ABSTRACT
The oxidation of fatty acids decreases the quality and shelf-life of meats. To reduce this process, dietary supplemented and meat-added antioxidants were evaluated on the lipid oxidative stability of cooked chicken meat. Broilers were fed 2 levels of vitamin E (10 or 100 mgâ¢kg(-1) of feed; VE-10 and VE-100, respectively) or oregano essential oil (100 mgâ¢kg(-1) of feed; OR-100). Additionally, honey (3%) or butylated hydroxytoluene (0.02%; BHT) were added to chicken meat from the control treatment (VE-10). Breast meat was ground, formed into patties, and cooked on electric grills until it reached an internal temperature of 74°C. Cooked meat was cooled at room temperature, packaged, and stored under refrigeration for 9 d (4°C) or frozen for 45 d (-20°C). The 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substance test was used to quantify malondialdehyde (MDA) values in the meat. Data were analyzed using a repeated measures design, 5 treatments with 12 replications each, and the least squares means were compared with 4 orthogonal contrasts. The results showed that the meat of the VE-10 treatment had higher values of MDA (P ≤ 0.05) compared with the other antioxidant treatments in all the storage days. There were no differences (P ≥ 0.05) in MDA values between the dietary supplemented and meat-added antioxidant treatments. The meat added with honey had lower MDA values than the one with BHT (P ≤ 0.05). Meat of the VE-100 treatment showed lower MDA values than the one of OR-100 (P ≤ 0.05) in most storage days. In conclusion, supplementation of 10 mgâ¢kg(-1) of vitamin E to the diet resulted in a higher development of lipid oxidation in the meat. Both dietary supplemented or meat-added antioxidants had similar effects on the lipid oxidative stability. The addition of honey maintained longer the lipid oxidative stability of the meat than BHT. Finally, dietary supplementation of vitamin E at the same level of oregano oil, 100 mgâ¢kg(-1), resulted in a higher antioxidant effect on the meat.
