Meat quality and tissue fatty acid profiles in rabbits fed diets supplemented with conjugated linoleic acid

In this study the deposition of dietary CLA isomers in loin and hindleg meat, liver and fat, and the influence on performance and fatty acid ( FA) profile were investigated in growing rabbits. CLA was supplied as synthetically produced oil at 5 and 10 g/kg diet for the whole fattening period ( six weeks) or three weeks before the slaughter. CLA had no or limited effect on feed intake, growth, carcass traits and composition of meat. Treatment with CLA increased the proportion of saturated FA at the expense of monounsaturated FA in meat and liver. Supplementation of the diet with CLA increased ( P < 0.05) CLA in lipids of meat from < 1 mg/g FA up to 36 mg/g FA. Adipose and hepatic tissue incorporated the highest ( 44 mg/g FA) and the lowest ( 14 mg/g FA) amount of CLA, respectively. The concentration of CLA in tissue lipids increased ( P < 0.05) with increasing CLA content in the diet. Duration of CLA feeding had no effect on CLA deposition. Thus, dietary inclusion of CLA at higher concentration ( 10 g/kg) and feeding CLA-supplemented diet for a shorter period seems to be more suitable for production of CLA-containing rabbit meat. The ratio of the two most abundant isomers of CLA, cis-9, trans-11 and trans-10, cis-12 in tissues differed from that in the CLA-enriched diet. In all tissues the relative proportion of the former isomer was lower than in the diet. The experiment demonstrated that feeding synthetic CLA to rabbits is a means of enriching rabbit meat with CLA, which could provide a healthier product for human consumption.