16:0 reported by Waldman et al. (1968). A significant
reduction of 16:0 during growth also was reported by
Clemens et al. (1974). However, others reported that
the percentage of 16:0 in adipose tissue remains
essentially unchanged during growth (Clemens et al.,
1973; Hecker et al., 1975; Leat, 1975; Chang et al.,
1992). We previously demonstrated that the fatty acid
concentration of perianal (tailhead) s.c. adipose tissue
increased from 10 g fatty acids/100 g adipose tissue to
nearly 80 g fatty acids/100 g adipose tissue during a
180-d period after weaning in Simmental calves
(Chang et al., 1992). During this period, the percentage
of 16:0 remained virtually unchanged at approximately
26%. The breed-type interactions we observed
for 16:0 may account for the conflicting reports in
regard to changes in 16:0 with age.