Esterification of fatty acids by bovine intramuscular and subcutaneous adipose tissues

Abstract Exogenous fatty acid esterification in intramuscular and subcutaneous adipose tissues from 72‐hr fasted or ad libitum fed Angus cattle was investigated. Intramuscular (interfascicular) and subcutaneous adipose tissue snips were obtained from the longissimus dorsi muscle and were incubated with radioisotopically labeled fatty acids (palmitate, stearate, oleate, linoleate or linolenate) at three different concentrations (0.3 mM, 0.6 mM and 2.0 mM) to assess rates of fatty acid incorporation into glycerolipids. Rates of fatty acid esterification in vitro increased with fatty acid concentration in both intramuscular and subcutaneous adipose tissues. For all of the fatty acids investigated, triglycerides were the predominant products (60–85%). Subcutaneous adipose tissue had larger adipocytes and more actively (P<0.05) esterified fatty acids, with the exception of palmitate, than intramuscular adipose tissue. The rate of palmitate esterification was not different between tissues, although intramuscular adipose tissue esterified a greater proportion (P<0.10) of palmitate as triglyceride (85%) than did subcutaneous adipose tissue (75%). Relative rates of incorporation of fatty acids into lipids in intramuscular and subcutaneous adipose tissues were: palmitate > linolenate > linoleate > stearate. In general, 72‐hr fasting did not significantly reduce the rates of fatty acid incorporation in bovine adipose tissues. Results of this study revealed that: i) rates of exogenous fatty acid incorporation into adipose tissue lipids were dependent on the medium fatty acid concentration and adipose tissue depot; and ii) the relative esterification rates of the various fatty acids in vitro did not necessarily reflect the proportion of these fatty acids in bovine adipose tissues.