Abstract
Experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of crude glycerin inclusion in the diets of Betong chicken on the characteristics of their carcasses, internal organs, meat quality, lipid oxidation, and fatty acid profiles. One hundred 1-day-old chicks were raised for 8 weeks. Subsequently, the birds were sexed based on their morphological features, and weighed. Forty-eight male chickens, with comparable body weights, were randomly allotted to receive any of the three experimental diets, containing 0, 50 or 100 g crude glycerin/kg feed, on an as fed basis until they were 20 weeks old. A total of 24 chickens were slaughtered and their carcass characteristics and meat quality were studied. Results showed that carcass characteristics and internal organ parameters were not affected by crude glycerin supplementation (P>0.05). After chilling for 24 h, pH of the meat decreased in all groups (P>0.05), while shear force and cooking loss were not affected (P>0.05). Furthermore, crude glycerin did not affect the parameters such as crude protein, ether extract, ash, moisture and proportions of different fatty acid contents of meat of the Betong chicken (P>0.05). However, breast meat color and lipid oxidation were influenced by crude glycerin in diet (P<0.05). These results suggest that crude glycerin can be used at concentrations up to 10% in Betong chicken diet from 8 to 20 weeks of age. Nevertheless, its effect on breast meat color and lipid oxidation need to be considered.