Effect of weight of slaughter and feeding regimen on conjugated linoleic acid and trans fatty acid content in lamb meat: a meta-analysis approach

A meta-analysis approach was used in order to synthesize findings of six trials comparing 177 individual data of CLA, vaccenic acid (VA) and total trans fatty acids (TFA) of lamb’s meat: “slaughter weight” (0-14kg, 14-18kg, 18-24kg and >24kg), “muscle” (longissimus dorsi, and other muscles); “feeding regimen”: milk (pre-weaned animals fed maternal milk); pasture (weaned grazing animals) and “confined” (weaned animals reared indoor and fed hay and concentrate). The fixed effects included in the model. Results showed that the meat from lambs slaughtered at 14-18kg and from grazing animals maximized the content of CLA and VA and minimized the content of others TFA.