The content of fat and fatty acids composition in chicken liver

Liver is recognized as a valuable source of nutrients in human nutrition but there are a few reports of the lipid profile of chicken liver. The aim of work was to determine fat content as well as fatty acids composition of raw chicken liver. The study was carried out on three chicken breeds (New Hampshire, Plymouth Rock, Rhode Island) obtained from National Research Institute of Animal Production in Balice. Total fat was determined by Soxhlet method and the fatty acids profile was performed with gas chromatography method on a Varian 3400. Fat content of chicken liver ranged from 2.65 to 10.07 g/100g depended on the breed. The predominant saturated acid (SFA) in all samples was palmitate (C16:0), followed by stearate (C18:0). Oleate (C18:1) was the major monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) in all samples, followed by palmitooleate (16:1). n-3 fatty acids in chicken liver were comparatively lower than SFA and MUFA. The predominant polyunsaturated acid (PUFA) was linoleate (C18:2). Arachidonate (C20:4) was the second most important n-6 fatty acid. Fatty acid content also varied between breeds of chicken. It has been demonstrated that conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) is found in chicken liver.