The effect of dietary Salvia hispanica seed on the content of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in tissues of selected animal species, including edible insects

The aim of the study was to compare the deposition of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAn-3) in chicken breast meat (BM), thigh meat, quail eggs (QE) and tissues of two edible insect species (cricket [CR] and giant mealworm beetle [MB]) when feeding the animals with different amounts of Salvia hispanica seeds (SHS; source of alpha-linolenic acid, alpha Lnn). The highest (P < 0.05) LC-PUFAn-3 concentration in BM, TM and QE (11.7, 36.5 and 106 mg/100 g of fresh matter) was reached with the dietary SHS content of 60 g kg(-1) (chickens) and 75 g kg(-1) (quails), respectively. The eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) concentration in CR fed the diet containing 500 g kg(-1) of SHS was 17 mg/100 g, which suggests a presence of Delta(6)- and Delta(5)-desaturases. When adjusted for changing alpha Lnn intake, LC-PUFAn-3 content in BM, TM, QE and CR was 14, 31, 76 and 20 mg/100 g. Percentage of alpha Lnn deposited in a given tissue that was converted to LC-PUFAn-3 in this tissue (tissue LC-PUFAn-3/tissue alpha Lnn x 100, in %; Y) decreased (P < 0.001) with increasing dietary alpha Lnn (mg/100 g) both in BM + TM (taken as a one set; Y = 39.2 - 0.03X, R-2 = 0.35) and QM (Y = 75.6 - 0.04X, R-2 = 0.75). (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.