Effect of dietary monounsaturated/saturated fatty acid ratio on fatty acid composition and oxidative stability of tissues in broilers

A total of 240 1-day-old male Arbor Acres chicks were fed diets with monounsaturated/saturated fatty acid (SFA) ratio (M/S) of 1.2 or 4.8 and supplemented 0, 10 or 20 mg Vitamin E kg−1 for 3 weeks. Generally, the monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) content in heart (P<0.01), liver (P<0.05), and breast muscle (P<0.01) increased, the SFA content in heart and breast muscle decreased (P<0.01). The polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content in heart and liver was not affected by increased dietary M/S. The MUFA, SFA, and PUFA contents in heart, liver, and breast muscle were not affected by dietary Vitamin E level. The α-tocopherol content in liver, heart, and breast muscle was not affected by dietary M/S. The α-tocopherol content in liver was increased quadratically (P<0.01), but was not affected in heart and breast muscle by increased dietary Vitamin E level. The oxidative stability in heart, liver, and thigh muscle was increased (P<0.01) by increased dietary M/S, and was increased in liver (P<0.01) by increased dietary Vitamin E level. An interaction of dietary M/S and Vitamin E on liver and thigh muscle oxidative stability was observed (P<0.01). These data indicate that replacing dietary and, hence, tissue SFA by MUFA could improve tissue oxidative stability of broilers; the improvement, however, diminishes with increasing dietary and, hence, tissue Vitamin E level.