The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of supplementing lactating ewe diets with extruded
linseed on the fatty acid (FA) composition of intramuscular and subcutaneous fat depots of suckling lambs.
Twenty-four pregnant Churra eweswere divided into two groups based on the milk production, age, bodyweight
and parity, and assigned to one of two treatments. Each ewe of the Control treatment was supplemented with
70 g/day of FAs from a calcium soap of palm oil, while the other treatment group (Lin) was supplemented
with 128 g/day of extruded linseed. All lambs were reared exclusively on milk and were slaughtered when
they reached 11 kg live weight. FA profiles of ewe milk, lambmeat and subcutaneous adipose tissue were determined
by GC. Lamb performance was not affected by the treatments.Muscle fat and adipose tissue from the Lin
treatment showed higher proportions of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). The percentages of α-linolenic
(C18:3 n−3), docosahexaenoic (C22:6 n−3), vaccenic (trans-11 C18:1) and rumenic (cis-9, trans-11 C18:2)
acids in both fat depots were higher in Lin than in Control suckling lambs. Furthermore, meat fat from Lin carcasses
displayed a lower n−6/n−3 ratio than Control samples. Intramuscular depots clearly showed a greater
content of PUFA, including cis-9, trans-11 C18:2, and a lower n−6/n−3 ratio than subcutaneous fat. The results
from this study demonstrate that dietary extruded linseed supplementation of lactating ewes enhances the nutritional
quality of suckling lamb fat depots such as intramuscular and subcutaneous fats.
