Direct supplementation of diet is the most efficient way of enriching broiler meat with n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids

Abstract

1. Concentrations of beneficial omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC-PUFAs) in poultry meat can be improved by increasing the concentration of n-3 PUFA in poultry diets.

2. A decrease in flavour quality is, however, usually associated with the dietary supplementation with n-3 PUFA, which is due to the susceptibility of PUFA to oxidation.

3. This experiment was conducted to study the effects of introducing two different n-3 fatty acid sources (extruded linseed and DHA Gold™, a proprietary algal product rich in docosahexaenoic acid), either separately or together, on broiler productive performance, and meat quality, oxidative stability, sensory traits and LC-PUFA profile.

4. Birds given the algal product displayed better productive performances than animals from other groups.

5. The data revealed an improvement in the fatty acid nutritional value of meat from birds receiving the algal product and an inefficient conversion of α-linolenic acid (LNA) into LC-PUFA.

6. Metabolisation of LNA in vivo is not sufficient to improve meat quality in n-3 LC-PUFA and direct supplementation of the diet with n-3 LC-PUFA is a better alternative to modulate an increase in beneficial fatty acids of broiler meat.

7. The overall acceptability of meat was negatively affected by the dietary supplementation with 7.4% of DHA, in contrast to the supplementation with 3.7% of DHA, which showed to be efficient in improving LC-PUFA meat content without affecting its sensory properties.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank Sociedade Agrícola da Quinta da Freiria SA (Bombarral, Portugal) for supplying the 1-d-old broilers used in this experiments and Novus International (St. Charles, USA) for the generous gift of DHA Gold™. We also thank all members of the sensory panel from Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária (Lisbon, Portugal). Teresa Ribeiro, Susana Alves and Paulo Costa were supported by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Lisbon, Portugal) through the individual fellowship SFRH/BD/32321/2006, SFRH/BPD/76836/2011 and SFRH/BPD/46135/2008, respectively. This work was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Lisbon, Portugal (grant PTDC/CVT/103942/2008).