The amino acid profile of broiler chicken meat after dietary administration of bee products and probiotics

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation of bee pollen, propolis and probiotics on the amino acid (AA) profile of chicken meat. A total of 240 Ross 308 broiler chicken individuals of mixed sex were randomly divided into four groups (n = 60): control – without supplementation, group with probiotic (3.3 g Lactobacillus fermentum), group with 400 mg bee pollen extract and 3.3 g probiotic, group with 400 mg propolis extract and 3.3 g probiotic. The fattening period lasted for 42 days. The AA profile was not affected by dietary probiotics or probiotics + bee pollen extract in the breast and thigh muscles, however, a higher concentration of Tyr (p ≤ 0.05) was found in the breast muscle in the group with probiotics + propolis extract supplementation. Considering the AA composition and relatively high essential amino acid score (EAAI), breast meat from chickens receiving the probiotic and propolis extract appears to be an interesting source of proteins with an increased (p ≤ 0.05) Phe + Tyr (76.27%) content when compared with the control group (73.49%). With regard to the bee pollen, we can state that this dietary supplement did not lead to any improvement in the AA profile of chicken meat. In conclusion, the dietary probiotic and propolis extract supplementation elicited the best AA profile of the chicken meat among the observed treatments in comparison with the control group and thus may become a promising method to improve the quality of chicken meat.