Abstract
The present study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary lycopene (LYC) supplementation on the growth performance, meat quality, and antioxidant capacity of breast muscle in aflatoxin B1 (AFB1 )-challenged broilers. A total of 192 1-day-old healthy Arbor Acres broilers were randomly assigned to 3 treatments, each with 8 replicates (8 broilers per replicate). The broilers of the three treatments were fed a basal diet (control), a basal diet supplemented with 100µg/kg AFB1 (CA), and a basal diet supplemented with 100µg/kg AFB1 and 200mg/kg LYC (CAL). The results demonstrated that the AFB1 diet increased the feed-to-gain (F/G) ratio (p<0.05), yellowness and shear force of breast muscle (p<0.05), and protein carbonyl (PC) content (p<0.05) while decreasing the average daily gain (ADG) (p<0.05), redness of breast muscle (p<0.05), glutathione peroxidase activity (p<0.05), and ability to clear OH· from breast muscle (p<0.05) in comparison to the control group. Dietary LYC supplementation significantly decreased the F/G ratio (p<0.05), yellowness and shear force (p<0.05), and the content of PC and hydrogen peroxide (p<0.05) while significantly increasing the ADG (p<0.05), redness of breast muscle (p<0.05), and ability of breast muscle to clear ABTS·+ (p<0.05) compared to the CA diet. In conclusion, LYC can alleviate the negative impacts of AFB1 on the growth performance, meat quality, and antioxidant capacity of breast muscle in broilers. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: LYC, as a popular antioxidant, is beneficial to the growth and health of animals. The detailed application effects are still being investigated. In this study, by adding LYC to an AFB1 -contaminated diet, it was found that LYC could alleviate the adverse effects of AFB1 on the growth performance, meat quality, and muscle antioxidant capacity of broilers. These findings can provide a reference for the application of LYC and similar plant-derived materials in animal production.
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