Effect of Feeding Area and Feed Intake on Meat Compositions and Taste Relating Components of Broiler Chickens.

Abstract

In order to identify factors affecting taste of chicken meat, the effect of exercise and restricting feed intake on broiler meat compositions, water, protein, lipid, ash, free amino acids, minerals, IMP and fatty acids were studied using female Cobb strain broilers. In the control group, chicks were fed ad libitum in individual wire cages with 0.14 m2 floor area, in the restricted feeding group, chicks were fed a half of diet in control group in 0.14 m2 floor, and in the wide area group, chicks were fed ad libitum in individual wire cages with 0.34 m2 floor area. Seven chicks per each group were fed the diets formulated for 0 to 5 weeks of age for 5 weeks, and then the diets were switched to those for 6 to 8 weeks for 3 weeks. There were no differences in water, lipid, ash, mineral and fatty acid contents of broiler meat among treated groups. Protein content of the restricted feeding and wide area groups was higher than that of the control group. However, no differences were found in the amino acid contents in meat among groups. In the meat extract, free glutamic acid, arginine and lysine in the restricted feeding group were less than other groups. IMP content in the meat extract tended to decrease in the restricted feeding and wide area groups. These results suggested that feeding conditions were one of the factors affecting the taste-active components of broilers.

Regulation of taste-active components of meat by dietary leucine

“…We have previously shown that free glutamate (Glu) content in chicken meat was decreased by 35 d of restricted feeding (Fujimura et al, 1997). Using sensory evaluation of meat from chickens given ad libitum feed and that from chickens on restricted feeding, we also showed that there were significantly different meat tastes between these two groups (Fujimura et al, 2001).…”