Fatty acid profiling and nutritional lipid indices of raw and cooked indigenous cattle meat and fat in Bangladesh

Abstract

Fatty acid composition and lipid nutritional quality are important determinants of the health value of meat products. However, information regarding the lipid profile of indigenous cattle in Bangladesh and the influence of thermal processing on fatty acid stability remains limited. This study characterized the fatty acid composition and nutritional lipid indices of ribeye muscle (longissimus dorsi) and perirenal adipose tissue from indigenous cattle and evaluated the effects of cooking on lipid composition. Samples obtained from nine animals were analyzed in raw and cooked states, yielding 36 experimental samples. Total lipids were extracted using the Folch method, converted into fatty acid methyl esters, and analyzed by gas chromatography. The effects of tissue type (muscle vs adipose), cooking treatment (raw versus cooked), and their interaction were evaluated using two-way analysis of variance. Adipose tissue contained significantly higher total lipid content than muscle (68.66% versus 5.82%; p < 0.001). Tissue types strongly influenced fatty acid distribution, with muscle exhibiting higher proportions of monounsaturated fatty acids, whereas adipose tissue contained greater levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Oleic acid (C18:1) was the predominant fatty acid in both tissues. Cooking induced moderate compositional shifts, characterized by increased relative proportions of saturated fatty acids and reduced unsaturated fatty acids (p < 0.001), indicating preferential thermal degradation of unsaturated lipids. Nutritional lipid indices were moderately affected, although the overall fatty acid profile remained monounsaturated fatty acid dominant across treatments. These findings demonstrate that tissue type is the primary determinant of lipid composition in indigenous cattle, whereas thermal processing induces moderate but measurable changes in fatty acid distribution. The results provide baseline information on the lipid nutritional quality of indigenous Bangladeshi beef and indicate that typical cooking conditions do not substantially compromise its favorable fatty acid profile.