Lipid Profile of Meat Parts of Cow Slaughtered at Obinze Abattoir, Imo State, Nigeria

Meat, a vital component of human nutrition, offers essential nutrients for balanced diets and growth. However, it’s cholesterol and fatty acid (FA) compositions impact cardiovascular health. This study aimed to describe the cholesterol content and fatty acid profile in various cow meat parts. Samples from torso, stomach, skin, intestine and lean meat were collected from an abattoir in Obinze, Imo State, Nigeria. Analytical methods involved gas chromatography fitted with flame ionisation detector (GC-FID) for fatty acid profile and Liebermann-Burchard method for cholesterol determination. Cholesterol concentrations varied across the meat parts, with torso meat exhibiting the highest (115±6.48 mg/kg) and stomach meat the lowest (67.76±5.69 mg/kg). Saturated fatty acids (SFAs) like stearic and palmitic acids were prominent. The monounsaturated fatty acid, oleic acid presented various concentrations: skin (26.19±2.00 mg/kg), torso (24.33±5.50 mg/kg), lean meat (13.10±1.30 mg/kg), stomach (12.511±2.91 mg/kg) and intestine (4.02±0.86 mg/kg). Meat parts contained fatty acids that are beneficial to human health not only in terms of essential fatty acids such as linoleic and alpha-linolenic acids, but also the polyunsaturated fatty acids, arachidonic, eicosapentaenoic and docosahexanoic acids. An understanding of these compositional variations provides valuable insights for shaping dietary choices and reducing cardiovascular risks associated with elevated cholesterol levels.