Pyrolysis-mass spectrometry characterisation of ovine fat tissues according to diet

The lipids of subcutaneous fat tissues from 120 lambs were analyzed by Curie point Pyrolysis - Mass Spectrometry (Py-MS) after extraction of the lipids with hexane. The animals came from six European countries with different production systems. The classification of the fat tissues according to the predominant type of feed the lambs consumed (milk, concentrate or pasture) was obtained by Discriminant Analysis (DAs) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). The classification models were validated by `leave-one-out'-type cross-validations. The results showed that the Py-MS spectra of the fat tissue lipids permitted recognition of feed type. The percentages of correct classifications determined by cross-validation were 78% by DA and 92% by ANNs.