Oxidative stability in meat (pectoralis major) of broiler orally supplemented with essential oils of allium sativum, Curcuma longa, Zingiber officinale, and Cinnamomum zeylanicum

Abstract

Lipid oxidation is a normal process in living muscles, but is escalated post-mortem due to the loss of inherent antioxidant defense, which causes quality deterioration of meat. This study investigates the effects of essential oil (EO) supplementation added to the drinking water of broiler chicken on physical properties, antioxidants and lipid oxidation in Pectoralis major during frozen storage. Two hundred one day-old chicks of arbo acre were allocated to 5 groups; control (T1) and the groups supplemented with: Allium sativum (T2), Curcuma longa (T3), Zingiber officinale (T4) and Cinnamomum zeylanicum (T5) at the level of 300ml/L into drinking water throughout a 49-day study. Thereafter, birds were slaughtered and breast meat excised for assessments during a 28-day storage period at 40C using standard procedure. The results show that cooking loss of Pectoralis major from T1 birds was not significantly (P>0.05) different from that of T4, and were significantly higher than those of T2, T3 and T5 birds. Meat from T5 birds showed the lowest drip lossThe results for total antioxidant activity are not similar among sampling days. In general, control group showed inferior values, but T2 and T4 had greater values on day 0 and 28. The rate of lipid peroxidation increased with time; however, EOs administration markedly reduced the peroxidation rates compared to controls. The catalase activity of breast meat was significantly declined from day fourteen, but was enhanced as an effect of essential oil consumption especially in group T5 at 21 and 28 days. . Supplementation of garlic, turmeric and cinnamon essential oils to broiler chickens increased glutathione peroxidase in breast meat on days 21 and 28, while turmeric EO enhanced superoxide dismutase upto 7 days. In conclusion, essential oils are valuable supplements for broiler chickens and potent in enhancing meat quality and prolong the shelf life.