Nutritional Composition and Bioactive Compounds of Basil, Thyme and Sage Plant Additives and Their Functionality on Broiler Thigh Meat Quality

Abstract

Meat industries across the world are constantly focusing to find natural low-cost additives for the development of novel meat products to meet consumer demand for improving the health benefits. In this study, we investigated the chemical composition and the bioactive compounds of some herbal plants, namely basil, thyme, sage, and their functionality on broiler chicken thigh meat quality. Chemical composition, as well as total antioxidant activity, polyphenols, vitamin E lutein and zeaxanthin and the fatty acids of the plants, were analyzed. According to findings, total polyphenols was 21.53 mg gallic acid/g in basil, 31.73 mg gallic acid/g in thyme and 38.87 mg gallic acid/g in sage. The antioxidant capacity was 19.91 mM Trolox in basil, 54.09 mM Trolox in thyme and 54.09 mM Trolox in sage. Lutein and zeaxanthin from basil was 267.91 mg/kg, 535.79 mg/kg in thyme and 99.89 mg/kg, and vitamin E ranged from 291.71 mg/kg in basil to 379.37 mg/kg in thyme and 148.07 mg/kg in sage, respectively. After, we developed a trial on 120 unsexed broiler chickens (n = 30) which were separated into four groups with six replications of five chickens each: control (C); 1% basil (B); 1% thyme (T) and 1% sage (S). The B, T and S groups deposited significantly higher (p < 0.05) concentration of zinc, polyphenols, antioxidant capacity and vitamin E in meat samples compared with the C group. In the experimental groups, the proportion of total polyunsaturated fatty acids, the ratio of n-6 to n-3 fatty acids, and the ratio of polyunsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids in the thigh muscles were significantly improved (p < 0.05). The tested plants exhibited a significant (p = 0.0007) hypocholesterolemic effect in the meat of the B (45.90 mg/g), T (41.60 mg/g) and S (48.80 mg/kg) experimental groups compared with the C (60.50 mg/g) group. These results support the application of the studied plants as natural sources of additives which could be effective in improving meat quality, from the human consumption perspective.

The Impact of Thyme and Oregano Essential Oils Dietary Supplementation on Broiler Health, Growth Performance, and Prevalence of Growth-Related Breast Muscle Abnormalities

“…However, varying results have been reported on their effects on overall broiler production performance [ 1 , 5 ]. There was no agreement between previous studies about the effects of thyme or oregano essential oils on feed intake, body weight gain, and feed conversion in broilers when these oils were used separately [ 6 , 7 , 8 ].…”

“…Some studies reported positive effects on the performance parameters of broiler chicks [ 8 , 11 , 12 ], while other studies showed no effect on broiler performance parameters [ 13 , 14 ]. In contrast to these studies, others reported negative effects of supplemental thyme or oregano oils in rations on broiler growth [ 6 , 7 , 15 ]. The use of thyme with prebiotics, such as mannan-oligosaccharides, in the feed formulation showed positive effects on the growth performance of broilers [ 16 ].…”

Rosehip (Rosa canina L.) Meal as a Natural Antioxidant on Lipid and Protein Quality and Shelf-Life of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Enriched Eggs

“…However, EPA-enriched eggs are harmful to infants, due to their competition with arachidonic acid (C20:4 n-6) for incorporation into tissue phospholipids [ 39 ]. Another logical explanation is that due to elongation and desaturation, EPA was converted entirely into DHA in the hens’ livers, however, this process was not observed in chicken’s thigh meat, where EPA was determined [ 40 ]. A similar phenomenon was also observed by others when EPA was largely converted into DHA [ 41 , 42 , 43 ] when laying hens were fed flaxseed-based diets.…”

A Rapid Procedure for the Simultaneous Determination of Eugenol, Linalool and Fatty Acid Composition in Basil Leaves

“…Moreover, comparing the average percentages of the individual FAs, the results were similar for palmitic (16.2 and 20.6%), linolenic (69.0 and 54.7%) and linoleic acid (9.7 and 10.4%), where the second value in the bracket represents the average value found in the present study. On the contrary, in the study conducted by Vlaicu et al [ 12 ] the most abundant fatty acids were SFAs followed by PUFAs and MUFAs (40.5, 36.6 and 21.9%, respectively), with palmitic and linoleic acids having comparable values (23.0 % and 17.4%, respectively) and linolenic acid having a much lower percentage (15.9%) as compared to the study reported by Tarchoune et al [ 11 ] (69.0%) and to ours (54.7%). The different way samples have been prepared in the mentioned studies do not allow to establish the reason for the different FA composition found.…”

“…Fatty acid (FA) composition of the extract is important when considering the potential of an herb from the nutritional, nutraceutical, cosmetic or several other applicative points of view. To the best of our knowledge, only Tarchoune et al [ 11 ] and, more recently, Vlaicu et al [ 12 ] reported on the FA composition of basil leaves. In the first study, EO and FA compositions were evaluated.…”