Chemical composition of dietary alfalfa and its effectiveness on broiler chicken thigh meat quality

Petru Alexandru Vlaicu, Arabela Elena Untea, Raluca Paula Turcu, Mihaela Saracila, Iulia Varzaru and Alexandra Gabriela Oancea
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Petru Alexandru Vlaicu: Feed and Food Quality Department, National Research and Development Institute for Biology and Animal Nutrition, Balotesti, Romania
Arabela Elena Untea: Feed and Food Quality Department, National Research and Development Institute for Biology and Animal Nutrition, Balotesti, Romania
Raluca Paula Turcu: Feed and Food Quality Department, National Research and Development Institute for Biology and Animal Nutrition, Balotesti, Romania
Mihaela Saracila: Feed and Food Quality Department, National Research and Development Institute for Biology and Animal Nutrition, Balotesti, Romania
Iulia Varzaru: Feed and Food Quality Department, National Research and Development Institute for Biology and Animal Nutrition, Balotesti, Romania
Alexandra Gabriela Oancea: Feed and Food Quality Department, National Research and Development Institute for Biology and Animal Nutrition, Balotesti, Romania

Czech Journal of Food Sciences, 2023, vol. 41, issue 4, 279-286

Abstract: This study aimed to evaluate alfalfa meal's chemical and nutritional composition and effectiveness on broiler chicken thigh meat quality. Alfalfa contains significant content of crude protein and fibre, minerals (iron and zinc), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), and antioxidant compounds, especially total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and total polyphenols content (TPC). To test its effectiveness on chicken tight meat quality, we developed a trial on 60 Cobb 500 broilers, divided into two groups of 30 animals each and fed during growing-finishing phases (11-42 days) a control diet (C) and an experimental diet (A), in which 5% alfalfa meal was added. At the end of the trial, six animals from each group were selected for slaughter and sampling. The analyses on meat samples revealed that alfalfa significantly affected bioactive compounds with antioxidant potential, such as zinc, vitamin E and TPC, compared with the C samples. The utilisation of 5% alfalfa was also very effective on the fatty acids composition of thigh meat samples in the A group by increasing the concentration of eicosapentaenoic acid and significantly decreasing the n-6/n-3 ratio as well as cholesterol content with 10.41% in experimental samples. Therefore, alfalfa can be a potential alternative to synthetic feed additives in producing healthier chicken meat, with increased content of bioactive compounds and essential fatty acids for human health.

Keywords: antioxidants; bioactive compounds; fatty acids; feed additives (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:caa:jnlcjf:v:41:y:2023:i:4:id:79-2023-cjfs

DOI: 10.17221/79/2023-CJFS

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