The dependence of solid fat content at 20 degrees C of adipose tissues on t
heir fatty acid and triacylglycerol compositions was studied on lipids extr
acted from tissues from 166 pigs. The solid fat content (SFC20) was 20% on
average but varied widely (9-35%). The SFC20 variability was closely relate
d to the proportions of disaturated triacylglycerols and more specifically
to palmitoyl-stearoyl-oleoyl-glycerol (R-2,0.92). The SFC20 variability was
also related to the proportions of the saturated fatty acids, palmitic and
stearic acids (R-2 = 0.94). The part of the variance of SFC20 explained by
the proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids was lower (R-2 = 0.48). The
iodine value showed a high correlation with SFC20 (R-2 = 0.81) but carcass
lean content was a poor indicator of the solid fat content of adipose tissu
es (R-2 = 0.06). (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.