Composition of intramuscular phospholipid fatty acids of Inra rabbit at different ages

Abstract

The composition of intramuscular phospholipids fatty acids in Longissimus dorsimuscle (LD), left-hind leg muscle (LL) and abdominal muscle (AM) of Inra rabbit slaughtered between 35 to 90 days old were investigated. Significant decreasing of intramuscular phospholipids (%lipid) was observed in three muscles as age increased (p < 0.05). Abundant amount of unsaturated fatty acids (UFA), especially polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) characterised the fatty acid composition of the phospholipids. Palmitic acid (C16:0), stearic acid (C18:0), oleic acid (C18:1n-9), linoleic acid (C18:2n-6) and arachidonic acid (C20:4) were the major fatty acids. By analysis of partial least square regression (PLSR), the nutritional value of the phospholipid fatty acids decreased with age.