Meta-analysis of intramuscular fatty acid composition of Mediterranean lambs

Abstract. The aim of this work was to study the intramuscular fatty acid profile of Mediterranean lambs using a meta-analysis. The database was created from five journal articles and one doctoral dissertation, and included lambs of the Talaverana, Comisana, Churra Tensina, Merino Branco and Pramenka breeds. All analyses were performed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis and R statistical software. According to the overall pooled result, lambs of Mediterranean breeds included in our meta-analysis had 22.85 % of palmitic (C16:0), 14.78 % of stearic (C18:0) and 5.32 % of myristic acid (C14:0). The overall pooled result for oleic acid (C18:1) was 32.53 %, and it was 5.60 % for linoleic acid (C18:2 n-6) and 1.95 % for α-linolenic acid (C18:3 n-3). Regardless of the proportions of the main fatty acids, Mediterranean lambs had 47.85 % of SFA (saturated fatty acid), 37.87 % of MUFA (monounsaturated fatty acid) and 11.50 % of PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acid). The overall pooled result for the PUFA / SFA ratio was 0.23, and it was 2.22 for the n-6 /n-3 ratio. The results of our meta-analysis enabled us to gain an important scientific insight into the lipid profile of intramuscular fat in Mediterranean lambs. A systematic combination of quantitative data from several carefully selected studies provided estimates of greater statistical power and enabled a more truthful comparison of results originating from different independent studies than any previously published research on this issue.