Effects of dietary vitamin E supplementation levels on growth performance, breast muscle meat quality characteristics, and fatty acid composition of geese

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of dietary supplementation with vitamin E (VE) on the growth performance, breast muscle quality, fatty acid (FA) composition, and muscle fiber characteristics of geese. In the present study, a total of 240 healthy 29-day-old male Jiangnan white geese were randomly divided into six experimental groups, with five replicates in each group and eight geese in each replicate. Group A, the control group, was fed a basal diet; Groups B, C, D, E, and F were fed diets supplemented with 5, 10, 20, 40, and 80mg/kg VE. After feeding for 70 days of age, one gosling from each replicate was randomly selected and slaughtered to assess the breast muscle quality characteristics, lipid oxidation, FA composition, and muscle fiber characteristics. The results showed that dietary VE supplementation did not significantly affect the growth performance, breast muscle quality characteristics, or muscle fiber characteristics of geese (p>0.05). Dietary supplementation with 20, 40, and 80mg/kg VE significantly decreased the malondialdehyde (MDA) content of the breast muscle compared with the control group (P<0.05). Dietary supplementation with 40 and 80mg/kg VE significantly increased the retention of α-tocopherol in pectoral muscle, decreased polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) oxidation, and increased the proportion of n-3 PUFAs (p<0.05). In conclusion, dietary supplementation with 5-80mg/kg VE to the basal diet (VE content of the basal diet: 17.53mg/kg) had no significant effect on the growth performance of geese. However, dietary supplementation with 40-80mg VE increased the retention of α-tocopherol in breast muscle tissue, reduced the oxidation of PUFAs, and increased the content of n-3 PUFAs. Thus, under these experimental conditions, dietary supplementation with 40-80mg/kg VE is recommended, which is beneficial to human health. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Appropriate supplementation of VE could increase meat quality and the beneficial components in breast muscle of geese. It provides a theoretical basis for future production of high-quality goose meat.