Muscle and genotype effects on fatty acid composition of goat kid intramuscular fat

Little is known about the fatty acid composition of the major muscles in goats from different breeds. Forty entire male suckling kids, 20 Criollo Cordobes and 20 Anglo Nubian, were slaughtered at 75 days of age and the fatty acid composition of their longissimus thoracis (LT) and semitendinosus (ST) muscles was analysed to clarify the effects of genotype and muscle type on goat kid meat. Genotype had a great influence on the fatty acid composition of goat kid meat. Meat from Criollo Cordobes had greater saturated (P < 0.001) and lower monounsaturated (P < 0.001) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (P = 0.002) concentration than meat from Anglo Nubian, showing higher saturated fatty acids (SFA). On the other hand, intramuscular fat content from both genotypes was higher (P = 0.042) in ST muscle, while the lowest cholesterol levels were observed in ST of Criollo Cordobes (P = 0.038). That higher fat content resulted in lower relative contents of total polyunsaturated (P < 0.001) and n-3 (P = 0.002) fatty acids due to the lower contribution of the membrane phospholipids.