Zinc improves meat quality by modulating lipid metabolism in necrotic enteritis challenged broilers

Area of Science:

• Animal Science
• Nutritional Biochemistry
• Food Science

Background:

• Necrotic enteritis (NE) poses a significant threat to broiler health and meat quality.
• Dietary zinc is crucial for animal metabolism, but its effects on meat quality under disease conditions require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of dietary zinc from zinc glycinate and zinc sulfate on meat quality and lipid metabolism in broilers challenged with NE.
• To understand how NE and zinc supplementation interact to influence broiler meat characteristics.

Main Methods:

• A 3x2 factorial design involving dietary zinc sources (basal, zinc glycinate, zinc sulfate) and NE challenge (control, NE).
• Assessment of growth performance, carcass characteristics, meat quality parameters (pH, cooking loss, shear force, color), lipid peroxidation (TBARS), and non-targeted metabolomics.
• Analysis of fatty acid composition in pectoral muscle.

Main Results:

• NE challenge reduced growth performance and survival but increased pectoral muscle pH and lipid peroxidation (TBARS).
• Zinc glycinate improved leg and carcass proportions under NE challenge.
• Both zinc sources reduced pectoral muscle yellowness (b*) and TBARS after storage; zinc sulfate reduced cooking loss, while zinc glycinate increased shear force.
• NE affected fatty acid synthesis and oxidation pathways, while zinc glycinate influenced fatty acid biosynthesis and increased dihomo-α-linolenic acid.

Conclusions:

• NE challenge negatively impacts broiler meat quality by increasing lipid peroxidation and altering fatty acid composition.
• Dietary zinc supplementation, especially zinc glycinate, can mitigate NE-induced meat quality issues by modulating lipid metabolism and improving carcass yield.
• Zinc supplementation influences lipid metabolism, affecting fatty acid profiles and reducing oxidative stress in broilers under NE challenge.