Antioxidative effect of dietary Camelina meal in fresh, stored, or cooked broiler chicken meat

Camelina sativa is an oilseed crop of the Brassica (Cruciferae) family that has gained increased popularity as a biofuel source. The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of feeding C. sativa meal to broiler birds on phenolic compounds, tocopherols, flavonoids, antioxidant capacity, and lipid peroxidation in chicken thigh meat during short (4°C for 2 or 7 d) or long-term (-20°C for 90 d) storage and cooking. One hundred sixty 1-d-old Cobb chicks were fed a corn-soybean meal-based diet with added Camelina meal at 0% (control), 2.5% (CAM2.5), 5% (CAM5), and 10% (CAM10). The experimental diets were fed for a period of 42 d. Feeding Camelina meal at 5 or 10% led to a 1.6-fold increase in γ-tocopherols in the thigh meat when compared with control birds (P < 0.05). No effect of diet on γ-tocopherols in the breast meat and α-tocopherols in the thigh and breast meat was observed (P > 0.05). Antioxidant activity measured as 2,2-azino-bis [3-ethylbenzo-thiazoline-6-sulfonic acid] radical scavenging capacity in the thigh meat from CAM2.5, CAM5, and CAM10 was higher than control birds (P < 0.05). In the breast meat, 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzo-thiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt radical scavenging capacity was highest in CAM10 (P < 0.05). Feeding Camelina meal at 5 or 10% led to reductions in thigh TBA reactive substances (TBARS) during short-term (2 d) and long-term storage (P < 0.05). The TBARS of thigh meat from CAM5 and CAM10 were reduced up to 49 or 36% during 2- or 90-d storage, respectively, when compared with control (P < 0.05). However, no effect of diet on thigh meat TBARS at 7 d of storage was observed among treatment groups. Overall, TBARS were highest in the thigh meat from control and CAM2.5 birds (P < 0.05). Upon cooking, TBARS were lowest in thigh meat from CAM10 birds, which was over 48% lower than in meat from birds fed the control diet (P < 0.05). The current study showed that Camelina meal could be effective in inhibiting lipid oxidation and enhancing antioxidant capacity. However, the effect was more prominent in the thigh than breast meat.