Effect of dietary high-oleic acid and conventional sunflower seeds and their refined oils on fatty acid composition of adipose tissue and meat in broiler chickens

The influence of different dietary fat source on performance, tissue fatty acid composition (abdominal fat, thigh and breast muscles) and abdominal fat melting point was evaluated in female broiler chickens. Birds were fed diets containing 80 g/kg of added fat by the inclusion of high-oleic acid sunflower seed (HOASS) and conventional sunflower seed (CSS), their respective refined oils (HOASO and CSO) and lard during three weeks (from 21 to 42 d of age). Feed efficiency was significantly impaired by the inclusion of HOASS and CSS in diet when compared with HOASO, CSO and lard. The levels of the major fatty acids (palmitic, oleic and linoleic) in each animal tissue reflected the fatty acid profile of the dietary fat (r² >0.83). The linear regression analysis between fatty acid content and melting point of abdominal fat gave the highest coefficient of determination for the saturated fatty acid content (r²=0.80). It is concluded that the seeds of high-oleic acid and conventional varieties of sunflower might be used in poultry feeding in order to increase, respectively, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acid contents in both abdominal adipose tissue and intramuscular fat. The feeding of both types of seeds had similar effects to their respective refined oils on the unsaturated to saturated fatty acid ratio of the chicken tissues and on the melting point of abdominal fat. Nevertheless, they showed a negative influence on fat firmness when compared with the dietary inclusion of lard.