The Effect of Green Oak Acorn (Quercus ilex) Based Diet on Growth Performance and Meat Fatty Acid Composition of Broilers

Abstract

This experiment was conducted to compare the effects of oak acorns and corn on broilers growth performance, carcass characteristics and meat fatty acid (FA) composition according to different ages of broilers. Two separate groups of 400 male broilers, reared for six weeks, were fed diets containing 33.5% green oak acorns (GO) and 67% of corn (C), respectively. At day 35, the body weight of the chickens fed the GO diet was 12% lower (p<0.05) compared with controls (C). However, at day 56 birds reached similar final weights. Abdominal adipose tissue (AAT) was 78% higher in the controls compared to those fed the oak acorn-based diet. The total lipids (TL) of thigh muscle were higher in the controls compared to dietary treatment GO (3.1 against 2.5 g/100 g of muscle). There were significant differences in fatty acid (FA) composition of the muscle between two groups. The broilers fed oak acorn exhibited more C18:2, as well as a higher proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) and PUFA:SFA (saturated fatty acid) ratio than those on the control diet, but no significant differences were observed among groups for the age of birds. There was a higher proportion of linolenic acid in broilers fed the oak acorn compared to the controls (0.8 vs. 0.6%). Furthermore, linolenic acid content decreased with age (p<0.001) in both groups. The results indicated no significant differences in FA with the age of birds. In conclusion, the meat fatty acids provided by the GO diet appeared to improve the nutritional quality preferred by the consumer.

Carcass and Meat Quality Traits in an Embden×Toulouse Goose Cross Raised in Organic <i>Dehesa</i>

“…In this regard, Wood and Enser (1997) mentioned a minimum recommendation of 0.45 for the PUFA/SFA ratio. In the current study, acceptable levels of total PUFA/SFA have been observed (0.42 to 0.66, Table 5 ), similar to those reported in other poultry species fed on acorns (0.7 in broilers; Bouderoua et al, 2009 ) and higher than that reported in other livestock species (0.15 in lambs, Keddam et al, 2010 ; or 0.39 in goats, Turner et al, 2015 ). Thus, the PUFA levels and the PUFA/SFA ratio of geese raised in the organic dehesa system were similar to the recommended ratio.…”

“…The general consensus is that this corresponds to a ω6/ω3 ratio of ~6:1 ( Wijendran and Hayes, 2004 ). In the goose meat produced, higher values for the ω6/ω3 ratio (20:1) were observed compared to other poultry species (between 8:1 and 18:1, Has-Schön et al, 2008 ; Bouderoua et al, 2009 ; Liu and Zhou, 2013 ). Therefore, it is recommendable to introduce alternative supplements into the diet, such as linseed or high oleic sunflower seeds, which help to reduce the ω6/ω3 ratio ( Azcona et al, 2008 ).…”

“…The animals are fed on this natural resource all year long, with the plentiful addition of acorns in the winter months ( Recio et al, 2013 ). This free-range management system with feeding in the organic dehesa gives the meat those unique, exceptional characteristics which differentiate it from other commercial meats on the market ( Rey et al, 2006 ; Bouderoua et al, 2009 ; Keddam et al, 2010 ).…”

Antioxidant Extracts from Acorns (Quercus ilex L.) Effectively Protect Ready‐to‐Eat (RTE) Chicken Patties Irrespective of Packaging Atmosphere

“…Many scientific reports have illustrated on the use of phenolic‐rich plant and fruit extracts as inhibitors of lipid oxidation and promoters of shelf life and quality in chicken meat products (Hwang and others ; Estevez ). Acorns are known for their indisputable benefits as feeds for pigs and broilers in terms of oxidative stability and quality of the derived meat products (Ventanas and others ; Bouderoua and others ). In our experiment, the direct addition of acorn extract was highly effective in the control of lipid and protein oxidative degradation in RTE chicken patties.…”

Association analysis of g.68G → A SNP in CAPN1 gene with carcass and meat quality traits in goose raised in organic &lt;i&gt;dehesa&lt;/i&gt;

“…Generally, geese are usually produced on specialized commercial farms, and although the meat from intensively raised stocks has a soft texture, it is considered by many traditional consumers to have less flavour (FAO, 2004). Thus, alternative rearing systems such as dehesa emerge as ecosystems of high ecological value for the extensive production of high-quality meat with outstanding and unique characteristics (Rey et al, 2006;Bouderoua et al, 2009;Keddam et al, 2010).…”