Enrichment of Omega-3 fatty acids in Japanese quail eggs by dietary manipulation

A study was conducted to assess the fatty acid composition in Japanese quail eggs upon enrichment of diets with polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) rich sources like fish oil and linseed oil, independently and simultaneously at 2 and 4 per cent levels. Fish oil contains significantly higher (P<0.01) myristic, palmitic, stearic and linoleic acids, Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), while linseed oil contains higher (P<0.01) oleic and linolenic acids. Feeding fish oil at 4 per cent and linseed oil at 2 per cent level significantly (P<0.01) increased the n-3 PUFAs such as linoleic acid, linolenic acid, EPA, DHA, total n-3 PUFA, total n-6 PUFA and n-3/n-6 fatty acids ratio and reduced the palmitic and stearic acids content of egg yolk of Japanese quail. It is concluded that the total PUFA concentration in egg yolk was higher (P<0.01) in all groups due to incorporation of various n-3 PUFA rich sources in feed.