Effect of Dietary Incorporation of Fish Oil on Performance, Carcass Characteristics, Meat Fatty Acid Profile and Sensory Attributes of Meat in Broiler Chickens

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of omega-3 (n-3) fatty acid (FA) rich fish oil (FO) supplementation to broiler chicks during finisher (21–42 days) phase on performance, carcass characteristics, meat fatty acid profile and sensory attributes of meat in broiler chickens. A total of 240, one-day-old Krishibro broiler chicks were reared under uniform managemental conditions in battery brooder during starter (1–21 days) phase. At 21 days of age, the broiler chicks were individually weighed and distributed into 40 replicates with 6 birds per replicate. Basal finisher (3000 kcal ME/kg and 20% CP) diet (control) was prepared using sunflower oil (SFO) at 3% level. Subsequently 3 test diets were prepared to contain 2% SFO and 1% fish oil (FO), 1% SFO and 2% FO or 3% FO. Fish oil supplementation at either 2 or 3% in the diets significantly improved the body weight gain in broiler chickens. The relative carcass parameters were not affected due to dietary incorporation of FO in the diet. However, abdominal fat contents were significantly reduced by incorporating 2 or 3% FO in the diet. The saturated fatty acid content decreased and poly unsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content increased linearly in breast and thigh meat by replacement of SFO with FO at graded levels. The dietary replacement of SFO with FO completely resulted in an increase in the accumulation of n-3 long chain PUFA particularly LNA, EPA and DHA in the muscle tissues. The highest concentration of n-3 FA and lowest concentration of n-6 FA in breast and thigh meat was observed in the diet where LO was completely replaced with FO in the diet. The ratio of n6 to n-3 FA also decreased linearly with increasing the levels of FO in the diet. The sensory attributes in the cooked meat as judged by the sensory panel were not adversely affected by dietary incorporation of fish oil (upto 3%) in the diet of broiler chickens. It is concluded that dietary incorporation of FO at 3% level during finisher phase enriched the meat with n-3 FA without affecting the sensory attributes of meat; in addition, it improved the bird's performance.