Dietary n-6- or n-3-rich vegetable fats and α-tocopheryl acetate: effects on fatty acid composition and stability of rabbit plasma, liver and meat

We supplemented diets with α-tocopheryl acetate (100 mg/kg) and replaced beef tallow (BT) in feeds with increasing doses of n-6- or n-3-rich vegetable fat sources (linseed and sunflower oil), and studied the effects on the fatty acid (FA) composition, the α-tocopherol (αT) content and the oxidative stability of rabbit plasma and liver. These effects were compared with those observed in a previous study in rabbit meat. As in meat, the content of saturated, monounsaturated and trans FA in plasma and liver mainly reflected feed FA profile, except stearic acid in liver, which increased as feeds contained higher doses of vegetable fat, which could be related to an inhibition of the activity of the stearoyl-CoA-desaturase. As linseed oil increased in feeds, the n-6/n-3 FA ratio was decreased in plasma and liver as a result of the incorporation of FA from diets and also, due to the different performance and selectivity of desaturase enzymes. However, an increase in the dose of vegetable fat in feeds led to a significant reduction in the αT content of plasma and liver, which was greater when the fat source was linseed oil. Increasing the dose of vegetable fat in feeds also led to an increase in the susceptibility to oxidation (lipid hydroperoxide (LHP) value) of rabbit plasma, liver and meat and on the thiobarbituric acid (TBA) values of meat. Although the dietary supplementation with α-tocopheryl acetate increased the αT content in plasma and liver, it did not modify significantly their TBA or LHP values. In meat however, both TBA and LHP values were reduced by the dietary supplementation with α-tocopheryl acetate. The plasma αT content reflected the αT content in tissues, and correlated negatively with tissue oxidability. From the studied diets, those containing 1.5% linseed oil plus 1.5% BT and 100 mg of α-tocopheryl acetate/kg most improved the FA composition and the oxidative stability of rabbit tissues.