The Role of Meat Lipids in Nutrition and Health: Balancing Benefits and Risks
Open accessAbstract
Meat lipids are determinants of the nutritional, sensory and physiological qualities of meat, encompassing triglycerides, phospholipids, cholesterol and bioactive compounds. These lipids provide essential fatty acids, including omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, critical for metabolic regulation, inflammation control and cognitive health. However, the dual role of meat lipids as essential nutrients and potential contributors to health risks, such as cardiovascular disease and oxidative stress, necessitates a nuanced understanding. This review evaluates meat lipids’ biochemical diversity, nutritional contributions and health implications, balancing their benefits and risks. It examines factors influencing lipid composition, including species, diet and processing methods, emphasising strategies such as omega-3 enrichment and antioxidant supplementation to enhance lipid quality. Advances in functional meat products, such as hybrid formulations combining plant and animal lipids, are highlighted for their potential to improve health outcomes. Emerging technologies in lipidomics provide deeper insights into lipid oxidation pathways and nutritional profiling, aiding in the development of safer, higher-quality meat products. By synthesising recent evidence, this review offers insights into dietary guidelines, optimises consumer choices and informs sustainable meat production practices aligned with public health and environmental goals.
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Nannochloropsis species excel in producing EPA, a long-chain omega-3 PUFA associated with cognitive support and lipid metabolism regulation.
“Nannochloropsis species excel in producing EPA, a long-chain omega-3 PUFA associated with cognitive support and lipid metabolism regulation [14,15].”
From Microalgae Bioactives for Functional Food Innovation and Health Promotion (2025) · cites this paper as [15]
Section 4.2 identifies EPA and DHA as omega-3 fatty acids that support cognitive development, and Section 5 says microalgae-based supplements can increase omega-3 levels in meat. The paper does not identify Nannochloropsis as an EPA producer or link EPA specifically to lipid metabolism regulation. No page numbers are available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.83)
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Microalgae Bioactives for Functional Food Innovation and Health Promotion
Guil-Guerrero, J. L., & Prates, J. A. M. (2025) · Foods · doi:10.3390/foods14122122 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
“Nannochloropsis species excel in producing EPA, a long-chain omega-3 PUFA associated with cognitive support and lipid metabolism regulation [14,15].”
Self-citation
- Authors
- Prates, J. A. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Lisbon (PT)
- Corresponding author
- Prates, José A. M.
- ORCID
- Prates, José A. M.
- Venue
- Nutrients
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2025-01-19
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 350
- ISSN
- 2072-6643 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC11769531
- OpenAlex
- W4406617999
- Cited by
- 56
- References
- 64
- Citations by year
- 2026: 37 · 2025: 19
- FWCI
- 6.17
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Nutrients (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia grants (Lisbon, Portugal) (UIDB/00276/2020, LA/P/0059/2020)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Animal Science and Zoology › Meat and Animal Product Quality
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Fatty Acid Research and Health
- Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Organic Chemistry › Edible Oils Quality and Analysis
- Keywords
- meat lipids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, omega-3 fatty acids, omega-6 fatty acids, cholesterol, lipid oxidation, oxidative stress, cardiovascular disease, functional meat products, antioxidant supplementation, lipidomics, meat processing, dietary guidelines, sustainable meat production
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Antioxidants, Cardiovascular Diseases, Diet, Dietary Fats, Humans, Lipids, Meat, Nutritive Value, Fatty Acids, Omega-3, Oxidative Stress
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