Nutritional enhancement of sheep meat fatty acid profile for human health and wellbeing

Dietary fatty acids consumed by sheep, like other ruminants, can undergo biohydrogenation resulting in high proportions of saturated fatty acids in meat. Biohydrogenation is typically less extensive in sheep than cattle, and consequently, sheep meat can contain higher proportions of polyunsaturated fatty acids and their intermediates including conjugated linoleic acid and trans-monounsaturated fatty acids. Sheep meat is also noted for having characteristically higher contents of branched chain fatty acids. From a human health and wellness perspective, some saturated and trans fatty acids have been found to negatively affect blood lipid profiles, and are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. On the other hand, omega-3, branched chain and some biohydrogenation products may have many beneficial effects on human health and wellbeing. In particular, vaccenic acid, rumenic acid and branched chain fatty acids may have potential for protecting against cancer and inflammatory disorders among other human health benefits. Several innovative strategies have been evaluated for their potential to enrich sheep meat with fatty acids which may have human health benefits. To this end, dietary manipulation has been found to be the most effective strategy of improving the fatty acid profile of sheep meat. However, there is a missing link between the fatty acid profile of sheep meat, human consumption patterns and chronic diseases. The current review provides an overview of the nutritional strategies used to enhance the fatty acid profile of sheep meat for human consumption.