FATTY ACID COMPOSITION OF OSTRICH (STRUTHIO CAMELUS) ABDOMINAL ADIPOSE TISSUE

Fatty acid composition of foods has a great impact on nutrition and health. Therefore, the determination and knowledge of the fatty acid composition of food is very important for nutrition. Due to the high nutritional characteristics of ostrich meat and its products, the research determining their quality is of topical interest. The aim of the present investigation was the determination of fatty acid composition of ostrich adipose tissue. The content of fatty acids was determined according to AOAC Official Methods of Analysis and determination was performed using a gas chromatograph with a flame-ionization detector (GC-FID). The results are expressed as a percentage of the total content of fatty acids. The method was validated and whereupon the following parameters were determined:linearity, precision, recovery, limit of detection and limit of quantification. The repeatability was within of 0.99 to 2.15%, reproducibility from 2.01 to 4.57%, while recovery ranged from 94.89 to 101.03%. According to these results, this method is accurate and precise and can be used for analysis of fatty acids in foods. It was concluded that the content of saturated fatty acids (SFA) accounted 34.75%, of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) 38.37%, of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) 26.88%, of total unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) 65.25% and of desirable fatty acids (DFA) (total unsaturated + stearic acid) 70.37% of the analysed samples. The ratio polyunsaturated/saturated fatty acids accounted 0.77. The most present fatty acid is the oleic (C18:1n9c) with 28.31%, followed by palmitic (C16:0) with 27.12% and linoleic (C18:2n6c) acid with 25.08%. Other fatty acids are contained in significantly lower quantities.