Cistus ladanifer L. Shrub is Rich in Saturated and Branched Chain Fatty Acids and their Concentration Increases in the Mediterranean Dry Season

Abstract

The Cistus ladanifer L. shrub is a widespread species of the Mediterranean region that is available as a feed source for ruminants all the year round, constituting a source of energy and nutrients when most of the vegetation is dry. However, there is no trustworthy information about the fatty acid composition of C. ladanifer, as well as no information about the seasonal and age related changes in their fatty acid composition. Thus, we collected the aerial parts of C. ladanifer plants of two age groups [young vs. older ones (2-6 years old)] during four consecutive seasons to characterize their fatty acid composition. The fatty acid composition of C. ladanifer is dominated by saturated fatty acids including the occurrence of two methyl branched chain fatty acids (BCFA), the iso-19:0 and iso-21:0, which as far as we know were detected for the first time in shrubs. Also, we demonstrated that several labdane type compounds might interfere with the fatty acid analysis of C. ladanifer. Marked seasonal changes in BCFA and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) were found, suggesting that BCFA can replace PUFA in plant lipids at high environmental temperatures.

Potential of Cistus ladanifer L. (rockrose) in small ruminant diets – effect of season and plant age on chemical composition, in vitro digestibility and antioxidant activity

“…(). However, recent results have shown that the total fatty acid content of the aerial part of C. ladanifer varies from 5·0 to 9·0 m g kg −1 DM, only about 10% of the EE (Guerreiro et al ., ). In the present study, the aerial parts of C. ladanifer comprised a mixture of leaves, soft stems and reproductive organs.…”

Quantification of the Antioxidant Activity of Plant Extracts: Analysis of Sensitivity and Hierarchization Based on the Method Used

“…The genus Cistus is characterized by having species with a high content of secondary metabolites [17]. Specifically, the leaves of these three species have a high content of phenolic compounds [18][19][20][21]. Erica australis and Arbutus unedo are also characterized for their high content of phenolic compounds and, particularly, condensed tannins [22,23].…”

Effect of feeding lambs with a tanniferous shrub (rockrose) and a vegetable oil blend on fatty acid composition of meat lipids

“…Therefore, one note of caution must be made on the interpretation of the effects of dietary Cistus on deposition of biohydrogenation intermediates in meat, as the effects of dietary Cistus and C18 unsaturated FA intake might be confounded due to changes in diet ingredients and to differences of voluntary feed intake. This is clearly perceived from the interaction between both main factors (Cistus and oil) on FA intake data, particularly if we take in consideration that Cistus has a low content in PUFA (Guerreiro et al, 2015). For this reason, whenever a significant effect of Cistus inclusion level was observed, it was confirmed by complementary regression analysis using the intake of condensed tannins and C18 unsaturated FA as independent variables.…”