Effects of Dietary Supplementation with Cocrystals of Thymol and Carvacrol on Quality, Nutrient Composition, and Oxidative Stability of Broiler Meat
2024
Yang Li | Changjin Li | Yunlong Zhang | Nadia Everaert | Luke Comer | Libo Huang | Ning Jiao | Xuejun Yuan | Weiren Yang | Shuzhen Jiang
Consumer demand for high-quality meat has increased. This study aimed to investigate the potential application of cocrystals of thymol and carvacrol in broilers for high-quality meat production. Eight hundred 1-day-old chicks were assigned to four groups fed diets supplemented with 0, 40, 60, and 80 mg/kg of Crystal EO®: (CEO), containing 25% cocrystals of thymol and carvacrol in a 42-d feeding trial. The results showed that dietary CEO supplementation decreased the muscle fiber diameter and increased the muscle fiber density, glycogen content, L*45 min value, and proportion of &alpha:-linolenic acid in the breast muscle: dietary 40 and 60 mg/kg of CEO decreased the lactate content, MDA concentration, cooking loss, shear force, and thrombogenicity index and increased the proportion of lauric acid in the breast muscle: dietary 60 and 80 mg/kg of CEO increased the glucose content, total superoxide dismutase, and total antioxidant capacity levels of breast muscle. Citrate synthase activity, free radical scavenging capacity, pH24 h and a*45 min values, and the cystine content in the breast muscle were especially higher in the 60 mg/kg CEO group compared to the control group. Collectively, dietary CEO supplementation improved meat quality and nutritional values and enhanced the antioxidant capacity of broiler meat, with 60 mg/kg of CEO having the greatest effect.
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