Effects of fish (Clupeonella cultriventris, Caspian sea originated) oil supplement on the serum lipoproteins and production of |w|-3 fatty acids enriched broiler meat

BACKGROUND: Use of |w|-3 fatty acids-rich food in enrichment of poultry meat has always been of interest to researchers. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary fish oil (Clupeonella cultiventris, Caspian sea originated) and its combin-ation with soybean oil on the broiler chickens' meat enrichment with w-3 PUFAs. METHODS: Two hundred and forty one-day-old mixed-sex chicks (Ross 308) were fed during 11-42 days of age by the following experimental diets: 1) a diet contaisning 7% soybean oil, 2) a diet containing 7% fish oil and 3) a diet containing 3.5% fish oil plus 3.5% soybean oil. RESULTS: The diet containing 7% fish oil adversely affected chickens daily weight gain (34.5 g) and feed conversion ratio (18.1) and also reduced the percent of carcass (54.5) and breast (18.1). The diets containing fish oil increased the total EPA and DHA (mg/100 g meat) concentrations in breast (230 to 254) and tight (266 to 361) tissues. The 7% dietary fish oil decreased serum triglyceride concentration (37.1 mg/dL), but the mixture of fish oil and soybean oil was resulted in a favorite serum HDL increase (65.0 mg/dL). CONCLUSIONS: In this research, the thigh tissue of all the chicks fed with fish oil, contained more than 300 mg w-3 PUFA/100 g meat which based on international standards could be categorized as enriched product. On the other hand, more fat deposition in meat of chicks fed with diet containing 7% fish oil compared to the birds fed with diet containing 3.5% fish oil + 3.5% soybean oil suggests that the intra-meat fat content is an important factor in interpretation of the results of chicken meat enrichment.