Conjugated linoleic acid has been widely used in animal nutrition because of its many important biological functions. The main purpose of adding fat to animal diets is to supplement energy and essential amino acids, control dust and improve diet palatability.
Conjugated linoleic acid can be regarded as a general term for various positional and geometric isomers of octadecenoic acid with conjugated double bonds derived from linoleic acid.The so-called "conjugation" refers to the structural form in which two double bonds are separated by a single bond in the carbon chain of fatty acids. Among them, the double bond is divided into "cis" and "trans". "cis" means that the two hydrogen atoms on the carbon atoms at both ends of the double bond are on the same side of the double bond, and "trans" means that the two hydrogen atoms on the carbon atoms at both ends of the double bond are located on both sides of the double bond. CLA is both a cis-fatty acid and a trans-fatty acid, the cis-structure can lower the melting point of the fat, and the fatty acid with a trans-double bond is biologically active.
What is the biological role of CLA in animal nutrition?
1. Inhibit fat deposition
Studies have shown that adding CLA to diets containing fat significantly reduces the thickness of subcutaneous fat in pigs.
2. Improve meat quality and antioxidant
It can effectively inhibit the oxidation of chicken during storage, and has little effect on meat color stability. The addition of CLA to the diet can effectively inhibit the oxidation of myosin during frozen storage of pork.
CLA can also effectively prevent unsaturated fatty acids from forming peroxides and is an effective antioxidant.
3. Prevent arteriosclerosis and fight cancer
Conjugated linoleic acid can reduce the proliferation rate of tumor cells and the incidence of tumors, and has anti-cancer effects. CLA can effectively inhibit rat breast cancer, and even low concentrations of CLA can significantly reduce the incidence of tumors.