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Meta-regression of the relationship between dietary 18C n-3 concentration and enrichment of n-3 fatty acids in liver and breast muscle of broiler chickens

Ali U, El-Zenary A, Harvatine KJ

Lipids, 2025

Abstract

The long-chain n-3 fatty acids (FA) eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) have human health benefits, and many experiments have investigated the ability of plant n-3 sources to enrich n-3 FA in broiler meat. A meta-regression was conducted to evaluate the relationship between dietary 18-carbon n-3 FA content and the deposition of EPA, docosapentaenoic acid (DPA), and DHA in broiler breast and liver tissue. Bivariate regression of total diet 18-carbon n-3 and tissue FA profile was modeled with the random effect of experiment and the partial R2 was calculated. Increasing 18C n-3 FA in the diet quadratically increased the log10 concentration of all n-3 FA in breast tissue. The strongest relationship was found for breast alpha-linolenic (partial R2 = 0.55), followed by EPA, DPA, and DHA (partial R2 = 0.20, 0.14, and 0.05). Liver enrichment of EPA, DPA, and DHA (all partial R2 > 0.43) and EPA + DHA (partial R2 = 0.55) was quadratically related to dietary 18C n-3 FA, while liver EPA + DPA + DHA (partial R2 = 0.43) was linearly related to dietary 18C n-3 FA. In both breast and liver, the plateau in tissue enrichment was more apparent for DHA than EPA, with DPA being intermediate. A linear plateau model fit the data with a break point for enriching EPA and DHA in breast muscle at 22.4 and 17.9 g/kg of 18C n-3 FA in the diet, respectively. Enrichment of long-chain n-3 FA in broiler chickens was saturable, with little justification for feeding beyond approximately…

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Evidence Hub reads this as a meta-analysis, done in animal, not in people. Its evidence level is 5 of 5 (Very low · case / narrative / animal / in vitro / in silico). Case reports, narrative reviews, and animal, cell or computer-model studies give the weakest evidence for human health.

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