The Effects of the Supplementation of Organic Chrome and Sodium Bicarbonate in Lamb Rations on the Fatty Acid Profile of Meat, Blood Biochemical Parameters and Mineral Profile

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of chromium picolinate and sodium bicarbonate added to lamb rations on the fatty acid profile of meat, blood biochemical parameters, and mineral profile. A total of 28 Bafra male lambs were allocated to one control and three experimental groups (7 animals per group). The experimental period lasted for 78 days. The treatment groups included a control group (C; basal diet without chromium picolinate or sodium bicarbonate), treatment group 1 (CrPic; basal diet with 0.25 mg/day chromium picolinate), treatment group 2 (Bic; basal diet with 1.5% sodium bicarbonate), and treatment group 3 (CrPic + Bic; basal diet with both 0.25 mg/day chromium picolinate and 1.5% sodium bicarbonate).In the Longissimus dorsi (MLD) muscle, the predominant saturated fatty acids (SFA) were palmitic acid (C16:0) and stearic acid (C18:0), while oleic acid (C18:1n9) was the major monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA). Serum samples collected at the beginning and end of the study showed significant differences in albumin, total cholesterol, and total protein levels among groups ( p  < 0.05), while no differences were found for serum glucose or triglyceride concentrations ( p  > 0.05). At the end of the experiment, serum Na, Cr, Mn, Zn, and Fe levels differed significantly among treatments ( p  < 0.05), whereas Ca, P, Mg, K, and Cu showed no differences ( p  > 0.05). No significant differences were observed in fatty acid profiles among treatments. Cr exhibited moderate (r = 0.45898, p  = 0.0140) and weak (r = 0.37683, p  = 0.0481) positive correlations with Mg and Mn, respectively.