Promotion of omega-3 chicken meat production: an Indian perspective

Effect of non-starch polysaccharide enzyme supplementation with gradually reduced energy diet on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, lean meat percentage and backfat thickness of growing pigs

This study was conducted with the objective of evaluating a way to reduce feed costs with better meat characteristics for growing pigs by supplementing non-starch polysaccharide enzyme (NSPE) in energy reduced diets. A total of 200 growing pigs [(Landrace × Yorkshire) × Duroc] weighing 22.94 ± 0.22 kg were divided into five dietary treatments, each with eight replication pens (three barrows and two gilts). The pigs were allotted in a completely randomised block design according to body weight and sex. The dietary treatments were: CON (control), basal diet (NE 2500 kcal); NSPE1, basal diet + 0.04% NSPE; NSPE2, (basal diet-20 kcal) + 0.04% NSPE; NSPE3, (basal diet-30 kcal) + 0.04% NSPE; NSPE4, (basal diet-50 kcal) + 0.04% NSPE. We have assessed growth performance, lean meat percentage (LMP) and backfat thickness at initial, Week 4 and 8. Apparent nutrient digestibility was assessed in Weeks 4 and 8. There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) among the groups on growth performance. In Week 8, gradual reduction of energy caused a linear reduction (p = 0.028) of backfat thickness and a linear increase (p < 0.05) of LMP. In addition, at Week 8, supplementation of NSPE enzyme showed improved digestibility of nitrogen (p < 0.05) and energy (p < 0.05) in the NSPE1 group than in the CON group. In short, gradual reduction of dietary energy supplemented with NSPE showed consistent growth performance through higher nutrient digestibility with positive changes in backfat thickness and LMP of growing pigs.

Effect of purified fish oil supplementation on growth performance, meat quality and blood profile in broilers

The present research experimented with the view of observing the effect of supplementing purified fish oil (FO) on growth performance, organ weight, meat quality, along with blood profile of broilers. The experiment was conducted upon 1600 male Ross 308, each aged 1 day, broiler strains with an average body weight of 43.15 ± 1.35 g were randomly allotted into four dietary treatment groups where CON, basal diet; TRT1, CON + 0.05% FO; TRT2, CON + 0.10% FO; and TRT3, CON + 0.15% FO respectively. Each treatment group consisted of 20 replication pens, with each pen containing 20 broiler chicks. The 4-week long experiment was divided into two phases. The first phase (Days 7-21), the second phase (Days 22-35) and the overall (Days 7-35). On Day 21, the body weight of broilers in TRT2 and TRT3 was higher than the control. Increasing doses of purified FO supplementation showed a linear (p < 0.05) increase in body weight on Day 21. At the end of Phase 1, FO supplementation improved the body weight gain (BWG) of TRT2 and TRT3 group birds compared to CON. Increasing doses of FO supplementation increased the BWG linearly in all phases. Increasing doses of FO increased chicks' breast muscle weight with the highest value in the TRT3 group. Moreover, liver weight was linearly decreased in FO supplementation groups compared to the CON group. Abdominal fat was linearly decreased in FO supplemented groups. FO supplementation caused the lowest cholesterol and triglyceride in TRT3 than the CON group with a linear reduction. Low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol was reduced by FO supplemental groups. In addition, FO supplementation increased the red blood cell (RBC) in the TRT3 group compared to the CON group. In conclusion, refined FO increased BWG, breast muscle weight and RBC and reduced cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL in broilers' blood.

Folic Acid: Sources, Chemistry, Absorption, Metabolism, Beneficial Effects on Poultry Performance and Health

Recently, there has been an increasing interest in the study of the effects of folic acid (FA) on poultry because it was observed that FA could overcome problems in poultry health while improving its performance. FA, or folate, is a water-soluble B vitamin essential in poultry, so FA intake must be available in the feed. Sources of FA in feed come from plants or animals, and animal sources have relatively more stable FA. The ingested FA will be absorbed in the intestinal lumen and transported into the liver through the blood vessels. Therefore, FA has a positive effect on the performance and health status of poultry. The effect of FA on poultry performance is to increase reproductive tract development, FA content in eggs, hatchability, weight gain, average initial body weight, feed intake, relative growth rate, chick body weight, breast fillet percentage, and reduce FCR and white striping score. At the same time, the effect on poultry health influences antioxidant activities, thyroid hormones, blood biochemicals, anti-inflammatory gene expressions, and immune responses. The present review deals with FA sources, chemistry, absorption, metabolism, effects on performance, and poultry health, which are based on valid basic information.

Effect of dietary supplemental ascorbic acid and folic acid on the growth performance, redox status, and immune status of broiler chickens under heat stress

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplemental L-ascorbic acid (AA) and folic acid (FA) on broiler chickens under heat stress (HS) conditions when supplemented either alone or in combination. For this aim, the effect of these supplements on the broilers' growth performance, some blood parameters, antioxidant, and immune status were evaluated. Hatchling Cobb-500 broilers (total = 240) were fed either corn and soybean meal-based diet (control group) or basal diet supplemented with 200 mg AA/kg diet, 1.5 mg FA/kg diet, or 200 mg AA plus 1.5 mg FA/kg diet, for 35 days during the summer months (n = 6 replicates/group, 10 birds/replicate). The minimum and maximum average temperatures ranged from 84.5 to 96.2 °F, and the relative humidity ranged from 68.5 to 76.5%. Supplemented vitamins either alone and (or) in combination increased (P < 0.01) broilers' growth performance, thyroid hormones levels, insulin growth factor1, blood hemoglobin, total protein, albumin, globulin, heat shock protein70, total antioxidant capacity, catalase enzyme activity, superoxide dismutase enzyme activity, antibody titer against Newcastle disease virus, and decreased (P < 0.01) heterophil/lymphocytes. The effects (P < 0.01) of the supplemented vitamins on the analyzed parameters were better when they were added in combination. In conclusion, the combination of AA and FA at 200 and 1.5 mg/kg, respectively, increased the broilers' antioxidant status with coordinated improvement in the growth performance and health status under HS.

Duration of the flaxseed diet promotes deposition of n-3 fatty acids in the meat and skin of Peking ducks

BACKGROUND

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), particularly n-3, have beneficial effects on human health, and for this reason foodstuffs with increased content of n-3 PUFA are now very common and widely available.

DESIGN

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of the duration of a flaxseed diet on Peking duck's growth performance, antioxidant status, gene expression, and fatty acid profile of the meat. A total of 792 12-day-old white Peking ducks were divided into four groups. In the control group, animals were provided with a basal diet. In the three experimental groups, animals were fed a 10% flax seed diet with vitamin E at 13, 23, and 33 days of age for 30, 20, and 10 days, respectively.

RESULTS

The growth performance of the ducks decreased with flaxseed diet's duration. Both body weight and body weight gain decreased linearly while Feed conversion ratios (FCR) increased in the group of ducks fed flaxseed compared to control ducks. Serum triglycerides (TG), very low density lipoprotein (VLDL), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) linearly decreased while high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) levels increased by feeding flaxseed up to 30 days. The expression of lipin-1 gene (LPIN-1) and fatty acid desaturase 2 (FADS2) linearly increased in ducks fed flaxseed for 30 days. Linolenic acid (n-3) and its long-chain metabolites like eicosatetraenoic acid (ETA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and total n-3 fatty acids (FA) linearly increased while the ratio of n-6 to n-3 was reduced with increased duration of flaxseed supplementation.

CONCLUSION

Overall, we found that increasing the duration of flaxseed diet with vitamin E for more than 10 days had a mild adverse effect on duck's growth performance but enrichedits meat with long-chain PUFA and decreased the n-6 to n-3 ratio, providing quality meat for health-conscious consumers. A period of 20 days is good for producing n-3 enriched Peking duck meat and skin.

Effect of dietary incorporation of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids rich oil sources on fatty acid profile, keeping quality and sensory attributes of broiler chicken meat

The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of dietary replacement of commonly used vegetable oil (sunflower oil, SFO) with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) rich oil sources on broiler chicken performance, carcass yield, meat fatty acid composition, keeping quality and sensory attributes of meat. In the current experiment, 300 day-old Krishibro broiler chicks were randomly distributed to 5 dietary groups (50 replicates with 6 chicks in each) prepared by replacing SFO (2% and 3% of diet during starter and finisher periods, respectively) with n-3 PUFA rich soybean oil (SO), mustard oil (MO), linseed oil (LO) or fish oil (FO) on weight basis. Variation in oil sources had no influence (P > 0.05) on performance and carcass yield. Supplementation of MO, LO or FO significantly (P < 0.01) increased the n-3 PUFA, lowered the n-6 PUFA deposition and n-6:n-3 ratio in breast and thigh without affecting the organoleptic characters (appearance, flavour, juiciness, tenderness and overall acceptability) of meat. However, thiobarbituric acid reacting substances concentration in meat was increased (P < 0.01) with LO and FO supplementation compared with SFO. It is concluded that, dietary incorporation of MO, LO or FO at 2% and 3% levels during starter and finisher phase can enrich broiler chicken meat with n-3 PUFA without affecting the bird's performance and sensory characters of meat.