Comparison of the Contents of Cholesterol and Fatty Acids in Meat from Male Binglangjiang Buffaloes Slaughtered at Different Ages

CHEN Yanmei;LI Qing;MAO Huaming;JIN Zhen;HE Hongyuan;MA Dan;GAN Wenbin;College of Animal Science and Technology,Yunnan Agricultural University;Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science of Yunnan Province;Veterinary Drug and Feed Control Institute of Yunnan;

male Binglangjiang buffalo;;age;;location;;cholesterol;;fatty acid

The objective of the present work was to analyze the contents of fatty acids and cholesterol in Longissimus dorsi and Biceps femoris from male Binglangjiang buffaloes consecutively slaughtered at different ages by high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) and gas chromatography(GC).The results showed that the contents of fatty acids and cholesterol were highly affected by age at slaughter.The highest level of cholesterol((58.72±2.98) mg/100 g) was detected in Biceps femoris from suckling calves,and cholesterol level in Longissimus dorsi from adult buffaloes was the lowest((22.65±3.70) mg/100 g).Cholesterol level in Biceps femoris from young stock was(31.36±3.10) mg/100 g,which was not significantly different from that in adult buffaloes(P>0.05).A significant difference between the palmitic acid contents of Longissimus dorsi and Biceps femoris was observed for both young and adult buffaloes of the same age groups(months)(P<0.05),while no significant difference was perceived for calves of the same age groups(months)(P>0.05).The contents of other fatty acids,the ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids(UFA/SFA),the ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acids(PFA/SFA),and the ratio of unsaturated to total fatty acids(UFA/TFA)were not significantly different between the two muscles(P>0.05).For the same muscles,the contents of decanoic acid,heptadecanoic acid,linolic acid,arachidic acid and arachidonic acid were significantly different between suckling and weaning calves(P<0.05),but no significant differences in the contents of other fatty acids,and the ratio of UFA to SFA,PFA to SFA and UFA to TFA were seen.Significant differences in the contents of decanoic acid acid,tridecanoic acid,heptadecanoic acid and oleic acid existed for the same muscles from calves and young and adult buffaloes.Stearic acid contents in the same muscles from young stock were significantly different compared to those in calves and adult buffaloes(P<0.05),but no significant difference was observed between the latter two(P>0.05).The contents of palmitic acid,linoleic acid,linolenic acid,arachidic acid and arachidonic acid,and the content of UFA,the ratio of PFA to SFA and the ratio of UFA to SFA in the same muscles from calves were significantly different from those in young and adult buffaloes(P<0.05),but no significant difference was present between the latter two(P>0.05).In terms of cholesterol and fatty acids,the meat quality of young buffaloes was the best,and Longissimus dorsi was slightly better than Biceps femoris.