1 Dipartimento di Produzioni Animali, Epidemiologia ed Ecologia, Universita` di Torino, Grugliasco, Italy and 2 Dipartimento di Produzioni Animali, Universita` di Pisa, Pisa, Italy Influence of dietary lipid source and strain on fatty acid composition of Muscovy duck meat By A. Schiavone 1 , I. Romboli 2 , R. Chiarini 2 and M. Marzoni 2 Summary A trial was conducted to study the effect of dietary 2% soya bean oil and dietary 2% fish oil (FO) on fatty acid composition of breast meat of two different Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata domestica L.) strains. The two strains were a broiler strain selected for meat production and an unselected rural strain. Fatty acid composition of breast muscle was deeply influenced by lipid source. Dietary FO improved the long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) of omega 3 series content, while the content of LC-PUFAs of omega 6 series was reduced. Differences in susceptibility in lipid manipulation were found between the two groups of animals suggesting the highest capability of animals belonging to the rural strain in stocking arachidonic acid in breast muscle. As the fatty acid profile of Muscovy duck meat can be considerably modified by changing the fatty acid composition of the diet, and dietary FO represents an easy way to reach this goal, human intake of healthy n-3 LC-PUFAs could be enhanced using this enriched poultry meat, even if the influence of FO on organoleptic characteristics (i.e. off-flavours) must be evaluated. Introduction It is well-known that, in human nutrition, long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC- PUFAs) of omega 3 series (n-3) are essential for normal growth and development and may play an important role in the prevention and management of coronary heart disease (Zyriax and Windler, 2000), hypertension, type 2 diabetes, renal disease, rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Simopoulos, 2000). Beneficial effects of n-3 LC-PUFAs are particularly due to eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5 n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6 n-3) (Horrocks, 1999). In humans, recommended intake of DHA + EPA is more than 650 mg/day (Kolanowski and Swiderski, 1999; Simopoulos, 2000). The enhancement of the levels of EPA and DHA within commonly occurring non-fish foods is one way of increasing the consumption of these fatty acids. Several studies have shown the possibility to modify PUFA composition of eggs and poultry meat by changing the fatty acid composition of the diet to improve the n-3 LC-PUFAs amount and thus the n-3/n-6 ratio (Hargis and Van Elswyk, 1993; Leskanich and Noble, 1997). In the chicken (Gallus domesticus L.), attempts were made to stimulate the endogenous synthesis of n-3 LC-PUFAs by supplying the precursor linolenic acid (LNA, 18:3 n-3) in the diet (Lopez-Ferrer et al., 2001b), resulting in a slight improvement of these molecules in poultry meat. These results indicate that in this species the improvement of LC-PUFAs of meat can be achieved in this way but the direct dietary supplementation of LC-PUFAs J. Anim. Physiol. a. Anim. Nutr. 88 (2004), 88–93 Ó 2004 Blackwell Verlag, Berlin ISSN 0931–2439 Receipt of Ms.: 20. 12. 2002 Accepted: 08. 05. 2003 U. S. Copyright Clearance Center Code Statement: 0931–2439/2004/8803–0088 $ 15.00/0 www.blackwell-synergy.com