Profiles of Fatty Acids in Different Bone Structures of Growing Chicks

This study was concerned with the dynamics of fatty acids in tissues involved in the growth and mineralization of the femur of Starbro chicks from 1 to 50 days of age. Four chickens that died of suffocation were obtained each day. Altogether, 400 femoral bones were studied in five age groups (I–V). Compact bone, spongy bone and articular cartilage were sampled. Lipids were extracted according to Folch and fatty acids were separated using gas chromatography. The fatty acid profile was found to change with age. Fatty acids with the highest content in bone were C_18:1, C_16:0, C_18:2 and C_18:0. The highest content of fatty acids was found in spongy bone and the lowest in articular cartilage. Several correlations were revealed between individual fatty acids. The following conclusions were drawn. (1) Fatty acid profiles in compact bone, spongy bone and articular cartilage change with age of chicks. (2) Oleic (C_18:1), palmitic (C_16:0), linoleic (C_18:2), stearic (C_18:0) and arachidonic (C_20:4) acids accounted for most of the fatty acid pool. (3) Correlations in the content of fatty acids were noted between bone structures.