Dietary Orange Pulp and Organic Selenium Effects on Growth Performance, Meat Quality, Fatty Acid Profile, and Oxidative Stability Parameters of Broiler Chickens

Abstract

In this study, orange pulp (OP) and/or organic Se were fed to broilers in order to investigate their effects on the performance, behavior, breast meat quality, and oxidative stability. A total of 240 chicks were allocated to four groups: a control group; an OP group, fed with OP at 50 g/kg of diet; a Se group, fed with organic Se at 0.15 ppm; and an OP + Se group, fed with OP and organic Se at 50 g/kg and 0.15 ppm, respectively. The selenium and OP + Se groups showed improved meat oxidative stability during frozen storage from 90 to 210 days (p < 0.05), whereas the performance and meat quality were unaffected by the dietary treatments (p > 0.05), apart from a reduction in the meat pH and the dressing percentage in the OP-supplemented groups (p < 0.05). A synergistic action between OP and Se was observed for the meat oxidative stability. The polyunsaturated fatty acid (FA) and α-linolenic acid (ALA) contents in the breast meat lipid fractions were increased in the OP groups (p < 0.05). Dietary intervention did not affect the feeding or drinking behaviors of the broilers (p > 0.05). The dietary supplementation of broiler chickens with the citrus industry byproduct orange pulp at 50 g/kg, along with organic Se at 0.15 ppm, beneficially improves the meat oxidative stability and the meat nutritional value, with no negative side effects on the performance or the meat quality.