Comparative studies on fatty acid composition of wild and domestic meats

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Abstract

  • 1.

    1. A comparison has been made of the fatty acids found in meat and fat from (a) wild ruminants free to select their own food (free-living) and (b) domestic bovid meat.

  • 2.

    2. The lipids of the meat from the free-living state were predominantly phospholipid. The lipids of adipose tissue from both free-living and domestic animals were predominantly triglyceride.

  • 3.

    3. The meat from free-living animals was low in total fat but rich in both linoleic acid and linolenic acid and their elongation products; adipose tissue in both free-living and domestic animals was low in polyenoic acids.

  • 4.

    4. The relatively low proportion of polyenoic acids in meat from domestic animals may therefore be attributable to infiltration of muscle by adipose tissue.

  • 5.

    5. These findings are discussed in relation to human diets vis-à-vis (a) modern and (b) evolutionary contexts.

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