Fatty acid profile of three adipose depots in seven Spanish breeds of suckling kids

Intramuscular, subcutaneous and kidney knob fat depot fatty acid profiles were studied in 104 male suckling kids from seven Spanish breeds: Blanca Andaluza, Blanca Celtiberica, Moncaina, Negra Serrana-Castiza, Pirenaica, Malaguena and Murciano-Granadina. Kids were raised in the traditional production system on mother's milk and slaughtered at around 7 kg live weight. Differences were observed between dairy (Malaguena) and meat breeds (Blanca Andaluza, Blanca Celtiberica, Moncaina, Negra Serrana-Castiza, and Pirenaica). Malaguena showed higher monounsaturated and conjugated linoleic fatty acid levels than the other breeds. Highest percentages of saturated fatty acids were observed in meat breeds. For intramuscular fat depot, the range for desirable fatty acids was 66.16-72.27% was. The influence of breed on fatty add profiles of intramuscular, subcutaneous and kidney knob fat depots studied was evident. Intramuscular fat depot is proposed as a differentiating factor between dairy and meat breed goat kids, but not between meat breed kids. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.