Effect of vitamin E supplementation to the diet of Morkaraman lambs on intramuscular and intermuscular fatty acid composition

This research was carried out to determine the effects of vitamin E (DL-alpha tocopheryl acetate) supplementation on inter-and intramuscular fatty acid composition in the meat of Morkaraman lambs. The lambs were divided into 2 groups, control (CG, n = 10) and experimental (VG, n = 10), at the beginning of the fattening period. The CG and VG lambs were fed the same concentrate and hay. The VG lambs also received a supplement of 45 mg of vitamin E per lamb per day during the 75-day fattening period prior to slaughter. Vitamin E supplementation increased margaric acid in intramuscular fat and stearic acid in intermuscular fat significantly (P < 0.05). while it had no influence on the other fatty acids. The unsaturated fatty acid content of intramuscular fats was higher than that of intermuscular fats (P < 0.05).