F. M. Whittington

Bio: F. M. Whittington is an academic researcher from University of Bristol. The author has contributed to research in topics: Androstenone & Boar taint. The author has an hindex of 14, co-authored 21 publications receiving 3261 citations.

Effect of a high-linolenic acid diet on lipogenic enzyme activities, fatty acid composition, and meat quality in the growing pig.

Abstract: Forty-eight Duroc-cross gilts (40 kg initial BW) were fed a control or a linseed diet containing 60 g of whole crushed linseed/kg. Both diets were supplemented with 150 mg of vitamin E/kg. Eight pigs from each dietary treatment were slaughtered at 20, 60, or 100 d after the start of the experiment. There was no effect (P > 0.05) of diet on growth, carcass characteristics, or foreloin tissue composition. Feeding the linseed diet increased (P 0.05) altered by diet. The proportions of n-3 PUFA were highest (P or = 0.4 in all groups and tissues, which is close to the recommended value for the entire diet of humans, as well as a robust decrease in the n-6:n-3 ratio. The decrease (P 0.05) affect the activities of acetyl-CoA-carboxylase, malic enzyme, or glucose-6-phosphate-dehydrogenase in any tissues. Muscle vitamin E content was decreased (P < 0.001) 30% in pigs fed crushed linseed for 60 d, whereas lower (P < 0.001) concentrations of skatole in pork fat were observed in linseed-fed pigs at all slaughter times. Inclusion of linseed (flaxseed) in swine diets is a valid method of improving the nutritional value of pork without deleteriously affecting organoleptic characteristics, oxidation, or color stability.

A reduced protein diet induces stearoyl-CoA desaturase protein expression in pig muscle but not in subcutaneous adipose tissue: relationship with intramuscular lipid formation.

Abstract: A reduced protein diet (RPD) is known to increase the level of intramuscular lipid in pig meat with a smaller effect on the amount of subcutaneous adipose tissue. This might be due to tissue-specific activation of the expression of lipogenic enzymes by the RPD. The present study investigated the effect of a RPD, containing palm kernel oil, soyabean oil or palm oil on the activity and expression of one of the major lipogenic enzymes, stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) and on the level of total lipids and the fatty acid composition of muscle and subcutaneous adipose tissue in pigs. The RPD significantly increased SCD protein expression and activity in muscle but not in subcutaneous adipose tissue. The level of MUFA and total fatty acids in muscle was also elevated when the RPD was fed, with only small changes in subcutaneous adipose tissue. A positive significant correlation between SCD protein expression and total fatty acids in muscle was found. The results suggest that an increase in intramuscular but not subcutaneous adipose tissue fatty acids under the influence of a RPD is related to tissue-specific activation of SCD expression. It is suggested that the SCD isoform spectra in pig subcutaneous adipose tissue and muscle might be different.

Meat fatty acid composition as affected by fatness and genetic factors: a review

Abstract: Meat fatty acid composition is influenced by genetic factors, although to a lower extent than dietary factors. The species is the major source of variation in fatty acid composition with ruminant meats being more saturated as a result of biohydrogenation in the rumen compared to the meat of monogastric animals. The level of fatness also has an effect on the meat fatty acid composition. The contents of saturated (SFA) and monounsaturated (MUFA) fatty acids increase faster with increasing fatness than does the content of PUFA, resulting in a decrease in the relative proportion of PUFA and consequently in the polyunsaturated/saturated fatty acids (P/S) ratio. The dilution of phospholipids with triacylglycerols and the distinct differences in fatty acid composition of these fractions explain the decrease in the P/S ratio with increasing fatness. An exponential model was fitted to the literature data for beef and showed a sharply increasing P/S ratio at low levels of intramuscular fat. Lowering the fat level of beef is thus more efficient in increasing the P/S ratio than dietary interventions. For pork, the intramuscular fat level also affects the P/S ratio, but nutrition will have a larger impact. The fat level also influences the n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio, due to the difference of this ratio in polar and neutral lipids. However, these effects are much smaller than the effects that can be achieved by dietary means. Differences in fatty acid composition between breeds and genotypes can be largely explained by differences in fatness. However, after correction for fat level, breed or genotype differences in the MUFA/SFA ratio and in the longer chain C20 and C22 PUFA metabolism have been reported, reflecting the possible genetic differences in fatty acid metabolism. Breed differences in meat conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) content have not yet been reported, but the c9t11CLA content in meat is positively related to the total fat content. Heritabilities and genetic correlations for the proportion of certain fatty acids have been estimated in a few studies, and correspond to the observations at the phenotypic level in relation to the intramuscular fat level. Although there is potential for genetic change, incorporating fatty acid composition as a goal in classical breeding programs does not seem worthwhile at the present. Enzyme activities have been measured in a few studies, but are not able to explain between-animal variation in fatty acid composition. Biochemical and molecular genetic studies should be encouraged to unravel the mechanisms responsible for differences in the metabolism and incorporation of specific fatty acids in meat. fatty acids / meat / genetics / P/S ratio

Factors influencing fatty acids in meat and the role of antioxidants in improving meat quality

Abstract: Meat has been identified, often wrongly, as a food having a high fat content and an undesirable balance of fatty acids. In fact lean meat is very low in fat (20-50 g/kg), pork and poultry have a favourable balance between polyunsaturated and saturated fatty acids (P:S) and grazing ruminants produce muscle with a desirable n-6:n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid ratio. In all species, meat fatty acid composition can be changed via the diet, more easily in single-stomached pigs and poultry where the linoleic, alpha-linolenic and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid content responds quickly to raised dietary concentrations. Recent work in pigs has attempted to manipulate the n-6:n-3 ratio by feeding higher levels of alpha-linolenic acid (e.g. in rapeseed) or its products eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6) present in fish oils. In ruminants the challenge is to increase the P:S ratio whilst retaining values for n-6:n-3 found in cattle and sheep fed on forage diets. The saturating effect of the rumen can be overcome by feeding polyunsaturated fatty acids which are protected either chemically, by processing, or naturally e.g. within the seed coat. Some protection occurs when grain-based or grass-based diets are fed normally, leading to relatively more n-6 or n-3 fatty acids respectively. These produce different flavours in cooked meat due to the different oxidative changes occurring during storage and cooking. In pigs and poultry, high n-3 fatty acid concentrations in meat are associated with fishy flavours whose development can be prevented with high dietary (supranutritional) levels of the antioxidant vitamin E. In ruminants, supranutritional vitamin E delays the oxidative change of oxymyoglobin to brown metmyoglobin and may also influence the characteristic flavours of beef and lamb.

Intramuscular fat content in meat-producing animals: development, genetic and nutritional control, and identification of putative markers.

Abstract: Intramuscular fat (IMF) content plays a key role in various quality traits of meat. IMF content varies between species, between breeds and between muscle types in the same breed. Other factors are involved in the variation of IMF content in animals, including gender, age and feeding. Variability in IMF content is mainly linked to the number and size of intramuscular adipocytes. The accretion rate of IMF depends on the muscle growth rate. For instance, animals having a high muscularity with a high glycolytic activity display a reduced development of IMF. This suggests that muscle cells and adipocytes interplay during growth. In addition, early events that influence adipogenesis inside the muscle (i.e proliferation and differentiation of adipose cells, the connective structure embedding adipocytes) might be involved in interindividual differences in IMF content. Increasing muscularity will also dilute the final fat content of muscle. At the metabolic level, IMF content results from the balance between uptake, synthesis and degradation of triacylglycerols, which involve many metabolic pathways in both adipocytes and myofibres. Various experiments revealed an association between IMF level and the muscle content in adipocyte-type fatty acid-binding protein, the activities of oxidative enzymes, or the delta-6-desaturase level; however, other studies failed to confirm such relationships. This might be due to the importance of fatty acid fluxes that is likely to be responsible for variability in IMF content during the postnatal period rather than the control of one single pathway. This is evident in the muscle of most fish species in which triacylglycerol synthesis is almost zero. Genetic approaches for increasing IMF have been focused on live animal ultrasound to derive estimated breeding values. More recently, efforts have concentrated on discovering DNA markers that change the distribution of fat in the body (i.e. towards IMF at the expense of the carcass fatness). Thanks to the exhaustive nature of genomics (transcriptomics and proteomics), our knowledge on fat accumulation in muscles is now being underpinned. Metabolic specificities of intramuscular adipocytes have also been demonstrated, as compared to other depots. Nutritional manipulation of IMF independently from body fat depots has proved to be more difficult to achieve than genetic strategies to have lipid deposition dependent of adipose tissue location. In addition, the biological mechanisms that explain the variability of IMF content differ between genetic and nutritional factors. The nutritional regulation of IMF also differs between ruminants, monogastrics and fish due to their digestive and nutritional particularities.