Broiler responses to ferrous sulfate at different time periods: a comprehensive research on qualitative parameters of breast meat.

Abstract

The objective of present study was to study the effects of dietary ferrous sulfate (FeSO4) and time periods on Fe deposition, nutrients composition, color indices, water-holding capacity and oxidative stability of breast meat in broilers. This experiment was performed by 450 broilers in a 3 × 3 factorial design with 3 levels of supplemental Fe (0, 40 and 80mg/kg) and 3 time periods (total, T: from 1 to 42days; grower and finisher, GF: from 11 to 42days and finisher, F: from 25 to 42days). The results showed that increasing the iron supplementation to 80mg/kg increased the breast meat crude Protein. Adding 80mg/kg of FeSO4 during the T period increased the iron content of breast meat compared to other dietary periods. Supplementation of 40mg/kg FeSO4 during T and GF periods increased quadratically (P < 0.001) the L* value of meat compared to F period. Meat redness significantly increased by adding of 80mg/kg iron into broiler diet. At 1 and 7day postmortem, malondialdehyde (MDA) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) of meat were measured for determination of lipid oxidation stability of tissue. Feeding 40mg/kg Fe caused a higher MDA value at both time points compared to 0mg/kg Fe (linear response). However, increasing the Fe level to 80mg/kg decreased MDA of meat (quadratic response). Adding 40mg/kg Fe increased T-AOC of meat at both time points. It was concluded that dietary supplementation of 80mg/kg Fe during T period resulted in the higher Fe deposition and better oxidative stability of breast meat in broilers.