The effects of α-tocopherol acetate and pomegranate peel extract on the raw breast meat of the oxidative stress-induced broiler

Abstract

The present study was conducted to compare the efficacy of the dietary combined supplementation of α-tocopherol acetate (TA) and pomegranate peel extract (PPE) on the total phenolic content (TPC) and total aerobic bacteria count (TABC) and quality of the raw breast meat of broilers with the dietary supplementation of TA or PPE alone. A total of 600 Ross 308 newly hatched male broiler chicks were randomly distributed into five treatments with 5 replicates of 24 chicks each. The experimental diets included: CONT: a control diet containing 50 mg/kg α-tocopherol acetate and 4 % flaxseed oil; TA200, PPE100, PPE200 and TA100+PPE100: the diets supplemented with 200 mg/kg α-tocopherol acetate, 100 mg/kg PPE, 200 mg/kg PPE or 100 mg/kg α-tocopherol acetate+100 mg/kg PPE, respectively, to the CONT diet. The TA200, PPE100, PPE200 and TA100+PPE100 diets increased (P <0.01) the TPC and decreased the TABC (P <0.001) and the cooking loss (CL) (P <0.001) of the raw breast meat compared to the CONT diet. The pH values at the 15^th min and the 24^th h of the raw breast meat were decreased (P <0.001) by the PPE100, PPE200 and TA100+PPE100 diets compared to those of the CONT and TA200 diets. Feeding the PPE100, PPE200 and TA100+PPE diets increased (P <0.01) the water holding capacity (WHC) of the raw breast meat compared to the CONT diet. The drip loss was not significantly affected by the DTs              (P >0.05). The effects of the combined supplementation of TA and PPE on the TPC and the TBAC of the raw breast meat were higher than when offered alone, but, similarly improved its WHC and the CL compared to those of the supplementation of TA and PPE alone.