The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of dietary inclusion of walnut and bilberry leaves (WL and BL), as sources of natural antioxidants in poultry diets, on the enrichment of antioxidant nutrients in the egg yolk and on the susceptibility of the yolk to lipid peroxidation during storage. The experiment was conducted on 32-week-old TETRA SL LL laying hens, which were assigned to three dietary treatments with 30 birds each. Each treatment was replicated 10 times with three chicks per replicate pen. Experimental dietary treatments differed from control diet (C) by addition of 0.5% BL supplement or 1% WL supplement. The phytoadditives were not significant contributors to the productive parameters. The addition of BL and WL in laying hens’ diets significantly increased the total polyphenol content, and the zinc, lutein and zeaxanthin concentrations in the egg yolks. In regards to the oxidative stability parameters, a significant decrease in the concentrations of primary oxidation products formed in the egg yolk of experimental groups was seen, proving an efficient inhibition effect of the phytoadditives on peroxyl radical formation. A significant correlation was observed between primary oxidation products and total polyphenol content of the egg yolks, where zinc, lutein and zeaxanthin are the bioactive compounds that inhibit the formation of secondary oxidation products.

Poultry meat is a valuable source of nutrients and the enrichment with health-promoting substances such as polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) is an important factor for consumers’ choice. Camelina meal (Camelina sativa) is an animal feedstuff used to achieve this goal, but the administration of n-3 PUFA-enriched diets in broiler nutrition can accelerate the oxidative processes in meat leading to a decreased quality of final product. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the organic Cr as chromium picolinate (CrPic) on meat quality, fatty acid profile of fat and oxidative stability of meat from broilers fed supplemented dietary Camelina meal. An experiment was conducted on 240 Ross 308 broiler chicken aged 14 days which were assigned to 6 dietary treatments in a randomized complete block design with a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement. Within the treatment arrangement two concentrations of Camelina meal (0% and 3%) and three concentrations of Cr3+ (0, 200 and 400 μg/kg) were used. Dietary treatments were: (1) Control diet (C) containing a corn–soybean diet with no added Camelina meal or Cr3+; (2) a C diet containing an additional 200 μg/kg of Cr3+ as CrPic; (3) a C diet containing an additional 400 μg/kg of Cr3+ as CrPic; (4) a C diet containing an additional 3% Camelina meal; (5) diet 2 containing an additional 3% Camelina meal; (6) diet 3 containing an additional 3% Camelina meal. Chromium supplementation significantly (P<0.05) increased the CP concentrations and significantly (P<0.05) decreased the crude fat concentrations in breast samples. The Camelina meal groups presented higher values of unsaturated fatty acids, particularly n-3 fatty acids (P<0.05). In CrPic groups, increased retention of Zn and Fe (P < 0.05) was observed in breast samples, compared to control group, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances values were significantly (P<0.05) smaller. Myoglobin fraction (metmyoglobin and oximyoglobin) concentrations differ significantly (P<0.05) from the control group, under the influence of Cr3+ supplements. This study found that broilers fed with CrPic supplements showed improved mineral composition and oxidative stability of breast meat, proving an effective protection of lipid molecules from oxidation in PUFA-enriched meat.

The present study is designed to evaluate the antioxidant compounds from bilberry, cranberry, and raspberry leaves in connection with their radical scavenging activities, and their potential in inhibiting the lipid peroxidation of thigh meat from broiler chickens. For this purpose, plant extracts are analyzed regarding the content in bioactive compounds, antioxidant properties analysis including 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl, superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, and hydroxyl radical‐scavenging activities. Lipid peroxidation is induced by an Fe+3/ascorbic acid system and the inhibitory effects of plants extracts are assessed using thiobarbituric reactive substances (TBARS) as biomarkers for quantifying lipid oxidation in meat. The overview of the analyzed antioxidant compounds shows that cranberry leaves present the highest concentrations of vitamin E, β‐carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin, and polyphenols and a total antioxidant capacity with 52% higher than bilberry and 360% than raspberry. Bilberry leaves extract shows the strongest effect (p < 0.0001) in inhibiting meat lipid peroxidation. Practical Applications: The results demonstrate the positive effect of the selected berry leaves in the oxidative stability of broiler chicken meat under in vitro conditions, and may be suggested as an alternative source of natural antioxidants for animal nutrition, with benefits in inhibiting and delaying oxidation, and also enhancing the nutritional value of meat.

Natural ingredients from fruits and fruit-derived by-products have gained special interest as dietary supplements in poultry because of their health-promoting effects. The present work aims to evaluate the impact of the dietary inclusion of watermelon rind and sea buckthorn meal on performances, blood parameters, and gut microbiota and morphology of laying hens. A 4-week trial was conducted on 90 Tetra SL layers (32 weeks old), assigned to three dietary treatments (C, E1, and E2). The C group hens were fed a basal diet based on corn-soybean meal. The experimental diets included 10 g of watermelon rind/kg fed (E1) and 20 g of sea buckthorn meal/kg fed (E2). During the feeding trial, we monitored the performances. Blood samples, intestinal tissue, and intestinal content were collected to assess the effect of dietary ingredients on health status, digestive enzyme activity, intestinal morphology, and gut microbiota characterization. From the blood samples, cholesterol and triglycerides significantly (p < 0.05) decreased in E1 and E2 compared with the C group. Dietary watermelon rind and sea buckthorn meal positively impacted villus height. Maltase and invertase activity increased only in the duodenum of the E2 group, while alpha-amylase decreased in the duodenum and jejunum of both E1 and E2 groups. The two supplements tested triggered Firmicutes and Lactobacillus spp. multiplication, while reducing harmful bacteria such as Bacteroidetes and Enterobacteriaceae. The study provides the first evidence that the dietary inclusion of watermelon rind and sea buckthorn meal can be used in laying hens’ diets without altering the performances and with a beneficial impact on hens’ health, gut microbiota, and gut morphology.

We investigated changes in nitrogen metabolism and chemical, fatty acid (FA) and amino acid (AA) composition in tissues (longissimus dorsi (LD) and semitendinosus (ST) muscles, heart, spleen, liver and cecum) following the dietary addition of extruded linseed and walnut meal (50:50 mix). Plasma creatinine and urea nitrogen were determined as well. Two trials were designed using barrows (five replicates) allotted in two groups [(control, (SM) and experimental, (LEW))] in metabolic cages. The experimental diet rich in n-3 FA led to a significant increase of retained nitrogen (>8.09% in the LEW group). The biological value of feed protein was 14.8% higher in the LEW group than in the SM group. LD muscles from the SM group and liver from the LEW group had greater nitrogen contents, whereas the heart and spleen had lower concentrations of nitrogen in the LEW group. Diet had a pronounced effect on n-3 FA, particularly on α-linolenic fatty acid (ALA) (p < 0.0001). The highest levels of ALA were recorded in the cecum (>6.06 times in LEW) and heart (>5.44 times in LEW). The highest level of lysine was noticed in the LD muscle (>2.1% in SM). An n-3-rich diet significantly reduced the amount of nitrogen excreted; greater than 40% nitrogen was retained, thus improving the meat composition.