The fatty acid composition and the diameter of subcutaneous adipocytes from 13 Holstein steers at different fattening stages were investigated. The mean diameter of adipocytes from individual steers was positively (P<0.01) correlated with the percentage of myristoleic acid (14:1)(r=0.91), palmitoleic acid (16:1)(r=0.83) or oleic acid (18:1)(r=0.82), and negatively(P<0.01)correlated with the percentage of stearic acid (18:0)(r=-0.89). The isolated adipocytes from the same finishing steer (n=5)were then separated by a 50μm mesh. The large adipocytes which remained on the mesh (118μm mean diameter)contained more (P<0.01) myristoleic acid (14:1)palmitoleic acid (16:1) and oleic acid (18:1), and less (P<0.01) palmitic acid(16:0), stearic acid (18:0) than the small adipocytes which were filtered through (29μm mean diameter). It is suggested that the growth of adipocyte is one of the important determinants of fatty acid composition in subcutaneous adipocytes of Holstein steers throughout the fattening period.
