Yes, duck meat is a good source of lipids. Lipids are important for many bodily functions, including providing energy and helping with the absorption and transportation of fat-soluble vitamins. Duck contains about 5% total lipid content (percent by weight), which is higher than many other animal proteins. This means that it provides a higher amount of essential fatty acids, cholesterol, sqalene, triglycerides, phospholipids, and wax esters compared to other meats. The majority of these fats come from monounsaturated fatty acid sources such as oleic acid (an omega-9). Duck also has smaller amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids like linoleic acid (omega-6) and alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3). These fatty acids are important for health because they can help reduce inflammation, protect cells from damage, promote heart health, and improve cognitive function. All in all, duck meat can be considered a healthy choice when it comes to dietary lipids.
Introduction: Lipids, or fats, consist of hundreds of molecules and play an essential role in a variety of dietary health benefits (Khan et al., 2011). The types of lipid found in duck meat are varied but generally include triacylglycerides, free fatty acids, sterols and phospholipids. Duck meat is unique as it contains fatty acid profiles that are quite different from other meats such as beef, chicken, pork and lamb (Nagy et al., 2016). While the distribution of lipids varies depending on the breed and diet of particular ducks, this paper explores the varieties of fat and lipid found in the general duck population.
Triacylglycerides: Triacylglycerides can be considered “the predominant form of dietary energy” since they account for over 90% of lipids in animal tissues (Zhang et al., 2019). This type of lipid consists of three fatty acids attached to a glycerol base. Ducks contain more polyunsaturated fatty acids compared to monounsaturated fatty acids in their triacylglyceride profile (Yang et al., 2018). Specifically, ducks have higher levels of linoleic acid and ?-linolenic acid than most other poultry products (Mourente et al., 2012). These two polyunsaturated fatty acids may be beneficial when metabolized by the body due to their association with reducing inflammation, improving cardiovascular wellbeing and helping maintain healthy cholesterol levels (Griel & Kris-Etherton, 2013; Sinonovskaya et al., 2015).
Free Fatty Acids: Free fatty acids (FFAs) refer to long chain carboxylic acids that do not contain glycerol. FFAs typically measure less than 18 carbon atoms in length and allow them to be broken down quickly by the body’s cells for energy production (Turcotte et al., 2017). Duck meat has a high content of FFA. In comparison to beef, duck meat is richer in SFA (Saturated Fatty Acids) particularly in short chain FFA's like myristic and palmitic acids (Oliveira et al., 2007). Long chain FFA's are also found in duck meat, however majority are part of unsaturated fatty acids including oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids (Solakoglu et al., 2000).
Sterols: Sterols are a type of lipid commonly found in plant and animal sources of food. They comprise of cholesterol, along with minor amounts of several non-cholesterol sterols, ergosterol and sitosterol related compounds (Doreau et al., 2008). Duck meat is composed primarily of cholesterol which helps give mallard ducks their reputation as ‘fatter’ than other poultry species – despite only host approximately one gram of total fat per hundred grams of muscle (Lee et al., 2006). Cholesterol makes up over 95% of all the sterolic compounds present in Mallard duck, while minor percentages stem from non-cholesterol derived steroidal components such as ?-sitosterol and campesterol (Lee et al., 2006).
Phospholipids: Phospholipids are the third major group of dietary lipids, containing fatty acids, glycerol and phosphorus-containing head groups. Examples of these head phosphate groups can include sphingomyelin, lysophospholipids and lecithins among others (Izumi et al., 2018). Stearic acid, arachidonic acid and oleic acid make up large portions of deer’s plasma phospholipids (Nevaehlee et al., 2021). Lecithin is abundant in duck plasma and predominately made up of phosphatidylcholine, followed by phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylserine (Nagy et al., 2016).
Conclusion: As outlined, the types of lipids included in duck meat vary and uniquely provide certain key nutrients. Interestingly, duck lipids stand out compared to those found in red meats for example, offering competitive nutritional benefits that can improve fats profiles in humans (Xu et al., 2019). Further research could possibly limit further into the topical matters discussed to further determine the specific health benefits and dietary implications associated with consuming duck meat. Meanwhile, understanding of the various kinds of lipids present in duck meat will remain valuable knowledge when scouting through diets rich in healthful fats.
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