Feeding enriched omega-3 fatty acid beef to rats increases omega-3 fatty acid content of heart and liver membranes and decreases serum VCAM-1 and cholesterol levels
Dietary intake of the long-chain omega-3 fatty prevents the development of heart disease. In this study we evaluated whether feeding beef to rats that were from cattle fed an omega-3 fatty acid enriched diet had health benefits. Cattle raised on a 10% flaxseed diet have high amounts of α-linolenic acid in their muscle tissue when compared to cattle fed a control diet of corn. Twenty, weanling, Sprague-Dawley rats were fed one of two diets (n=10 in each group), one diet containing fat from beef of cattle fed 10% flaxseed and the other beef from cattle fed a conventional corn ration. The diets contained 10% fat from the cooked beef using a modification of the AIN-76 diet for a 5-week period. There was a statistically significant increase in the amount of membrane docosahexaenoic acid in the livers of the rats on the diet of beef from cattle fed flaxseed and a statistically significant increase in the amount of membrane arachidonic acid in the hearts of the controls.
There were also strong, positive trends for the increases in the amounts of membrane docosahexaenoic acid in the hearts and membrane linoleic acid in the livers of the rats on the diet of beef from cattle fed flaxseed when compared to controls. Serum cholesterol and VCAM-1 levels were decreased in rats fed the beef from cattle fed flaxseed. These findings suggest that agriculture practice of feeding a high omega-3 fatty acid diet to cattle can produce positive health benefits to the consumer.
Reference Information:
Medeiros DM, Hampton M, Kurtzer K, Parelman M, Al-Tamimi E, Drouillard JS. 2007. Feeding enriched omega-3 fatty acid beef to rats increases omega-3 fatty acid content of heart and liver membranes and decreases serum VCAM-1 and cholesterol levels. Nutr. Res. 27: 295-299.
This entry was posted on Monday, March 10th, 2008. It is filed under Human Nutrition and is tagged with DHA, EPA, flaxseed, linolenic acid, omega-3, rats.