Functional properties of broilers’ meat depending on infection with Eimeria tenella | Funkcionalne osobine pilećeg mesa u zavisnosti od infekcije brojlera protozoom Eimeria tenella

Caecal coccidiosis is important parasitic disease that causes significant financial damages measured in milions of dollars per year. The aim of this paper is to investigate functional properties of broilers’ meat (water binding capacity - WBC and expressible water - EW) obtained from animals infected with Eimeria tenella.(7,8 x 104 infectious oocysts – the first experimental group; 4,7 x 105 – the second experimental group and 9,4 x 105 infectious oocysts – the third experimental group). The infected animals were treated and the values of functional properties were compared to the results from control group of healthy animals. Water content and pH were determined using ISO methods, while the results of functional properties values were obtained by the method of centrifugation. The results were statistically processed using variance analysis and Tukey’s test. The highest water content (75.59%) was determined in breast meat of broilers from group O-II. It differed significantly (p is less than 0,01) from the results obtained from K and O-III group (74,11 and 74,80% respectively), as well as O-I group (p is less than 0,05). The highest pH value of thigh was found in K and O-III group (6.25), pH measured in animals from O-II group was somewhat lower (6.24), while the lowest pH was measured in thighs of broilers from O-I group (6.23). The results obtained from O-I group were significantly different (p is less than 0,05) comparing to group K and O-III. Water binding capacity of breast meat was highest in the group of healthy animals (K) and it differed significantly from the values measured in group O-I (p is less than 0,01) and group O-III (p is less than 0,05). WBC of drumstick and thigh meat was significantly lower in O-I group compared to control, O-II and O-III (p is less than 0,01). These results point out that caecal coccidiosis had negative effect on this functional, i.e. technological meat property. It is important to mention that broilers from infected groups had subclinical form of the disease and received no treatment, meaning that the period of infection played crucial role. The percentage of EW was lowest in breast meat of broilers from control group – significantly lower compared to O-I (p is less than 0,01). Low values were also measured in the second experimental group, significantly lower compared to O-I (p is less than 0,05). No significant differences were determined in drumstick and thigh between average values of EW (p is greater than 0,05). Infection with protozoan parasite Eimeria tenella resulted in negative effects on water content in breast meat, drumstick and thigh (increased values of the parameter). Value of pH was also affected by the infection which resulted with the lowest pH of meat from experimental group. Water binding capacity was the highest in meat from control group of broilers, while the percentage of expressed water was the lowest. It can be concluded that the infection had negative effects on functional properties of meat, especially in case when no treatment was administered, which resulted in sub-clinical form of the disease.