The effect of dietary copper supplementation on fatty acid profile and oxidative stability of adipose depots in Boer X Spanish goats

¹ Department of Animal Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849
² Department of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL 36088

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: cummika{at}auburn.edu.

	Abstract

A feeding trial was designed to examine the effects of copper sulfate penta hydrate (CuSO₄.5H₂O) on the fatty acid composition and oxidative stability in muscle and adipose tissues of Boer x Spanish goat kids. Fifteen (n = 5 per treatment) goats were fed 0, 100, or 200 mg supplemental copper per day as copper sulfate for 98 d. The animals were slaughtered and LM, subcutaneous adipose from the sternal region, and mesenteric adipose tissues were collected. Total lipids were extracted with chloroform:methanol (2:1), methylated, and isolated via GLC from all tissues. The subsequent peaks were then positively identified by mass spectrometry. Thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances were measured also. In subcutaneous adipose, dietary copper significantly decreased C14:0 (P = 0.03) and C16:0 (P = 0.01). In muscle, C15:0 (P = 0.03) was linearly increased by copper. Dietary copper supplementation did not influence oxidative stability in goat muscle or subcutaneous adipose. Copper supplementation at 200 mg/d resulted in a significant increase in malondialdehyde (P = 0.01) compared to the 0 or 100 mg/d groups in mesenteric adipose. These results indicate that lipid composition may differ from depot to depot, and that depending on the depot, dietary copper seems to elicit a variable response on the fatty acid composition.

Key Words: copper, diet, goat, lipid