Comparison of algal and fish sources on the oxidative stability of poultry meat and its enrichment with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.

ABSTRACT

Human consumption of long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC n-3 PUFA) is below recommendations, and enriching chicken meat (by incorporating LC n-3 PUFA into broiler diets) is a viable means of increasing consumption. Fish oil is the most common LC n-3 PUFA supplement used but is unsustainable and reduces the oxidative stability of the mat. The objective of this experiment was to compare fresh fish oil (FFO) with fish oil encapsulated (EFO) in a gelatin matrix (to maintain its oxidative stability) and algal biomass at a low (LAG, 11), medium (MAG, 22), or high (HAG, 33 g/kg of diet) level of inclusion. The C226n-3 contents of the FFO, EFO, and MAG diets were equal. A control (CON) diet using blended vegetable oil was also made. As-hatched 1-d-old Ross 308 broilers (144) were reared (21 d) on a common starter diet then allocated to treatment pens (4 pens per treatment, 6 birds per pen) and fed treatment diets for 21 d before being slaughtered. Breast and leg meat was analyzed (per pen) for fatty acids, and cooked samples (2 pens per treatment) were analyzed for volatile aldehydes. Concentrations (mg/100 g of meat) of C205n-3, C225n-3, and C226n-3 were (respectively) CON 4, 15, 24; FFO 31, 46, 129; EFO 18, 27, 122; LAG 9, 19, 111; MAG 6, 16, 147; and HAG 9, 14, 187 (SEM 2.4, 3.6, 13.1) in breast meat and CON 4, 12, 9; FFO 58, 56, 132; EFO 63, 49, 153; LAG 13, 14, 101; MAG 11, 15, 102; HAG 37, 37, 203 (SEM 7.8, 6.7, 14.4) in leg meat. Cooked EFO and HAG leg meat was more oxidized (5.2 mg of hexanal/kg of meat) than the other meats (mean 2.2 mg/kg, SEM 0.63). It is concluded that algal biomass is as effective as fish oil at enriching broiler diets with C226 LC n-3 PUFA, and at equal C226n-3 contents, there is no significant difference between these 2 supplements on the oxidative stability of the meat that is produced.