EFFECT OF DIET ON THE FATTY-ACID COMPOSIT ION OF INTRAMUSCULAR AND INTERMUSCULAR FAT IN IBERIAN PIG CURED HAMS

The fatty acid composition of total, apolar and polar lipid fractions from intra- and intermuscular fat of Iberian pig cured hams was determ ined. Animals were fed with diets of pasture and acorns (montanera), a corns and cereals (recebo) or cereals (cebo). The major fatty acids fr om the total and apolar lipid fraction of Iberian pig cured ham muscul ar tissue were C-18:1 (45-54%), C-16:0 (22-26%) and C-18:1 (10-13%). T he same fatty acids were the major components in the total and apolar lipids from intermuscular fat of Iberian pig cured hams, with values r anging from 44 to 53% for C-18:1, from 21 to 27% for C-16:0 and from 1 0 to 14% for C-18:0. In the total lipid fraction from intramuscular fa t significant differences (p less than or equal to 0.05) were found be tween all three batches in the composition of C-18:1 and C-18:2, and b etween montanera and the other two batches in the fatty acids C-14:0 a nd C-16:0. For intermuscular fat, significant differences (p less than or equal to 0.05) were observed between all three batches for the fat ty acids C-14:0, C-16:0, C-18:1, C-18:2, and C-18:3. Although signific ant differences in the composition of some fatty acids of the total li pid fraction from intra- and intermuscular fat were due to the feeding system, a 100% partition among the three different diets was not obta ined when stepwise discriminant analysis was applied. The results were not improved when the apolar lipid fraction was analysed.