Digestibility of Meat Mineral and Proteins from Broilers Fed with Graded Levels of Chlorella vulgaris

Abstract

The incorporation of sustainable protein sources in animal feeding is a growing trend. So far, no study has investigated in vitro digestion of meat, from broilers fed microalgae, in a human model. This research aimed to evaluate the effect of incorporating Chlorella vulgaris in the broilers diet on human protein digestibility, and mineral bioaccessibility. The study used 240 male Ross 308 broilers randomly allocated to groups fed a control diet or a diet where soybean meal was replaced with 10% (CV10%), 15% (CV15%), or 20% (CV15%) of C. vulgaris for 40 days. The microalga supplementation increased the protein and lowered the fat content in the muscle. Results on the percentages of amino acids highlighted that arginine and threonine proportions increased and lysine and cysteine proportions decreased with microalga inclusion. CV15% and CV20% meat had higher amount of K, Ca, Mg, P, and Fe in raw breasts, improving the nutrient composition of the meat. Cooking caused a decrease in Na and K and an increase in other minerals. CV20% had higher bioaccessibility of K, Ca, Mg, P, and Mg, compared to the control. Replacing soybean meal in broiler feed with higher concentrations of C. vugaris could improve the digestibility of meat protein and minerals.

Dietary supplementation with Chlorella vulgaris in broiler chickens submitted to heat-stress: effects on growth performance and meat quality

“…Indeed, in our trial, the contents of several minerals changed according to the dietary inclusion level of C. vulgaris , but differences were in a narrow range from a numerical point of view and not so high to be associated to substantial changes in meat nutritional value for these nutrients. Contrarily, Boskovic Cabrol et al (2022a) reported an increase in K, Ca, Mg, P, and Fe content in raw breast meat when soybean meal was replaced with 15-20% of C. vulgaris in the broilers diet, whereas Costa et al (2022) found an increase in Ba and I content with diets including 15% of brown macroalgae ( Laminaria digitata ). These results suggest that the dietary effect of algae on meat mineral composition is dose dependent.…”

“…As for amino acids, in the present trial the microalgae inclusion level did not significantly affect the contents of the different amino acids, as found by El-Bahr et al (2020) . Contrarily, Boskovic Cabrol et al (2022a) found that the inclusion of C. vulgaris at higher rates (10-20%) could increase the proportions of arginine and threonine and decrease that of lysine and cysteine, where amino acid composition can affect meat sensorial properties. Indeed, in the present trial, the 6% dietary microalgae inclusion decreased the sweet flavor of cooked meat.…”

“…Along with spirulina ( Arthrospira platensis ), another unicellular freshwater microalga, Chlorella vulgaris , has been tested both as a supplement or ingredient in animal feeding ( Madeira et al, 2017 ). In broiler chickens, previous studies found that low inclusion levels (0.015–1.0%) of C. vulgaris improved performance ( An et al, 2016 ; Abdelnour et al, 2019 ; El-Bahr et al, 2020 ), whereas higher levels (10%) had positive effects on hepatic antioxidant capacity and meat quality ( Alfaia et al, 2021 ; Coelho et al, 2021 ; Boskovic Cabrol et al, 2022a ; Boskovic Cabrol et al, 2022b ). Spirulina microalgae supplementation in water (5–20 g/L) ( Kolluri et al, 2022 ) or feed (1–2 g/kg) ( Elbaz et al, 2022 ; Abed et al, 2023 ) also improved performance, immunity, and antioxidant status in chickens under heat stress.…”

Carcass Yields and Meat Composition of Roosters of the Portuguese Autochthonous Poultry Breeds: “Branca”, “Amarela”, “Pedrês Portuguesa”, and “Preta Lusitânica”

“…The metabolic capacity and muscle fibre composition are the main factors that affect the amount of Fe in meat, which can explain the different amounts between pieces [58]. Although red meat is the primary dietary source of Fe, consumers often perceive poultry meat as healthier despite its lower Fe content [59,65]. After Fe, Zn is the second most abundant trace element in the human body and plays a crucial role in various biological activities [59,66,67].…”

Microalgae as an Alternative Mineral Source in Poultry Nutrition

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