Bulletin USAMV-CN, 63 – 642007 [600271]

Bulletin USAMV-CN, 63 – 64/2007

THE EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT FAT SOURCES ON THE
PERFORMANCE OF BROILER CHICKENS AND ON THE FATTY
ACID COMPOSITION OF SELECTED TISSUES

Mierli Ńă D., I. Chereji, Cristina Maerescu

University of Oradea, email: dadi.mierlita@personal .ro

Key words: broiler, chicken, fat, fatty acids

Abstract . The identification of the influence of different fat sources with different degree of saturation
(bovine tallow, pig fat, poultry fat, sunflower oil , soy oil, and full-fat soy) used in broiler feed s tructure on fatty
acid structure of carcass lipids (abdominal fat, in ferior leg and chest), and on PUFALL (polyunsaturat ed fatty
acids, linoleic an linoleic acid series) especially , with important role in prevention and fight again st
cardiovascular diseases, obesity and other associat ed diseases in human, was the aim of our study.
The best fat quality from poultry meat, analyzed un der the view of influence on human health,
determined by a high PUFALL content and a low satur ated fatty acids content was recorded in chest meat in
chickens which received full-fat soy in feed, follo wed by those which received soy oil supplements.

INTRODUCTION

The research performed in the field of human nutrit ion shows that PUFALL (also
called fatty acids omega 3 and omega 6 type) have a n important role in prevention and fight
against cardiovascular diseases, obesity and other associated diseases (Lopez-Ferrer S. et al.
1999; Olomu J. et al. 1991).
This is the reason why in literature polyunsaturate d fatty acids (PUFA) are called
”good fats” for cardiovascular apparatus, or ”diete tic fats” preventing obesity and diseases
associated to obesity (fig. 1).
In this context, the enrichment of animal products in polyunsaturated fatty acids and
reducing saturated fatty acids share, obtaining so- called ”functional food”, respectively
(according to A. Meluzzi – 2004) rich in fatty acid s omega type represents a priority of
modern research in the field of biotechnology put i nto practice in animal breeding (genetics
and nutrition) (Al-Athari A.K., 1988; Crespo N., 20 01; Mierlita D., 2006).

Fig. 1 Fat and fatty acid intake and human nutritio n (by IAN H. PINKE – 2005)

MATERIAL AND METHOD

The trial was performed on 180 hen broiler chickens at one day of age, Ross-308
hybrid, randomly divided in 6 groups with 30 heads each. Each group was maintained in
separate spaces with 15 chickens/m 2.
Isocaloric and isoproteic total mixed ratio (TMR) w ere used in broilers’ feeding from
all 6 experimental groups: starter (1-14 days); gro wing (15-35 days) and finishing (36-42
days). Concerning the TMR, the only difference betw een all 6 experimental groups was
represented by fat source: bovine tallow, pig fat, poultry fat, sunflower oil, soy oil, and full-fat
soy (table 1 and 2).

Table 1
Experimental pattern

Group n Treatment Rate of fat incorporation Object ives
G1 30 TMR with tallow
G2 30 TMR with
pig fat
G3 30 TMR with poultry
fat
G4 30 TMR with
sunflower oil
G5 30 TMR with
soy oil
G6 30 TMR with
full-fat soy

• 4% (% of TMR weight)
in all groups during trial;
• in L 6 full-fat soy share
was determined
considering that it
contains 18% fat.
• evolution of body weight and gain;
• TMR consumption ad degree of feed
valuation by groups and time;
• fatty acids (saturated, mono- and
polyunsaturated) composition of
experimented fat sources and TMR;
• fatty acid structure of carcass lipids:
abdominal fat, leg and chest.

At 42 days of age, 6 chickens/group (3 cocks + 3 ch icks) were slaughtered. An
average sample by group was obtained from abdominal fat, leg and chest and saturated (C 14:0 ,
C16:0 , C 18:0 ), monounsaturated (C 16:1 , C 18:1 , C 20:1 ) and polyunsaturated ( C 18:2 , C 18:3 , C 20:4 ) fatty 010 20 30 40 50
1800 2000 a. linoleic, C18:2 a. linolenic, C18:3
SFA coronary heart disease
total fat (% kcal from fat)

acids were determined. Two repetitions were perform ed. The total fat extraction from average
samples was performed using an excess solution chlo roform : methanol (2:1) (Folch L.M.
1957). The qualitative analyze was performed as met hyl esters using gas chromatography and
a Perkien-Elemer device (Azman M., 2004; Pinchasov Y., 1992).

Table 2
Structure and calculated nutritional value of TMR u sed in trial

Issue Starter
(1-14 days) Growing
(15-35 days) Finished
(36-42 days)
a) TMR structure (% of weight)
Maize 56.00 (51.50) 2 63.80 (59.30) 63.30 (58.80)
Soy 33.2 (12.5) 26.50 (6.50) 29.00 (9.5)
Full-fat 1 soy – (25.2) – (24.50) – (24.00)
Fish meal 3.00 2.00 –
Fat source:
(SB, UP, GP, UFS, US) 3 4.00 4.00 4.00
Calcium carbonate 1.60 1.50 1.50
Monocalcium phosphate 0.70 0.70 0.70
Salt 0.30 0.30 0.30
DL-metionine 0.20 0.20 0.20
Premix vit.-miner .4 1.00 1.00 1.00
T O T A L 100.00 100.00 100.00
b) Calculated nutritional value
– Metab. energy (kcal/kg)
– Crude protein (%)
– Total lysine (%)
– Met. + total Cyst (%)
– Crude fat (%)
– Ca (%)
– P (%) 3030
22.30
1.35
0.94
6.8
0.97
0.78 3095
20.20
1.15
0.85
7.0
1.05
0.80 3135
19.00
0.98
0.75
7.3
0.85
0.68
1 –full-fat soy was used as fat source only in feed administered to chickens from group 6; 2 – values from parenthesis
correspond to chickens from group 6; 3 – SB – bovine tallow in L 1; UP-pig fat in L 2; GP-poultry fat in L 3; UFS-
sunflower oil in L 4; US-soy oil in L 5; 4 – structure of vitamin and mineral premix differs by each experimental period.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The fatty acid structure of fats administered in ch ickens’ feed (table 3) determined on
an average sample correspondent to 3 growing phases by each experimental group is
presented in fig 2. The fatty acid composition of f at sources is reflected by fatty acid structure
of fats from TMR. The full-fat soy fats have a tota l polyunsaturated fatty acids content similar
to soy oil (63.39%) but a much higher linolenic aci d (C 18:3 ) content (by 132.8% higher
compared to soy oil), so C 18:2 /C 18:3 ratio is more balanced (Palfy T., 2005; Pesti G. 2 002).

Table 3
Fatty acid composition of fat sources used in broil er chickens feed (% total fatty acids)

Isue Bovine
tallow Fat pig Poultry fat Sunfl. oil Soy oil Full-fat
soy
C14:0 Miristic 3.25 2.72 1.08 0.12 0.21 0.20

C16:0
C18:0 Palmitic
Stearic 23.23
20.29 20.12
17.50 21.16
11.20 7.45
4.29 6.44
3.40 7.12
3.83
Total saturated f.a. 46.77 40.34 33.44 11.86 10.05 11.15
C16:1
C18:1
C20:1 Palmitoleic
Oleic
Gadoleic 2.30
29.70
0.85 1.74
34.20
0.72 0.93
36.12
0.54 0.42
21.35
0.12 0.30
20.10
0.96 NI
19.54
0.87
Total monounsat. f.a. 32.85 36.66 37.59 21.89 21.36 20.41
C18:2
C18:3
C20:4 Linoleic
Linolenic
Arahidonic 14.82
0.84
NI 16.60
1.12
0.13 23.52
1.47
0.19 60.45
0.36
0.07 59.6
4.20
0.12 53.27
9.78
0.34
Total PUFA 15.66 17.85 25.18 60.88 63.92 63.39
Unidentified f.a. 4.72 5.15 3.79 5.37 4.67 5.05
Total unsat. s.a. 48.51 54.51 62.77 82.77 85.28 83. 80
Saturated/unsaturated 0.96 0.74 0.53 0.14 0.11 0.13
Monounsat/PUFA 2.09 2.05 1.49 0.35 0.33 0.32
C18:2 /C 18:3 * 17.64 14.82 16.00 167.9 14.19 5.44
NI – unidentified fatty acids; * ratio is very impo rtant in human nutrition, because fats are rich in C 18:2 (linoleic acid) and poor in C 18:3
(linolenic acid), generally; the recommended ratio in rational human nutrition is of 5/1 (G. Niac, 200 4)

010 20 30 40 50 60
G1-tallow G2-fat pig G3-poultry fat G4-sunfl. Oil G5-so y oil G6-full-fat soy SFA MUFA PUFA Linoleic C18:2 Linolenic C18:3

Fig. 2 Fatty acids composition of lipids from broiler chi cken feeding
(% of total fatty acids)

The production performances of broiler chickens wer e light influenced by fat source
used in feed (Azman M. 2004; Zollitsch W., 1996). C ompared to animal fats, vegetal fats
determined a higher body weight and average daily g ain, respectively and a better degree of
feed valuation with a higher slaughter and a lower share of abdominal fat (% of carcass)
(table 4).

Table 4
The effect of different fat sources used in broiler chickens’ feed on production performances

Issue L 1 L 2 L 3 L 4 L 5 L 6
Final weight (g) 2074.0 2059.2 2072.7 2007.1 2080.3 2187.2
Average daily weight gain
(g/day) 48.21 47.88 48.19 46.63 48.31 50.93

Average TMR daily
consumption 98.98 97.62 99.21 96.02 96.61 98.40
Specific consumption
(kg TMR/kg gain) 2.05 2.03 2.05 2.04 1.99 1.93
g 39.94 37.48 33.82 28.76 30.68 30.76 Abdominal
fat % 2.08 2.21 2.00 1.83 1.90 1.81

The fat source used in broiler chickens’ feeding, t heir fatty acids structure,
respectively, was reflected on fatty acid content o f carcass lipids (abdominal fat, legs and
chest). The share of saturated fatty acids (mirist ic, palmitic and stearic acids) was much
higher in chickens from groups which received anima l fats (bovine tallow, respectively), in all
analyzed tissues, compared to chickens which receiv ed vegetal oils in fed. The lowest
saturated fatty acids proportion from carcass lipid s structure was recorded in chickens from
groups where full-fat soy was used, and among tissu es, chest fat (table 5). The content
in mono- unsaturated fatty acids, represented by ol eic acid, especially, was higher in
chickens’ fat from groups which received vegetal fa ts supplements (table 6). If saturated and
mono- unsaturated fatty acids predominantly occurre d in abdominal fat, PUFA were present
in muscular tissue lipids, in chest especially. The best quality fat, supplied by a high PUFA
content was in chest meat of chickens which receive d full-fat soy supplements followed by
those which received soy oil supplements (table 7).
Tabel 5
The saturated fatty acids (SFA) structure of carcas s lipids (% of total fatty acids)

Issue C 14:0 C 16:0 C 18:0 Total
saturated f.a.
Abdominal fat
L1
L2
L3
L4
L5
L6
7.39 ±0.32
5.86 ±0.73
5.21 ±0.80
2.17 ±0.32
1.35 ±0.16
0.93 ±0.04
40.97 ±6.23
35.21 ±1.98
32.72 ±1.57
36.77 ±2.12
25.52 ±4.70
23.98 ±0.31
7.48 ±1.37
7.84 ±3.28
9.90 ±0.09
2.78 ±0.09
3.18 ±0.07
3.26 ±0.08
55.84
48.91
47.83
41.72
30.05
28.17
Leg
L1
L2
L3
L4
L5
L6
4.35 ±2.12
1.27 ±0.35
1.31 ±0.29
1.27 ±0.41
0.90 ±0.04
0.97 ±0.09
34.09 ±4.01
31.14 ±2.72
25.13 ±3.23
24.47 ±4.81
27.56 ±3.50
26.41 ±2.95
9.14 ±0.93
10.71 ±1.70
11.53 ±2.13
8.51 ±1.23
6.22 ±1.33
4.73 ±0.76
47.58
40.58
37.97
34.25
34.68
32.11
Leg
L1
L2
L3
L4
L5
L6
4.35 ±2.12
1.27 ±0.35
1.31 ±0.29
1.27 ±0.41
0.90 ±0.04
0.97 ±0.09
34.09 ±4.01
31.14 ±2.72
25.13 ±3.23
24.47 ±4.81
27.56 ±3.50
26.41 ±2.95
9.14 ±0.93
10.71 ±1.70
11.53 ±2.13
8.51 ±1.23
6.22 ±1.33
4.73 ±0.76
47.58
40.58
37.97
34.25
34.68
32.11
Table 6

The monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) structure of carcass lipids (% of total fatty acids)

Issue C 16:1 C 18:1 C 20:1 Total
unsaturated f.a.
Abdominal fat
L1
L2
L3
2.37 ±0.12
2.80 ±0.09
18.83 ±1.17
20.72 ±0.80
1.17 ±0.10
1.18 ±0.12
22.37
24.70
26.33

L4
L5
L6 2.97 ±0.17
3.37 ±0.40
4.61 ±0.32
3.72 ±0.21 22.18 ±0.58
25.37 ±1.93
27.10 ±1.14
30.53 ±2.12 1.18 ±0.07
1.03 ±0.11
0.82 ±0.04
0.78 ±0.03 29.77
32.53
35.03
Leg
L1
L2
L3
L4
L5
L6
4.74 ±0.41
4.21 ±0.32
3.65 ±0.73
2.51 ±0.28
4.02 ±0.18
3.13 ±0.12
20.69 ±3.13
25.18 ±2.10
25.34 ±1.45
30.53 ±2.80
24.53 ±1.92
22.61 ±1.10
0.92 ±0.04
0.80 ±0.02
0.82 ±0.04
0.49 ±0.08
0.40 ±0.07
0.27 ±0.09
26.35
30.19
29.81
33.53
28.95
26.01
Chest
L1
L2
L3
L4
L5
L6
6.59 ±0.64
5.40 ±0.31
3.72 ±0.29
2.48 ±0.18
3.91 ±0.42
1.72 ±0.08
27.31 ±1.04
31.00 ±2.72
34.90 ±3.01
24.18 ±2.54
21.43 ±2.12
17.57 ±1.83
0.44 ±0.03
0.47 ±0.06
0.44 ±0.05
0.46 ±0.04
0.31 ±0.02
0.33 ±0.05
34.34
36.87
39.06
27.12
25.65
19.62

Table 7
The polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) structure of carcass lipids (% of total fatty acids)

Issue C 18:2 C 18:3 C 20:4 Total PUFA
Abdominal fat
L1
L2
L3
L4
L5
L6
10.78 ±1.10
14.62 ±3.27
18.34 ±1.17
20.07 ±2.18
22.68 ±1.29
23.72 ±2.07
1.31 ±0.06
2.16 ±0.21
1.87 ±0.15
1.91 ±0.07
3.60 ±0.27
5.27 ±0.71
NI
0.84 ±0.06
0.70 ±0.04
0.72 ±0.07
1.20 ±0.07
1.23 ±0.09
12.09
17.62
20.91
22.70
27.48
30.22
Leg
L1
L2
L3
L4
L5
L6
13.45 ±1.21
17.58 ±3.41
20.46 ±2.18
21.07 ±1.12
23.24 ±2.91
24.80 ±1.83
2.01 ±0.09
1.76 ±0.19
1.68 ±0.17
1.93 ±0.21
3.80 ±0.16
4.55 ±0.12
1.37 ±0.10
1.80 ±0.07
1.82 ±0.09
2.72 ±0.45
2.14 ±0.05
3.91 ±0.56
16.83
21.14
23.96
25.72
29.18
33.26
Chest
L1
L2
L3
L4
L5
L6
14.4 ±0.32
19.63 ±1.29
21.53 ±1.52
30.23 ±2.79
33.19 ±1.93
35.87 ±2.21
0.60 ±0.14
1.03 ±0.12
0.91 ±0.08
1.34 ±0.10
2.73 ±0.16
5.42 ±0.39
3.80 ±0.31
2.14 ±0.32
3.21 ±0.17
4.87 ±0.37
4.95 ±0.24
6.18 ±1.12
18.80
22.80
25.65
36.44
40.87
47.47

Among PUFA, the best represented is linoleic acid ( C 18:2 ) while linolenic (C 18:3 ) and
arachidonic (C 20:4 ) acids have a relatively low share in structure of body fats. The linolenic
acid (C 18:3 ), considered as deficient in human rational nutrit ion, has a 9 folds higher share in
chickens’ meat who received full-fat soy, compared to those who received in feeding animal
origin fats (tallow, fat, poultry fat) or sunflower oil. The arahidonic acid had a higher share in
lipids from chickens’ meat who received full-fat so y, soy oil and sunflower oil supplements in
feed, compared to those who received tallow, fat or poultry fat feeding supplements. The fat
source used in broiler chickens’ feeding, their fat ty acids structure, respectively, was reflected
on fatty acid content of carcass lipids (abdominal fat and chest) (fig. 3). The best quality fat,

supplied by a high PUFA content was in chest meat o f chickens which received full-fat soy
supplements followed by those which received soy oi l supplements (fig. 4).

010 20 30 40 50 60
G1-tallow G2-fat pig G3-poultry fat G4-sunfl. Oil G5-so y oil G6-full-fat soy
SFA MUFA
PUFA Linoleic C18:2
Linolenic C18:3
ABDOMINAL FAT 010 20 30 40 50 60
G1-tallow G2-fat pig G3-poultry fat G4-sunfl. Oil G5-so y oil G6-full-fat soy
SFA MUFA PUFA
Linoleic C18:2 Linolenic C18:3
CHEST
Fig. 4 The fatty acids structure of abdominal fat a nd chest lipids (% of total fatty acids)
1611 16 21 26 31 36
G1-tallow G2-fat pig G3-poultry
fat G4-sunfl
oil G5-soy oil G6-full-fat
soy a. linolenic-chest a. linolenic-leg a. arachidonic-leg a. arachidonic-chest a. linoleoc-leg a. linoleic-chest
Fig. 4. The PUFA structure of carcass lipids (chest and leg) (% of total fatty acids)

CONCLUSIONS

1. The fat sources experimented in broiler chickens’ ( bovine tallow, pig fat, poultry fat,
sunflower oil, soy oil, and full-fat soy) have a di fferent fatty acids structure: vegetal
fats are rich in PUFA (60.88-63.92%, mentioning tha t full-fat soy have a much higher
quantity of linolenic acid compared to soy or sunfl ower oil), bovine tallow is rich in
saturated fatty acids (46.77%) and poultry fat is r ich in mono-unsaturated fatty acids
(37.59%). This composition of fat sources was refle cted on fatty acid structure of
TMR lipids.
2. The fatty acid structure of lipids used in broiler chickens’ feed was reflectes in carcass
fat composition (abdominal fat, leg and chest). The highest saturated fatty acids share

in structure of carcass lipids was recorded in chic kens which received in feed animal
fats (tallow, pig fat or poultry fat). If saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids
occurred in abdominal fat, PUFA were found in leg a nd chest.
3. The best fat quality in chickens’ meat, analyzed co ncerning influence on human
health, determined by a high PUFA content and a low saturated fatty acids content,
was recorded in chest meat when chickens received f ull-fat soy feeding supplements,
followed by those who received soy oil supplements.

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