Biological activities of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and effects of CLA on animal products

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a collective term for a group of positional (c8, c10; c9, c11; c10, c12, and c11, c13) and geometric (cis,cis; cis,trans; trans,cis; and trans,trans) isomers of octadecadienoic acid (linoleic acid) with conjugated double bond system. Dietary CLA increased the ratio of saturated fatty acid (SFA) and decreased unsaturated fatty acid (USFA) in the egg yolk and CLA sources for fat improved the color stability possibly by inhibition of lipid oxidation and oxymyoglobin oxidation in beef patties. Also dietary CLA reduced purge loss in pork loin, it could be due not only to high intramuscular fat content but also to stability of cell membrane lipids assumed by the observed delay in lipid oxidation for CLA. Cholesterol content in egg yolk was significantly decreased by a supply of dietary CLA for 5 weeks feeding. Dietary CLA and storage of CLA eggs increased the firmness of hard-cooked egg yolk and the texture of yolks from hard-cooked CLA eggs was rubbery and elastic and yolk were more difficult to break using an Instron. The eggs produced by hens fed CLA were hard and were characterized by a reddish yolk when cooled to 4 °C for 10 weeks. Several studies have determined the antioxidant property of CLA. The oxidative reactions could influence CLA concentrations by either causing the formation of linoleic acid radicals, which in turn could be converted to CLA by hydrogen donors, or causing the oxidative destruction of the conjugated double-bond system of CLA.