Changes of the fatty acid composition and malondialdehyde concentration in rabbit Longissimus dorsi muscle after regular electrical stimulation

The experiment was carried out to investigate, whether in vivo transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) affects the fatty acid composition and antioxidant status of rabbit Longissimus dorsi muscle. Altogether 20 Pannon White meat type rabbits were divided into two groups, from which one was routinely exposed to TENS treatment with the following settings: 2 events (each 20 min) a day/50 days, 1 channel (2 electrodes)/animal, 30 Hz, 20 μs impulse length and 10 mA. The control group was not treated. After slaughtering gas chromatography analysis of the muscle showed significantly decreased stearic, arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acid proportions, while the estimated activity of the elongase enzyme decreased. The malondialdehyde concentration decreased insignificantly in the treated group, however, it followed the changes of the total highly unsaturated fatty acid amount (three or more double bonds), which decreased from 9.16% to 7.81%. The adaptation to the in vivo electrical treatment may significantly influence the meat fatty acid profile, especially PUFA proportion.