Breed influence on finishing performance and meat fatty acid composition in lambs raised under an intensive production system

Abstract

Introduction - Lamb meat and milk products obtained from sheep are usually main protein sources for indigent people from rural areas in Turkey. The determination of appropriate breed in a specific feeding condition is very important to obtain high quality products, and also profitable production. There has been an increased interest to fatty acid composition of meat in recent years, because saturated fatty acid (SFA) and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) are considered major risk factors for coronary heart diseases.