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Abstract
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To investigate the effect of betaine supplementation in diets containing oxidized oil on growth performance, blood metabolites and meat quality of broiler chickens, a 2×2 factorial experiment with four treatments and four replicates were performed using 144 one-day-old male Ross 308 chicks. The experimental groups included basal diet with fresh soybean oil (PV: 3 meq kg-1), basal diet with fresh soybean oil and 0.1% betaine, basal diet with oxidized oil (PV: 200 meq kg-1), and basal diet with oxidized oil and 0.1% betaine. Performance traits were measured at the end of each period. At the end of the trial, two chicks/replicate were randomly selected, weighed, and the blood metabolites and meat quality traits were evaluated. The results showed that the use of oxidized oil led to a significant decrease in feed consumption and weight gain and an increase in feed conversion ratio in the grower, finisher, and the whole breeding period (P<0.05), while the addition of betaine supplementation led to an increase in feed consumption, weight gain and a decrease in feed conversion ratio (P<0.05). The effect of oxidized oil on blood metabolites was not significant while betaine supplementation lowered blood cholesterol and triglycerides (P<0.05). In chickens fed oxidized oil, water holding capacity of breast meat decreased and cooking loss, drip loss, and meat peroxide value increased (P<0.05), while betaine supplementation increased the water holding capacity and decreased cooking loss, drip loss, and meat peroxide value (P<0.05). Oxidized oil increased the amount of malondialdehyde in breast and thigh meat within 30 days after slaughter (P<0.05). The addition of betaine resulted in a reduction in breast and thigh malondialdehyde content (P<0.05). Therefore, oxidized oil may reduce growth performance, meat quality and oxidative stability, while betaine supplementation plays an effective role in improving the growth performance, quality and oxidative stability of meat of broiler chickens.
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