Chronic Heat Stress Induces Divergent Fatty Acid Remodeling in Camel Meat: A Comparative Lipidomic Analysis with Implications for Nutritional Quality in Arid Climates

This study investigated the resilience of dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius) to chronic heat stress by analyzing fatty acid composition and oxidative stability in longissimus dorsi muscle. Twenty-eight adult males were subjected to thermoneutral (THI <68) or heat stress (THI >80) conditions for 90 days while maintained on identical diets. Gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID) revealed ex-ceptional lipid stability under thermal challenge: saturated fatty acids (SFA) showed a negligible increase from 47.3% to 47.6% (+0.3 percentage points, P>0.05), while monounsaturated (MUFA) and polyunsatu-rated fatty acids (PUFA) decreased by only 2.4% (P<0.05) and 3.2% (P<0.04), respectively. Bioactive con-jugated linoleic acid (CLA) isomers demonstrated particular resilience, with cis-9, trans-11 and trans-10, cis-12 CLA declining by just 5.1% (P>0.05) and 10.0% (P>0.05), suggesting preserved rumen biohydroge-nation pathways. Oxidative stability metrics confirmed this thermotolerance, with thiobarbituric acid reac-tive substances (TBARS) increasing moderately (12.5%, P<0.04) and oxidative stability index decreasing 10.5% (P<0.05) - substantially less than reported for other ruminants under comparable conditions. Nutri-tional indices remained stable, including atherogenicity index (+4.7%, P<0.05) and thrombogenicity index (+1.6%, P>0.05), indicating maintained cardiovascular health benefits. Differential scanning calorimetry revealed minimal melting point elevation (+0.8 ˚C, P<0.07), suggesting stable membrane fluidity. These results demonstrate camels' superior lipid preservation capacity during prolonged heat exposure, attribut-able to evolutionary adaptations including heat-stable desaturase activity (SCD1 gene expression), en-hanced antioxidant systems, and efficient lipid repartitioning. The findings position dromedary camels as critical climate-resilient livestock for sustainable meat production (quality and quantity-wise) in warming regions, with implications for: (1) arid zone food security programs, (2) genetic selection of thermo-tolerant traits in other species, and (3) development of camelid-based nutritional interventions for heat-stressed ani-mals.