Comparative effects of dietary sea urchin shell powder and feed additives on meat quality and fatty acid profiles of broiler breast meat

This study was a small pen trial in which we investigated comparative effects of dietary sea urchin shell powder and feed additives on meat quality and fatty acid profiles of broiler breast meat. A total of 108 male broilers were assigned to 3 groups (control, 1% sea urchin shell powder, and 1% feed additives) with 3 replicates of 12 chicks per pen in a completely randomized design for 28 days. The following parameters have been investigated: proximate composition (DM, CP, EE, and ash), physicochemical properties (pH, TBARS, cooking loss and DPPH radical scavenging), meat color and fatty acid profiles. No remarkable effects between treatment and storage day were observed for proximate composition, physicochemical properties, meat color and fatty acid profiles. In conclusion, diets with 1% sea urchin shell powder have the ability to increase DPPH radical scavenging and unsaturated fatty acid, indicating an opportunity for partial diet substitution in comparison with 1% feed additives.