effects of one week feeding finisher diets containing rolled and extruded flaxseed on performance, lipid peroxidation and omega-3 fatty acids in breast and thigh meat of broiler chickens

The purpose of this experiment was to investigate the effect of one-weekfeeding of flaxseeds (rolled/extruded) on performance, n-3 fatty acids andoxidative stability of meat in broiler chickens. seven pelleted diets (36-42d)were provided in a 3×2 factorial arrangement with three flaxseed levels (5, 10,and 15%) and two processing methods (rolled/extruded) and a zero flaxseedcontrol diet. before the main trial, a total collection method experimentshowed that the replacement of 10 and 15% of rolled/extruded flaxseeds inbroiler diets caused a marked reduction in the apparent metabolizable energy(amen) as compared to those fed basal or 5% flaxseed replaced diets. in themain trial; weight gain was significantly reduced when flaxseed wassupplemented at the level of 15%. lipid peroxidation in thigh meat of birds feddiets contained zero or 5% flaxseed were lower than those fed diet with 10 or15% flaxseed. the inclusion of flaxseed in the last week of feeding finisherdiet linearly reduced the concentrations of saturated fatty acids andmonounsaturated fatty acids, in the thigh and breast meat, respectively,whereas, the n-3 and n-3:n-6 ratio linearly increased in both thigh and breastmeat. processing methods of flaxseed did not affect the bird’s performance andfatty acid profiles in meat. it is concluded that the replacement of diets with5% flaxseed did not affect the amen of diet. feeding diets containing flaxseedfor one week before marketing can reduce saturated fa and increase n-3 andn-3: n-6 ratio in meat, but the adverse effect on performance appeared whendiets contained 15% flaxseed.