Dietary supplementation with pioglitazone hydrochloride and L-carnosine improves the growth performance, muscle fatty acid profiles and shelf life of yellow-feathered broiler chickens

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary pioglitazone hydrochloride(PGZ) and Lcarnosine(LC) supplementation on the growth performance,meat quality,antioxidant status,and meat shelf life of yellow-feathered broiler chickens.Five hundred broiler chickens were randomly assigned into 4 experimental diets using a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement with 2 PGZ supplemental levels(0 and15 mg/kg) and 2 LC supplemental levels(0 and 400 mg/kg) in basal diets for 28 d.The feed-to-gain ratio decreased whereas the average daily gain increased with PGZ supplementation.Greater dressing percentages,contents of intramuscular fat(IMF) in breast and thigh muscles,C18:3 n-6,C18:1 n-9 and monounsaturated fatty acid(MUFA) percentages of thigh muscle were observed with PGZ addition.Additionally,significant synergistic effects between PGZ and LC on the C18:1 n-9 and MUFA contents were found.Supplementation with LC decreased drip loss,cooking loss and total volatile basic nitrogen,and increased the redness(a~*) value,the superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities in thigh muscles.Moreover,the malondialdehyde content decreased when diets were supplemented with LC,and there was a synergistic effect between PGZ and LC.Additionally,the mRNA abundance of lipogenesis-related genes,such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ(PPARγ),PPARy coactivator 1α and fatty acid-binding protein 3,increased with PGZ supplementation,and relevant antioxidation genes,such as nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2 and superoxide dismutase 1,were enhanced with LC supplementation.In conclusion,the results indicated that the supplementation of PGZ and LC could improve the growth performance,antioxidant ability,IMF content,and meat shelf life of yellow-feathered broiler chickens.