Omega-3 Fatty Acids Enriched Flaxseed Oil Effects on Meat Quality and Fatty Acid Profile of Broiler Chicks

The study was planned to evaluate effect of adding flaxseed oil on meat quality, sensory attributes and fatty acids profile of broiler chicken meat. Further, optimization of supplementalflaxseed oil duration and level was also tested. A n=300 day-old broiler chicken (Ross-308) were procured from the hatchery and randomly divided into 5 treatments, T0 (control) T1 and T2 (3% and 4% flaxseed oil, 14-35 day), while T3 and T4 having (3% and 4% flaxseed oil, 21-35 day) groups respectively. Each treatment contained 6 replicates with 10 chicks per replicate. The T3 tested diet linearly raised n-3 (PUFA) contents. The n-6/n-3 ratio was also significantly lowered from 7.72 to 1.12%. Regardless of dietary flaxseed oil level, LC-PUFA contents were higher in the T2 group. Meat quality traits were not statistically affected while T1 exhibited a significantly increased meat tenderness value, but interestingly, all other sensory attributes remained statistically unaffected. An equivalent amount of n-3 LC-PUFA may be found in 3% dietary flaxseed oil for the last 21 days of rearing with optimized meat quality and sensory attributes. Healthy broiler meat enriched with n-3 fatty acids may be produced by dietary manipulation.