Promotion of omega-3 chicken meat production: an Indian perspective

Abstract

Similar to omega-3 eggs, chicken meat has great potential to become a functional food for humans. In India, chicken meat is preferred due to its perceived health benefits and affordability. The balance between omega 3 and 6 fatty acids is crucial for its usefulness in animals. At present commercial chicken meat has low omega-3 fatty acid content and higher omega-6 fatty acid content. Published research shows that it is possible to modify the lipid profile of commercial chickens by manipulating the broiler diet. The modern human diet is deficient in n-3 FAs, which has been linked to the increase in several degenerative diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis, cancer and mental illness. Therefore omega-3 chicken meat may be an effective means of increasing n-3 FA in the human diet. There are several problems associated with the commercial production of omega-3 chicken meat related to the choice of source of fatty acids in the feed, cost of production, consumer acceptability and stability of the chicken meat that need to be tackled. The present article briefly reviews the studies carried out in this respect, the possible impact of omega-3 chicken meat production on the poultry industry, and on human health.

Keywords::

• omega-3 chicken
• functional food
• poultry feed
• chicken meat

Acknowledgements

The authors thank ICAR for the financial grant through NAIP projects on linseed value addition and livelihood security to farmers. We thank the team members for their unstinted supports.