Acta Scientiarum Polonorum Technologia Alimentaria

Background. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the post-slaughter value and quality of broiler chicken meat, and the possibility of enriching it with health-promoting fatty acids.

Material and methods. The experiment was carried out on 108 sexed broiler chickens (Ross 308). For the first 21 days of their lives, the chickens received the same diet, and after 21 days the chickens were divided into 3 groups of 36 birds (six replicate pens with 6 birds per pen comprised one experimental group), and fed the experimental diets until the 42nd day. The experimental diets were wheat-corn-soybean diets with soybean oil (5% control), grape seed oil or pomegranate seed oil. The grape seed oil and pomegranate seed oil replaced 2% of the soybean oil in the control diet. On day 42, the broilers were slaughtered and post-slaughter tests were performed. Samples of breast and thigh muscle were collected for basic chemical composition, physical characteristics, fatty acid profile, malondialdehyde content and sensory evaluation.

Results. The source of the oils did not significantly alter the slaughter yield, basic nutrients and physical characteristics of the breast and thigh muscles, but pomegranate seed oil significantly improved the palat- ability of thigh muscles. Grape seed oil and pomegranate seed oil influenced the fatty acid profile of the meat. The grape seed oil significantly decreased saturated fatty acids (palmitic) in muscles. The inclusion of pome- granate seed oil resulted in the deposition of a small amount of punicic acid, while significantly increasing rumenic acid. The inclusion of 2% grape seed oil in the broilers’ diet significantly increased the sum of the n-6 fatty acids and the ratio of n-6 to n-3 relative to the control group. Punicic acid – contained in the pomegran- ate seed oil – was effectively converted to rumenic acid, indicating the possibility of enriching the meat with these acids and increasing the health-promoting properties of broiler’ meat.

Conclusion. Grape and pomegranate seed oil are potentially promising additives which could improve the fatty acid profile of poultry meat. The inclusion of grape and pomegranate seed oils into the feed is one way to improve the quality of broiler chicken meat and the derived “functional food”. It could also be a way to give people better quality food without changing their eating habits.