Effect of Diet on the Skin Fatty Acid Profile in Mink

Abstract

Male mink fed from weaning on a standard diet or one containing partly rancid marine oils (herring offal), and fatty acids were monitored from skin neutral- and phospholipids from summer to early autumn. The proportion of linoleic acid was smaller in both lipid fractions in mink receiving the marine oil diet. Skin phospholipids contained a relatively high titer of arachidonic acid regardless of the dietary regime. The proportion of neutral lipid palmitoleic acid increased markedly toward autumn in both groups of animals. Few differences beside reduced linolcate were observed in skin fatty acids between control and marine oilreceiving animals, suggesting that reduced linoleate availability, complemented with possible lipid oxidation products, contributed to poor underfur growth observed in minks receiving the marine oil diet.

Key Words:

• linoleic acid
• marine oils
• underfur