Effects of dietary α-tocopherol, selenium, and their different combinations on growth performance and meat quality of broiler chickens

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of different levels of dietary supplementation with alpha-tocopherol or Se, or both, on growth performance and meat quality of broiler chickens. A total of 270 broiler chickens were assigned to 6 dietary treatments (0, 50, 100, or 200 IU of supplemental alpha-tocopherol; 0.3 ppm supplemental Se; or 100 IU of alpha-tocopherol plus 0.3 ppm Se) with 3 replicates of 15 chickens per pen. Growth performance was recorded at 1 and 35 d. At the end of this experiment, 10 broilers per pen were slaughtered, and thigh muscle was dissected from each carcass and stored at 4 degrees C for 1, 3, 7, and 10 d. During the experimental period, none of the experimental treatments significantly influenced the growth performance of broilers. Thigh muscle pH values of all treatments decreased over time. The pH values for 1, 3, and 10 d were not affected by all treatments, but a statistical difference among treatments was observed at 7 d. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and total plate counts in all treatments increased with increasing storage time. In TBA reactive substances values, there were significant differences (P < 0.05) among treatments during the storage period. Differences among treatments in total plate count were found at d 7 and 10. In all treatments, L* (lightness) and b* (yellowness) values decreased over time, and a* (redness) values increased with storage time. Significant differences in all treatments were found for L* values at 3 d and a* values at 7 and 10 d of storage. Overall, these data indicate that compared with other treatments, supplementation with 200 IU of alpha-tocopherol or 100 IU of alpha-tocopherol plus 0.3 ppm Se were most effective in increasing lipid oxidative stability and delaying microbial growth and these activities were not associated with pH.

The effect of dietary fat, vitamin E and selenium concentrations on the fatty acid profile and oxidative stability of frozen stored broiler meat

“…In the group with additional supplementation of both vitamin E and Se, FCR was also significantly worse than in the remaining groups. These findings are in opposition to those of many authors, who reported that the modification of the dietary n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio with the use of plant oils and/or supplementation of diets with higher levels of vitamin E or vitamin E and Se is usually without consequences (Cortinas et al, 2004;Kim et al, 2010;Qi et al, 2010) or has positive effects on bird performance (Młodkowski et al, 2003;Koreleski and Świątkiewicz, 2006).…”

Effects of Dietary Selenium and Vitamin E on Growth Performance, Meat Yield, and Selenium Content and Lipid Oxidation of Breast Meat of Broilers Reared Under Heat Stress

“…With the aim of removing free radicals, antioxidants are added to the feed [10,17,20,27,34,45]. In the present study, vitamin E and selenium supplementation had no effect on lipid oxidation of the breast meat under TN condition, which is not consistent with the results of previous studies [6,16,22,26,45,47,49].…”

“…Moreover, in some studies, the concentrations of MDA in the meat have been reported per milligram protein [47]. It is also well known that the rate of MDA production in the meat is highly affected by storage time and storage temperature [22,26]. However, according to the range provided by Coetzee and Hoffman [9] for MDA content, all meat samples examined in the present study can be considered as good quality.…”

Influence of dietary vitamin C and selenium, alone and in combination, on the performance of laying hens and quality of eggs

“…Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element that is required for the activity of selenoproteins involved in antioxidant defence, thyroid hormone deiodination, and other vital physiological functions (Surai, 2006). Several authors have studied the effect of a combination of Se and vitamin E on the antioxidative system in broiler chickens (Surai, 2000;Skřivan et al, 2008;Kim et al, 2010) and laying hens (Skřivan et al, 2010). Skřivan et al (2012) investigated the combined effect of dietary vitamin C and Se on the composition and oxidative stability of the meat of broiler chickens.…”