Fatty acid profile and cholesterol content of beef at retail of Piemotese, Limousin and Friesian breeds

Samples of longissimus thoracismuscle of young bulls belonging to Piemontese (n = 10), Limousin (n = 11) and Friesian (n = 10) breeds were analysed in order to study the chemical composition, fatty acids and cholesterol content of beef purchased at retail. The breeds and their differences in intramuscular fat content strongly influenced the fatty acids profile. The Piemontese animals displayed the lowest intramuscular fat and SFA content, while Friesian animals showed the highest intramuscular fat, SFA and MUFA content. In general, Limousin animals had intermediate characteristics. A higher PUFA proportion on total fatty acids was observed in Piemontese breed, but the PUFA absolute content (mg/100 g meat) did not differ among breeds. All the three breeds displayed a high content of n-6 fatty acids family and, consequently, a very unbalanced n-6/n-3 ratio. No differences were found for cholesterol content.