Dietary Supplementation of Some Antioxidants as Attenuators of Heat Stress on Chicken Meat Characteristics

Mihaela Saracila,Silvia Mironeasa,Tatiana Dumitra Panaite,Arabela Elena Untea

doi:10.3390/agriculture11070638

Mihaela Saracila, Silvia Mironeasa + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11070638

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Abstract

The study evaluated the effect of dietary chromium and vitamin C, Zinc, and sorrel wood powder supplements on chicken health and the nutritional, textural, and sensorial quality of chicken meat. A total of 120 Cobb 500 chickens (heat stress, 32 °C) were assigned into four treatments: control diet (C) and three test diets including 200 µg/kg diet chromium picolinate and supplemented with: 0.25 g vitamin C(VC)/kg diet (E1), 0.025 g Zn/kg diet (E2), and 10 g creeping wood sorrel powder (CWS)/kg diet (E3). Crude protein concentration increased in the breast meat from the E3 group; crude fat decreased in E1 and E3 compared to those fed the C diet. Dietary combinations of CrPic with VC, Zn, and CWS increased redness and decreased the luminosity parameter of breast meat compared with the C group. Dietary combinations of CrPic with VC and CWS lowered the hardness of breast meat. Significant positive correlation was found between hardness–gumminess (r = 0.891), gumminess–cohesiveness (r = 0.771), cohesiveness–resilience-EE (r = 0.861; r = 0.585), ash-L* (r = 0.426), and a negative one between ash–a* (r = 0.446). In conclusion, a dietary combination of CrPic with VC, Zn, and CWS as antioxidant sources could have a beneficial effect on quality without affecting sensory attributes.

Highlights

Chicken meat is the most accessible protein source for humans in most countries
Results from our study revealed that the dietary supplementation with combinations of CrPic with vitamin C (VC), Zn, and creeping wood sorrel powder (CWS) had a beneficial effect on the mechanical strength of the muscle fiber
The dietary supplementation with CrPic + creeping wood sorrel determined an increase of crude protein concentration in breast meat, and CrPic + vitamin C and CrPic + creeping wood sorrel reduced the concentration of crude fat compared to those fed the C diet

Summary

Introduction

The poultry sector may be limited by a series of problems, including high or low environmental temperature, high stocking density, etc. Heat stress is one of the main problems encountered within the poultry sector [1,2]. Heat stress affects nutritional quality, resulting in a lower protein content and higher fat deposition, etc. [3], and sensorial quality such as low water-holding capacity, higher brightness, and lower redness of meat, etc. Much attention has been paid to the inclusion of phytochemicals (vitamins, minerals, phytogenic feed additives) with antioxidant properties in the feed mixture, which would overcome the effects of heat stress on poultry health and on the quality of the meat they produce [5]. It has been suggested that combinations between Cr and other antioxidants (Zn, vitamin C) might have a synergistic action [2,10]

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