Effect of the supplementation linseed oil, inulin and horse chestnut into a high fat diet on the fatty acid profile of pigs

ABSTRACT: In the present study it was evaluated the effect of the addition of linseed oil, inulin and horse chestnut added to a high fat (HF) diet on the content of fatty acids (FAs) in musculuss longissimus dorsi (MLD) of pigs. A 5d with adaptation period was followed by a 70 d experimental period, during which the pigs were fed with a HF basal diet. The HF basal diet which served as a control (group CG) was supplemented either with linseed oil (group LG) or with inulin and horse chestnut (group IG). All of the pigs were slaughtered at the end of the experiment and samples of MLD were taken for FA analysis. The concentration of α-linolenic acid in MLD of the LG group was 58 % and 61 % higher (P˂0.05) compared to CG and IG groups, respectively. The content of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) was 0.03 and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) 0.07 in LG treatment. These FAs were not detected in CG and IG. The ratio of MUFA and PUFA n-6/n-3 in the MLD was the lowest (P˂0.05) in the LG (8.84) compared to CG (14.07) or IG (14.74) groups, representing a difference of 31.2%. The n-3/saturated FA ratio was highest (P˂0.05) in LG group (0.04) when compared to CG and IG groups (0.02). The supplementation of linseed oil, into the HF diet resulted in a higher concentration of α-linolenic acid, EPA, DHA and lower ratio of n-6/n-3 FA in MLD. Inulin and horse chestnut had no effect on FA profile of MLD