Impact of different inclusion levels of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) fronds on fatty acid profiles of goat muscles.

The effects of different inclusion levels of oil palm fronds (OPF) on the fatty acid profile of the longissimus dorsi (LD), biceps femoris (BF) and infraspinatus (IS) muscle of goats fed for 100 days are described. Twenty-four individually housed Kacang crossbred male goats (averaged 21.7 ± 0.97 kg BW) were allocated to three groups receiving either a 100% concentrate control diet (CON), diet with 25% inclusion level of OPF (HAF) or a diet with 50% inclusion of OPF. The diets were adjusted to be isocaloric and isonitrogenous and fed at 3.0% of BW daily. Samples of LD, BF and IS muscles were taken at slaughter for the determination of fatty acid profiles. The total saturated fatty acids (SFA) in the LD and BF muscles of the OPF group were significantly (p < 0.05) lower than the CON group. For all muscles, C18:3n-3 and total n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the OPF group than the CON group with minimal impact on the C18:2n-6 and total n-6PUFA. Consequently, the n-6:n-3 ratio significantly (p < 0.05) decreased in the OPF group compared to the CON group. The LD muscle had a significantly higher conjugated linoleic acid 18:2 c19t11 compared to other muscles. There were no interactions between muscle x diet except for total SFA. It is concluded that OPF at 25-50% inclusion levels may decrease the SFA and increase the n-3PUFA content in chevon, with no apparent adverse effects on the growth performance of the animals, can be used as a feed ingredient to support goat farming in countries that lack grazing pasture.