The effect of herbal supplements on the carcass characteristics, fatty acid profile and meat quality attributes of broilers

The present investigation was carried out to determine the effect of two herbal formulations, AV/LMP/10 (T1) (garlic, Allium sativum) and AV/HLP/16 (T2) (mixture of gugal, Commiphora mukul and fenugreek, Trigonella foenum-graecum with 50:50%), on the carcass characteristics, proximate composition, lipid profile including fatty acids, and meat quality attributes in Vencobb 400 broiler chickens. Broilers fed with the AV/HLP/16 (T2) formulation had significantly (P<0.05) superior carcass characteristics in terms of pre-slaughter weight, head, neck, shank, skin, stomach, intestine, giblet, and wholesale cut yield than the control and broilers supplemented with AV/LMP/10 (T1). Meat obtained from the broilers fed with the T2 formulation had a significantly (P<0.01) higher dressing percentage and lean percentage than the control broilers and the T1 supplemented broilers. Meat obtained from the broilers fed with the T2 formulation had significantly (P<0.01) higher moisture and protein content, and lower fat content than the control birds. Meat obtained from the broilers fed with the T2 formulations had significantly (P<0.01) lower triglycerides and higher phospholipids and cholesterol content than meat obtained from the control birds. A significant (P<0.01) increase was observed in the myristic, palmitic, oleic, palmitoleic, linoleic and behenic acid percentages, and a decrease in the stearic acid percentage in meat obtained from the broilers fed with the T2 formulation. Addition of the T2 formulation significantly (P<0.01) improved the physico-chemical quality and sensory scores of the chicken meat. The results of this study revealed that addition of herbal formulations had a significant effect on the carcass characteristics, proximate composition, fatty acid profile and meat quality attributes in comparison with the control birds.