Dietary supplementation with fish oil and safflower oil, during the finishing period, alters brisket muscle fatty acid profile and n-6/n-3 ratio but not carcass traits of dairy beef bulls

Citation

Byrne CJ, Fair S, Dick JR, Lonergan P & Kenny DA (2021) Dietary supplementation with fish oil and safflower oil, during the finishing period, alters brisket muscle fatty acid profile and n-6/n-3 ratio but not carcass traits of dairy beef bulls. Applied Animal Science, 37 (4), pp. 436-444. https://doi.org/10.15232/aas.2021-02158

Abstract
Objective With increases in the global population, there is a need to identify strategies that increase beef output while maintaining or improving health benefits of beef products. Studies have demonstrated that there are many benefits to human health in response to reducing the dietary ratio of n-6 to n-3. The aim of this study was to characterize the carcass characteristics and brisket muscle fatty acid profile of young dairy-bred bulls following dietary supplementation with n-6 or n-3 PUFA. Materials and Methods Holstein-Friesian (n = 43) and Jersey (n = 7) bulls with a mean ± SEM age and BW of 420.1 ± 5.86 d and 382.0 ± 8.94 kg, respectively, were offered a cereal-based concentrate diet on an ad libitum basis, fortified with 1 of 3 lipid supplements: control (CTL; no supplementary lipid), n-6 PUFA safflower oil (SO), or n-3 PUFA enriched fish oil (FO). Bulls were individually offered their respective diet for 12 wk before slaughter. Carcass weight, conformation, and fat score were recorded at slaughter for all animals. Brisket muscle was collected from 26 randomly selected bulls, and lipid profile was analyzed using gas chromatography. Results and Discussion Total n-3 PUFA concentration was greater for FO than for either SO or CTL diets (P < 0.05). Although there was no difference in the muscle total n-6 concentration between diets (P = 0.52), the ratio of n-6 to n-3 was 3.2 and 3.9 times lower for FO (P < 0.001) than either CTL or SO diets, respectively. Total intake of n-3 PUFA accounted for 72% of the variation in the ratio of n-6 to n-3. Despite the differences in fatty acid profiles, there was no effect of dietary lipid supplementation on carcass weight (P = 0.63), conformation (P = 0.79), or fat score (P = 0.84). Implications and Applications Beef producers can feed diets enriched with n-6 and n-3 PUFA, which would result in beef having potential health benefits and greater branding potential.

Keywords
n-3; n-6; PUFA; lipids; nutraceutical

Journal
Applied Animal Science: Volume 37, Issue 4