Lipid quality indices: Differentiation of suckling lamb and kid breeds reared by traditional sheep farming

Lipid quality indices (LQI) of six breeds of suckling lambs and kids were determined to evaluate the species and breed effect on intramuscular (IM) and perirenal (PR) fat. Intramuscular fat of all breeds was characterized by high phospholipid and unsaturated fatty acids and low cholesterol content. Perirenal fat mainly consisted of triglycerides. Polyunsaturated/saturated (P/S), ω-6/ω-3 and hypocholesterolaemic/hypercholesterolaemic fatty acid ratios of IM fat were optimal for all breeds. Specifically, IM fat from Kalarytiko lamb and Skopelos kid presented favourable ω-6/ω-3 ratio below 3:1. Chios and Lacaune lamb and Skopelos kid IM fat presented the higher P/S ratio and similar to the recommended value of 0.45. Furthermore, atherogenic and most of thrombogenic indices of IM fat remained in desirable levels (<1.0). Significant differences in most lipid quality indices among species and breeds were evident for both IM and PR fat. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used as a tool to cluster the six breeds according to fifteen different LQI. Species and breeds were classified according to their most representative higher values of LQI.