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Varying Ratios of Omega-6:Omega-3 Fatty Acids on the Pre-and Postmortem Bone Mineral Density, Bone Ash, and Bone Breaking Strength of Laying Chickens

H. T. Baird^*,1, D. L. Eggett and S. Fullmer^*,2

^* Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Science, and Department of Statistics, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah 84602

² Corresponding author: susan_fullmer{at}byu.edu

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of varying ratios of n-6 to n-3 fatty acids in the diets of White Leghorn chickens on tibia bone characteristics [bone mineral density, bone mineral content (BMC), ash bone mineral content, bone morphology, and cortical thickness] and tibia bone strength parameters (ultimate force, bending stress, maximum strain, Young’s modulus of elasticity, area under the curve, and moment of inertia). Seventy-five 16-wk-old female White Leghorn chickens were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 dietary ratios of n-6 to n-3 fatty acids: 47.8:1, 18.0:1, 7.6:1, 5.9:1, or 4.7:1. Corn oil was the n-6 fatty acid source, whereas flax oil provided the n-3 fatty acids. Bone density was measured on the left tibia via dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) prior to killing and after excision. Bones were ashed in a muffle furnace at 500°F. Tibia bones were broken by using a 3-point bending rig. Results showed no significant effect of diet on bone characteristics. There were no significant differences among diet groups for parameters of bone strength except cortical thickness (P 0.01). Bone mineral content determined by ashing was significantly different by 9.2% (P 0.0001) from BMC determined in vivo by DXA; however, there were no differences in ex vivo BMC and BMC ash, although they were highly correlated (r = 0.99, P 0.0001). We concluded that there was no effect of n-3 fatty acids on tibia bone in mature White Leghorn chickens. The GE Lunar Prodigy DXA instrument significantly underestimated the in vivo BMC in chickens.

Key Words: chicken • n-3 fatty acid • bone strength • bone mineral density • dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry validation

¹ Student sponsored by Oakdell Egg Inc. (Bountiful, UT).