Effect of Roughage on the Composition of Ovine Depot Fats

Abstract

PHYSICAL and chemical characteristics of the fats of food animals are intimately related to the edibility of meat products, to their nutritive value and eventually to the health and well-being of the consumers themselves. Ovine fat is of particular interest since Cramer (1962) concluded that its acceptability is the major factor influencing the consumption of the meat of this species. Work by Shorland et al. (1955) with ruminants indicated that the fatty acid composition of the depot fats was unaffected by the nature of the diet ingested. The supposition was that all nutrient materials were decomposed by the activity of the microorganisms of the rumen, and the volatile fatty acids produced were selectively absorbed, metabolized and deposited by the animal in depot fats characteristic of the species. The results of recent investigations have cast doubt on the validity of this hypothesis (Callow, 1958; Cramer, 1962; Cramer and Marchello, 1962; Huston, 1962; Shaw et al., 1960). Copyright © 1967. American Society of Animal Science . Copyright 1967 by American Society of Animal Science