump (p < 0.0001) except for DPA (p = 0.53). ALA, EPA, DPA, and DHA were increased between 1.5‐ and 1.8‐fold in the rump and 1.3‐ and 1.5‐fold in the shoulder compared to loin, respectively. Lean ground beef made with rump and shoulder muscles from grass‐fed cattle supplemented with flaxseed has potential to be a source of dietary n‐3 FA for many people. Practical applications: Frequently consumed foods containing n‐3 FA may help reduce chronic inflammation, atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular disease when consumed early in life. Given that many people do not consume recommended amounts of n‐3 containing fish, foods they do consume frequently, such as ground beef, should be evaluated as potential useful sources of n‐3 FA. Muscles from the rump and shoulder of cattle that are raised on a grass‐based diet with flaxseed supplementation have potential to provide more n‐3 FA to ground beef consumers than is generally appreciated. Compared to bovine loin muscle, bovine shoulder and rump muscles tend to have higher concentrations of alpha‐linolenic acid (ALA; 18:3n‐3) and the long‐chain omega‐3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n‐3), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA; 22:5n‐3), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n‐3). This is healthful for many people in that shoulder and rump muscles are less expensive beef which is eaten by millions of people as ground/minced beef in foods such as hamburgers, tacos, and empanadas; thus, providing a practical source of omega‐3 fatty acids for people who seldom eat expensive sources such as salmon and tuna.

Long-chain Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Natural Ecosystems and the Human Diet: Assumptions and Challenges

“…However, other authors reported no decrease in EPA and DHA during cooking [70,83,112,113,114,115,116,117,118,119,120,121,122,123]. Indeed, products such as raw fish and production animals do not contain EPA and DHA in pure chemical form, but as components of phospholipids integrated into cell membranes, which have comparatively low susceptibility to degradation [82,124].…”

Distribution of fatty acids and phospholipids in different table cuts and co-products from New Zealand pasture-fed Wagyu-dairy cross beef cattle

“…Whilst it is well established that seafood, including fish species, provide the highest levels of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, its overall consumption is low (Byelashov, Sinclair & Kaur, 2015). Consequently, red-meat derived omega-3 is estimated to make a significant contribution towards the daily requirements of these fatty acids (Howe, Buckley & Meyer, 2007;Kronberg, Scholljegerdes, Maddock, Barceló-Coblijn & Murphy, 2017;Purchas, Wilkinson, Carruthers & Jackson, 2014).…”