Saturated Fats in Diet Produce a Lower Deposition
US - It has been proven, in poultry, that the incorporation of saturated or monounsaturated fats in the feed increases fat deposition, whereas this does not happen with polyunsaturated fatty acids.The aim of this thesis was to determine if the dietary fatty acids composition affects the amount of fat deposition in pigs, apart from its composition. This has been the line of work of CENTA's researcher, Pere Duran Montgé's doctoral thesis, titled 'Effects of dietary fatty acids composition on pig fat and fatty acid deposition'.
The results of these studies showed that pigs behaviour differs from that of chicken, in the sense of dietary saturated fats reduced fat deposition in relation to other studied fats and even in relation to a low-fat diet.
It has also been observed that the composition of fats in the diet modifies the expression of genes related to lipogenesis and the composition of de novo synthesized fat. Finally, the deposition of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), of interest for consumer's health, has been studied, and it has shown that when their level in the feed is high, rendition in deposition declines. This is particularly evident for EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) fatty acids present in fish, considered of interest to prevent cardiovascular diseases in humans, and whose deposition was lower than 50% of the administered amount.
On the other hand, the formation of these fatty acids from linolenic acid, their predecessor, and the deposition in the different fat tissues of pigs has also been studied. The highest DHA deposition is produced in the liver, but synthesis from linolenic acid is quite reduced as opposed to the more important formation of EPA from linolenic acid, whose deposition in the liver is more abundant.
CENTA's researcher, Pere Duran Montgé, defended his doctoral thesis titled 'Effects of dietary fatty acid composition on pig fat and fatty acid deposition' on April 7th, at the Faculty of Chemistry of the Universidad Rovira i Virgili and was awarded the PhD degree with the highest honour. Dr. Enric Esteve, from IRTA's Animal Nutrition Department, directed the thesis. The tribunal president was Prof. Clemente López Bote, from the Veterinary Faculty of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and the other members of the tribunal were Dr. Peter K Theil, from Denmark's Centre Foulum, Prof. Ana C Barroeta, from the Faculty of Veterinary of the Universidad Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Dr. Josep Ribalta from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the University Rovira i Virgili and Dr. Carolina Realini, from IRTA's Meat and Carcass and Quality unit. This work has been financed by an INIA project as well as an INIA grant.