Supplementation of flaxseed oil and niacinamide to liquid-based diets in improving fatty acid composition and lamb meat quality

Objective: Flaxseed oil (FO) contains high α-linolenic acid (ALA), whereas niacinamide may modulate lipid metabolism; however, their supplementation effects in liquid diets for lambs are limited.This study evaluated the effects of a liquid-based diet supplemented with FO and niacinamide on the growth performance, blood metabolites, carcass characteristics, meat quality, and fatty acid (FA) composition of lambs.Methods: Twenty-seven Garut crossbred lambs were randomly assigned to one of three dietary treatments in a randomized block design (n = 9).The dietary treatments included a control liquid diet (T0), T0 supplemented with 4% FO (T1), and T1 supplemented with 800 mg/kg niacinamide (T2).The feeding intervention lasted 70 days, consisting of a 14-day adaptation period followed by a 56-day experimental period.We evaluated the lambs' growth performances, blood metabolite profiles, carcass characteristics, meat qualities, and FA profiles of their Biceps femoris (BF) muscle.Results: None of the dietary treatments tested significantly affected (p>0.05)dry matter intake, average daily gain, gross energy intake, feed-to-gain ratio (F/G), and blood metabolite profile.This supplementation also had a tendency (p<0.10) to increase dressing percentages and reduce (p<0.05)intramuscular fat (IMF), and increased water-holding capacity (WHC).Moreover, FO alone increased (p<0.05ALA, total n-3 Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), total PUFA, and the PUFAto-saturated fatty acid (SFA) ratio in meat, while decreasing the n-6/n-3 ratio and thrombogenicity index.Additionally, the dietary supplementation of FO with niacinamide maintained these favorable changes in FA profile.Conclusion: Our study concluded that FO supplementation in liquid diets can improve the nutritional quality of lamb meat through the addition of n-3 in FO.Moreover, supplementing 4% FO with 800 mg/kg niacinamide can reduce IMF and improve WHC without compromising growth performance.