The Effect of Different Dietary Fats on the Fatty Acid Composition of Several Tissues in Broiler Chickens

The type of fat used in formulating broiler chicken diets can affect growth performance, influence the fatty acid composition of different tissues and has consequences for bird health and nutritional value for the consumer. This study aimes to address the hypothesis of whether these effects are specifically due to the variation in the fatty acid composition of the diets, that is, the proportion of different saturates, monounsaturates (n-7 and n-9) or polyunsaturates (n-3 or n-6), or other factors (physical properties, solid/liquid and source, plant/animal). A total of 480 male Cobb 500 broilers are fed ad libitum on one of six diets containing 4% w/w of either: beef tallow, flaxseed, corn, canola, macadamia, or coconut oil (eight replicates/treatment) for 6 weeks. At harvest, there are no significant differences in productivity parameters nor in the crude lipid content of different tissues between dietary treatments. There are, however, substantial qualitative differences in the fatty acid profiles of all tissues. The levels of specific fatty acids in all tissues except the brain, are positively correlated with the levels of the same fatty acids in the diet however, the strength of the correlations varied between different fatty acids.