Objective: The current study was conducted to evaluate the quality and profile of fatty acid in the breast and thigh, and the performance of broilers fed diets containing seed or oil of chia (<i>Salvia hispanica L.</i>) as a replacement for soybean, in the rearing period from 29 to 42 days of age.Methods: On the 29th day of age, 120 broilers were distributed in four treatments evaluated in five replicates of six birds. The grain or oil of soybean was respectively replaced on a weightto-weight basis in the formulation by the seed or oil of chia, constituting the experimental diets. The roasted whole soybean and chia seed were included in the feed at 16.4%, whereas the soybean and chia oils were included at 2.5%.Results: The dietary chia oil increased the lipid peroxidation in the thigh meat, and the dietary chia seed increased the cooking loss of the thigh. However, for the other physicochemical parameters evaluated and for the proximate composition of the breast and thigh, in general, the inclusion of chia seed or oil in the diet provided similar or better results than those observed when the diets contained soybean oil or roasted whole soybean. With regard to the fatty acid profile and associated parameters, dietary chia increased the concentrations of α-linolenic, eicosapentaenoic, and docosahexaenoic acids and reduced the Σω-6:Σω-3 ratio and the atherogenicity and thrombogenicity indices of the broiler meat. However, the dietary chia seed worsened the feed conversion ratio.Conclusion: Diet containing 2.5% chia oil supplied to broilers during the period from 29 to 42 days of age improves the feed conversion ratio, increases the deposition of the ω-3 fatty acids in the breast and thigh, in addition to reducing the Σω-6:Σω-3 ratio and the atherogenicity and thrombogenicity indices, thereby resulting in meat with higher nutritional quality.

Non-ruminantsFull-length research article Nutritional evaluation of chia (Salvia hispanica) seeds and oil in broiler diets ABSTRACT -Two experiments were carried with broilers from 29 to 42 days of age for the nutritional evaluation of dietary chia. Thus, the nitrogen-corrected apparent metabolizable energy (AMEn) and the apparent metabolizability coefficients of gross energy and ether extract of chia seeds and oil, toasted soybean grain (TSG), and soybean oil were determined in the experiment I, by total excreta collection method, using 120 broilers. Each experimental diet (reference diet [RD] and four diets with the tested feedstuffs) was evaluated in eight replicates of three broilers. The TSG and chia seeds replaced the RD in 250 g/kg, whereas soybean and chia oils replaced the RD in 100 g/kg. Simultaneously, a second experiment was carried subdivided into two trials. In the performance trial, we evaluated the dietary feedstuffs effects on performance, carcass and cut yields, blood parameters, and activity of lipogenic enzymes. The nutrient metabolizability coefficients and AMEn were evaluated in the metabolism trial. The AMEn values of 37.49, 37.35, 15.85, and 8.43 MJ/kg of dry matter were determined for chia oil, soybean oil, TSG, and chia seeds, respectively (experiment I). In the second experiment, the best feed conversion was observed in broilers fed diets containing chia oil and TSG. However, the diet formulated with chia seeds worsened broiler feed conversion, exhibited the smaller energy value and apparent metabolizability coefficient of the ether extract, and increased the activity of the malic enzyme and serum total cholesterol level. There was no difference for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level. In general, chia oil showed to be efficient in replacing soybean oil in broiler diets.